Aug. 18--Quarterback wasn't an option for Jacobs junior Chris Katrenick during his younger years.
Before his eighth grade season, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Katrenick played all over the field, receiving an education on learning the sport from different spots of the field, both offensively and defensively.
Katrenick played fullback, tight end, linebacker and cornerback until finally settling on quarterback during his eighth-grade season.
"As a kid, I never really played quarterback," Katrenick said. "I really didn't know where I was going to play. It's just funny how things worked out for me. I always played up my whole career with the bigger kids."
After transferring from Marian Central to Jacobs following his freshman season, Katrenick passed for 1,367 yards and 12 touchdowns last season for the Golden Eagles.
Thanks to a suggestion by former Marian Central quarterback and current Minnesota sophomore Chris Streveler, Katrenick started working with former Eastern Illinois and NFL quarterback Jeff Christensen, who runs the Lockport-based Throw It Deep Academy.
"I was always a good athlete, but I was pretty bad at quarterback to start off" Katrenick said. "I was able to learn quickly.
"Coming into Jacobs, I had three or four guys I was competing with. I knew I could play on varsity and I worked hard and was ready to play and had a good sophomore year."
Katrenick said he attended 10 college camps this summer, particularly enjoying his visits to Wisconsin, Illinois and Western Michigan. Katrenick received his first and to this point only offer from Virginia in May, but hopes for many more in the coming months.
"It's been crazy the last few months, just going to all these camps and getting my first offer," he said. "That was really special. I'm new to this, but I love the ride that I'm going on. I'm looking forward to our season and seeing how it will help with recruiting.
Katrenick has big plans for his future and the Golden Eagles. Last season, Jacobs finished 5-4 with Katrenick running the spread offense. He made unofficial visits to Virginia and North Carolina in late July.
"The team is looking very sharp and we are all motivated this year to win games," he said. "Everybody has been working hard and pushing each other. I think offensively we have a lot more weapons and will be more balanced this year, which I'm all for. Defensively, I think we have a lot of athletes and working well as a unit. I think the team is looking strong."
Odds and ends: Morgan Park senior linebacker Sean Williams remains undecided about his college future. Williams said Army recently began recruiting him.
"A lot of schools want to see my first two games against Thornton and Mount Carmel," Williams said.
Huntley senior middle linebacker Tim McCloyn committed to Illinois State on Sunday. The 6-1, 220-pound McCloyn, a member of the Red Raiders' 400-meter relay team that finished third in Class 3A in May, had four sacks and 10 tackles for loss last season...Neuqua Valley junior wide receiver Isaiah Robertson received an offer from Maryland on Sunday...Lake Forest Academy defensive end Thomas Schaffer announced via Twitter that he plans to make official visits to Oregon, Stanford and Wisconsin this fall.
Narang is a freelance reporter.
