Signing day: Ingerman picks Illinois St.; Akron lands Wagner
Northeastern, Catholic Central stars will play Division I college football.
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Thursday, February 07, 2008
SPRINGFIELD — Jon Ingerman didn't hear from Illinois State until late in his football recruiting journey.
Better late than never.
Jon Ingerman
Brian WagnerNortheastern's 6-foot-8, 280-pound lineman received phone calls and visits from many schools, but a trip to Normal, Ill., helped Ingerman choose Illinois State.
"I really liked the campus," the Northeastern senior said. "It felt like it was a great fit for me."
It also helped that the Redbirds' head coach, Denver Johnson, played in the NFL, and Illinois State is a Division I Football Championship Subdivision school (formerly Division I-AA).
Ingerman signed his National Letter of Intent to play football for Illinois State on Wednesday, the first day allowed.
"It felt like I lifted a little bit of weight off my shoulders so I could get done with this process," Ingerman said.
Ingerman will receive a 50 percent athletic scholarship to attend Illinois State as a freshman. After that, his scholarship money can increase as his career progresses.
Illinois State competes in the Gateway Football Conference. The Redbirds went 4-7 in 2007.
Although Ingerman was a standout lineman on offense and defense for the Jets (he recorded 29 tackles with 4½ sacks in 2007), Illinois State recruited him as an offensive tackle. He expects to redshirt as a freshman.
"I understand I'm probably not as strong up top as I could be," he said.
Ingerman wasn't the only local football player to sign Wednesday — Catholic Central linebacker Brian Wagner signed his National Letter of Intent to the University of Akron.
Wagner was the only football player from the area to receive a full Division I scholarship. He verbally committed to Akron during the 2007 season.
"It felt good (to sign)," Wagner said. "It was a long recruiting process that started my junior year. I can finally say I'm an Akron Zip, and that's nice."
Urbana's Daniel Haddix signed a National Letter of Intent to Urbana University. South's Michael Cooper and Tecumseh's Josh McKee announced they will attend Wittenberg.
