Dec. 08--Loyola coach John Holecek required little thought when explaining the reason for junior tight end Jake Marwede's rapid ascent in the recruiting world.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Marwede is one of the fastest rising juniors in the state after a stellar season that wasn't defined by statistics, or even starts. Marwede caught four passes for 83 yards and added third-quarter touchdown runs of 2 and 1 yards in Loyola's 41-0 win against Marist in the Class 8A state championship game on Nov. 28.
Marwede has offers from Arkansas, Illinois, Northwestern, Indiana, Iowa State, Western Michigan, Central Michigan and Bowling Green.
"(Jake's) 6-5 and 220 pounds with a frame that can get a lot bigger," Holecek said. "He's verified with a 4.8 40 time at a Nike Combine. That's a legit combine 40. He will get faster and better as he grows more. He has just scratched his potential since he was a quarterback (before) and hasn't really hit the weights hard.
"In the next two years, he's going to be a 250-pound crazy athlete. The catches he made in the state game, catching a ball off the ground practically, you don't see that in high school."
A quarterback until switching to tight end in June, Marwede still wears a jersey number (No. 14) befitting his former position. Marwede, who has taken snaps as Loyola's Wildcat quarterback this season, calls his decision to switch to tight end a pivotal moment. Senior Emmett Clifford handled the majority of the snaps at quarterback this season. Marwede said he talked to the Loyola coaching staff before the start of the season about changing positions.
"I'm excited and glad that I made the switch from quarterback to tight end," he said. "I had been thinking about it and thought my junior year was the right time to make the switch because junior year is the main recruiting year. It just fit my abilities more."
His dad, Andy Marwede, played tight end for Yale in the early 80s.
"My family supported me in whatever I chose to do," Marwede said. "They've always been there for me. My dad didn't have an influence, and didn't want to pressure me into it."
Loyola starting senior tight end Eric Eshoo, who caught 30 passes for 528 yards and six touchdowns this season, committed to Northwestern in June. Marwede finished with 16 receptions for 227 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 140 yards and eight touchdowns.
Holecek is certainly a good judge of talent. He played linebacker in the NFL from 1995-2002, and starred at Illinois from 1991-94. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 1993. Holecek's strong endorsement of the still-developing Marwede carries significant weight.
"(Jake) has a tremendous work ethic and is a committed kid," Holecek said. "He's smart. He's just a perfect football player."
Marwede admitted that it's been a whirlwind period since the Ramblers won the state title. He received an offer from Northwestern on Saturday.
"It's been a lot of excitement over a short amount of time," he said. "I'm still trying to see what's out there and get back into the recruiting process after putting it on hold during the season. There's not too much of a preference right now.
"I was real excited for the Northwestern offer. It's close by and has great academics and great football program going on right now."
Bobak adds two more schools
Hinsdale Central senior running back Christian Bobak added roster spot offers from Holy Cross and Stetson over the weekend. Valparaiso, Lafayette and Dayton have also offered roster spots to Bobak.
"It's really exciting because I actually did a camp at Holy Cross over the summer, so I'm familiar with the campus after doing a tour there," Bobak said. "I really liked it, so I'm really happy to get that offer."
The 6-0, 190-pound Bobak is capable of playing numerous positions on both sides of the ball in college. His recruiting has started to increase after he sent out a highlight-filled senior film to colleges.
"It's definitely been picking up," Bobak said. "My recruiting started off pretty slow because I really didn't have a huge junior year. It took some time to get started. I've been talking to Central Michigan a lot about playing safety. They will be coming back to my school a couple of weeks after Christmas break to run me through some safety drills."
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
