Knowing that Kenwood teammates Dante Reynolds and Lewis Bond committed to the same Power Five football program on the same day, you’d assume they worked it all out ahead of time.
But the facts of the rising seniors’ decision to pick Boston College on April 28 are a little different.
“I didn’t know he was going there, he didn’t know I was going there,” said Bond, a 6-foot, 188-pound all-purpose back. “At first, we didn’t talk about going to school together.
“And when I got the BC offer, I was mad that he followed up and got (one) because I didn’t want to go to school with him.”
Bond said that with a smile after a practice last week, meaning he’s just fine with remaining teammates with Reynolds for the foreseeable future.
“It was just crazy,” Bond said. “We ended up both loving the school.”
Another twist is that BC’s recruitment of Reynolds, a 6-0, 190-pound wide receiver, dates back to his sophomore year, when the Eagles had a different coaching staff.
Incoming head coach Jeff Hafley continued to pursue Reynolds, which he considers “a blessing.”
He uses the same word to describe the chance to play alongside Bond after high school.
Both players like the idea of going from one metro area to another.
“It really is the city,” Reynolds said of what attracted him to Boston College. “The atmosphere is great. I feel like there’s another home that I can make (there).”
He had no shortage of options, with 15 offers, including a pair from the SEC (Ole Miss, Tennessee).
Bond, like Reynolds a three-star prospect, also had his pick of elite colleges. He also had two SEC offers (Tennessee, Vanderbilt) along with three from the Ivy League (Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton).
Missing out on campus visits because of the coronavirus pandemic wasn’t a big issue for Bond.
“I didn’t really care about the facilities or the buildings,” he said. “I was more about the people that were there and the education. That was the biggest thing for me.”
That and the bright lights, of course.
“I kind of joke around sometimes and say I need a big city for my ego,” Bond said. “I can’t go to a small city, (be a fish) out of water.”
Before Bond and Reynolds head east next year, they have some unfinished business.
Kenwood has been one of the Public League’s rising programs since Simeon grad Sinque Turner took over as coach in 2017. The Broncos had just two IHSA playoff appearances in program history before Turner arrived — a number they have doubled with bids each of the past two years.
Both of those years ended with early state playoff losses, a streak the Broncos aim to break with one of the area’s most explosive passing games.
Reynolds and Bond each had more than 1,000 all-purpose yards last season, with 28 combined touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Kaleb Garner also returns after throwing for 1,144 yards, running for 175 more and accounting for 21 TDs.
“I’ve been playing with Kaleb since my freshman year,” Reynolds said. “So that connection is top-tier.”
“It’s not just even us two,” Bond said. “We’ve got Jalil Martin, we’ve got Isaiah Smith, we’ve got a couple of young guys that might get the opportunity (to play receiver).”
It’ll be a pick-your-poison dilemma for opposing defenses, Turner believes.
“We’ve got a couple other guys as high-impact players at the wide receiver position as well,” Turner said. “Those guys (Bond and Reynolds) demand attention, but they allow some of those other guys one-on-one matchups to display their talents as well.”
After winning the Illini Prairie State title last fall, the Broncos will get a chance to showcase that talent and depth in the Illini Red Bird — arguably the deepest conference in CPS with powers Simeon, Curie and Morgan Park among others.
And then comes the Class 6A playoffs with the likes of Prairie Ridge, Cary-Grove and East St. Louis, which Turner considers the state’s top team regardless of class.
But Kenwood will be ready, Bond promised.
“We’ve been working since we lost (in the playoffs) last year,” he said. “We’ve been hitting it. We took two days off, Saturday, Sunday.
“We were back working Monday. We’re bigger, faster, stronger.”
And they have a pair of ACC-bound receivers leading the way.
