(09-09-2020 10:54 PM)ZCat Wrote: Chicago
- yes remember Joe Stiffend’s BIG shot.
Was pretty young then but was super pumped.
Tony Yates recruited Chicago well.
I can’t remember though if Lou Banks was also from Chicago.
I loved Vert!
We need To get as many top players as we can from Chicago and Cleveland. Take as many top players as we can and will be happy to take the scraps that Ohio State or some other big 10 school does not offer.
There’s enough talent around here that even with leftovers we will dominate. Get them in here, get them in the weight room. By their junior year or sooner, they will be getting playing time the big schools can’t offer.
Get on every player and parent’s radar within a 7 hr drive! Talent Plus these coaches is going to win us a lot of games.
Upon further review....
There has been a lot of Bearcat talent over the years from Chicago and northern Illinois. These football players have talent, and they are also are men of character. The character issue isn't a surprise but it does kind of jump out at you.
Two Bearcats from northern Ill have played in the NFL:
Tyjuan Hagler and Tom Blake (out of 137 Bearcats in the NFL)
Hagler was an outstanding RB at Kankakee HS. He was a 6-0 235 LB for the Bearcats and then the Indy Colts (2006-2010). In Super Bowl XVI he recovered a fumbled kickoff that helped the Colts come from behind to beat the Bears. In another game, he ran back an onside kick for a TD.
He still lives in Kankakee and his tyjuanhaglerfoundation.org sponsors football, basketball and cheerleading camps and
gives out scholarships.:
"The Tyjuan Hagler Foundation promotes good character. As a result of overcoming his challenges. Tyjuan supports the youth of Kankakee, IL and surrounding areas with positive, safe environment and opportunities to be inspired and pursue athletic development.
The foundation also encourages and support educational advancement. emphasizing the importance of education. The foundation will recognize and reward outstanding and deserving students with a financial scholarship to pursue a college Degree."
T Tom Blake was born in Bushton, IL and attended Middletown OH HS. He played for more college teams (Tenn and UC) than NFL teams (NFL NY Bulldogs 1949.)
DE Dan Giordano played for Frankfort Lincoln-East Way HS before becoming a Bearcat in 2008.
QB Demetrius Jones of Chicago Morgan Park HS is the second highest rated Bearcat football player at .9792 only behind the .9878 rating of transfer Gunnar Kiel. His strange college career began when Jones redshirted at ND in his first year (2006). He started the first game for the Irish in 2007 but was pulled in the first quarter. The next Friday, the ND team buses were held up for 20 min on the campus but Jones never showed up. He was at NIU trying to register for classes! Before the transfer portal it could be very hard for players to transfer: just ask Bearcats Ben Mauk and Dino Boyd.
The ND coaches did not want Jones at NIU, but he was allowed to transfer to UC in 2007 because the Bearcats were on the quarter system, not the semester system and Cincinnati was far away enough from South Bend. Jones continued his streak of bad luck because his throwing arm was hurt. Coach Brian Kelly loved moving players around all over the field, so Jones went from QB to ILB. Coach Kelly learned how to move players at Grand Valley State and Central Michigan. At the same time Kelly moved Elder HS QB Craig Carey to DE. Why not, he only had QBs Tony Pike, Zach Collaros, and Brendon Kay on his roster.
RB Anthony King from Chicago Ayersville HS
LB Franklin Bruscianelli from Woodridge Montini Catholic HS.
DT Chris Flores, Wheaton, IL
And many more, and that is just football players.....