Feb. 16--Ivory Kelly-Martin's plans for the spring and summer include a lot less traveling.
The former Nazareth star running back transferred to Oswego East for the start of the second semester in January.
Kelly-Martin is no stranger to long commutes or road trips. He spent most of last spring and summer hitting the college circuit, and did the daily trip from the far western suburbs to Nazareth in LaGrange Park for the last two-plus seasons.
"My plan this spring is to travel a lot less, probably only some (college) camps in driving distance," Kelly-Martin said. "I don't want to get around too much like last year. I'm not going to go out to many schools, so this summer should be a lot easier.
"It was hard to leave (Nazareth), but it was a financial decision. The travel was also hard, about 45 minutes to an hour every day each way. My drive now is five to seven minutes a day, and I don't have to rely on rides. The bus picks me up right in front of my house."
Kelly-Martin, a three-star recruit, is one of the most coveted players in the Chicago area for the Class of 2017. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder carried the ball 190 times for 1,972 yards and scored 33 touchdowns as a junior. He ran for 170 yards and four touchdowns in Nazareth's 42-21 win against Lincoln-Way West in the Class 5A state title game. He played a small role, mostly because of a season-long injury, in Nazareth's run to the Class 6A title in 2014.
Kelly-Martin plans to run indoor and outdoor track this spring for the first time since junior high. Oswego East finished with a 6-4 record last season and lost to Geneva in the first round of the 7A playoffs.
"I'm really excited," he said. "Once I got there, all the guys were happy to see me. I'm adjusting well so far. It's my hometown school, and I'm loving seeing all my friends again and am excited about a new season and coaching staff. The hardest thing is adjusting to a bigger school."
Kelly-Martin picked up his 10th offer from Arizona on Monday to go with offers from Wisconsin, Illinois, Toledo, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Miami (Ohio), Indiana State and Illinois State.
"My recruiting has really picked up lately," he said. "A lot of coaches have contacted me after seeing my film, and they really liked what they saw. I'm pretty sure I'm going to see more offers or contacts from coaches soon.
"Right now I'm open to all kinds of schools. I'm looking for a school that likes me and recruits me hard. I want to make a decision sometime in the summer or beginning of my senior year on where I want to go, so I'm going to have to start narrowing down my options soon."
Spears to WMU: West Aurora senior linebacker Drake Spears, a three-star recruit, orally committed to Western Michigan on Sunday night following an official visit. The 6-1, 195-pounder decommitted from Illinois on Jan. 29.
"I thought Drake might take a few more visits, but Western Michigan made a big impression on Drake, even before his decommitment from Illinois," West Aurora coach Nate Eimer said. "Drake was really excited about this visit. It's a relief to get this over with for him. I think he realized when he decommitted that this would be a pretty intense two weeks. I couldn't be more proud of him. This is two years in a row for West High that we've had a kid go play football. That's a big deal for us."
Williams ends recruiting saga: Morgan Park senior linebacker Sean Williams is taking a leap of faith regarding his future. Williams signed his national letter of intent to attend Eastern Illinois on Monday -- without visiting the campus.
"They reached out to me after signing day and showed me how much they liked me and wanted me to come there," Williams said. "I didn't know much about the program and have never visited the campus. One of our former players (Jareem Fleming) goes there, and he told me he liked it a lot.
"I'm really happy because all the schools' slots were filled up. I was going to sign with a junior college this week. I plan on going (to visit EIU) either this weekend or following week."
Down to 218 pounds, the 6-foot-2 Williams collected 113 tackles -- 31 for loss -- four sacks, three forced fumbles and nine fumble recoveries as a senior.
Tabel to Illinois: Barrington senior long snapper Ethan Tabel accepted a preferred walk-on spot at Illinois during an official visit on Monday.
"I took a tour of the campus and facilities and just fell in love with it," the 6-foot, 215-pound Tabel said. "I thought it was in my best interest and the interest of my family to try and get it done and be a walk-on at Illinois. I'm beyond relieved. It seemed like nothing was happening in my recruiting for some time, and for this to happen and it to be perfect fit, it's just fantastic."
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
