Rafe Kiely (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) had the season that his coach, Joe Wardynski, was expecting and that's why the scholarship offers are on the table. "Rafe really went after it this year," Wardynski said. "We expected him to move into a leadership role and that's exactly what he did. His goal was to play FBS football and its going to happen for him." Kiely is beginning to take official visits. "I'm going to Wyoming this weekend," said the 6-foot-3, 300-pound guard. "Wyoming actually made an in-home visit [Tuesday] night. I have an offer from Army and I'm going to visit them in January. There are also a lot of schools like Arizona, Oregon State, Northern Illinois and Illinois that are telling me that I'm still on their board but they are waiting on the decision of prospects ahead of me. I don't have a leader. Army is intriguing. It's quite a commitment but I realize that a degree from West Point could set me up for life. We'll see what happens in January."
Klachko excited to be a HuskerOne could make that argument that
Ryan Klachko (Springfield, Ill./Sacred-Heart Griffin) is the best offensive lineman in the state. He gave Nebraska his verbal commitment over the summer and took his official visit to Lincoln during the season. He says he's excited that the Huskers are moving to the Big Ten. "The funny thing about the move is that the longest drive for my parents will be to my home games," said the 6-4, 290-pounder. "I'm in the middle of Big Ten country here in Illinois. I think it's a great move for the school. There will be a lot of great games in the Big Ten now." A lot has been made of Nebraska coach Bo Pelini's fiery coaching style. Is Klachko ready to be coached hard? "Oh yea," he said laughing. "I've been coached hard my entire life. The coaches are there to do a job. If coach [Barney] Cotton or coach Pelini feel the need to chew me out, that's fine with me, coach Pelini has a lot of fire because he loves Nebraska football and he wants to win, I don't see anything wrong with that."
Kennedy likes his new coachKyle Kennedy (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) helped lead his team to an eighth state championship in school history over Thanksgiving weekend. The 6-3, 215-pound linebacker gave Bill Lynch and Indiana University his verbal commitment over the summer, but with a coaching change in Bloomington, Kennedy is looking at all his options."My family and I watched coach [Kevin] Wilson's press conference," Kennedy said. "We liked what we saw and heard. Coach Wilson seems like a guy with a lot of experience and he has won at every coaching stop. It looks like coach Wilson is going to bring a lot to Indiana and it would be exciting to be a part of that. Coach Lynch actually called me when he got fired and told me that he still felt that I'd be a great fit for Indiana and that I should stick with my commitment. My parents and I are looking forward to sitting down with coach Wilson and getting to know him. Again, right now I'm still committed. My official visit was supposed to be this weekend but that was postponed."