In a yearly tradition, the top talents from throughout the Hoosier state gather around to celebrate their placement on the Indiana Preps Pre Season All State team.
This year, the players and their families gathered at the Colts’ Gridiron Hall at the Indiana Farm Bureau Center for the celebrations.
While all 79 of the pre season All State players earned the same accomplishment, the rosters themselves are not all constructed the same. As the Big School roster above consists of 19 FBS commits, three more with FBS offers that have yet to commit, one FCS commit and just three players that have yet to receive any D1 offers yet.
With that, some of the top recruits not only in the state but in the country sat down to talk about their upcoming seasons and recruiting process.
Carmel offensive lineman and top 100 IOL recruit per 247 Sports, Evan Parker, is staying home with the Hoosiers as part of a recruiting renaissance by head coach Curt Cignetti.
“I committed early in January or February,” Parker said. “I would have committed around now, but I knew where I wanted to go and wanted to focus on football in high school [for my senior season]. Coach Cignetti is a great coach, I call him Coach Saban 2.0, he has won everywhere he has been. My offensive line coach, Coach Bostad, is the best in the Big 10 if not the country.”
Coming off a disappointing 5-5 season, Parker is ready and excited for an improved year for the Greyhounds.
“Last year we had a young team and were not as experienced as previous teams,” Parker said. “A big leadership part for me is making sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to do. As long as I can give a good example of what I am supposed to do they can follow that and everything will run smoothly.”
Staying in the trenches, Warren Central offensive lineman and top 50 IOL recruit per 247 sports, Cam Herron, is heading off to Iowa after accumulating over 20 offers.
“The recruiting process was a great experience,” Herron said. “What made me commit to Iowa was that it felt like home. It was one of the first Big 10 visits I went on and every school I visited afterwards I would compare to Iowa. So eventually, I realized if I was doing that I might as well go to Iowa.”
Herron is joined by defensive linemen Damien Shanklin, Tyrone Burrus Jr and Jerimy Finch Jr on the pre season all state squad for the second straight season. Yet, had an underwhelming 5-7 record despite the talent on the roster.
“Our team chemistry was the main problem,” Herron said. “It was no where close to a skill issue, coming together as a team is the main push this year.”
As for LSU commit and number one overall recruit in the state per 247 sports, Damien Shanklin, he had similar words to how the Warriors can improve this season.
“Honestly just keep working in the weight room,” Shanklin said. “We found out that we are the strongest class in Warren Central history, and on top of that since it is my last year I want to make sure we make a state run for this class.”
With over 30 offers Shanklin had a long list to cut down before settling with the Tigers.
“With the recruiting process I just stayed calm with it,” Shanklin said. “I just focused on the football season and let the recruiting come after. For me, I am all about support and building a bond with my teammates. Having that bond with Coach Peoples and Coach Baker opened me up a little bit more which is why I chose LSU over Alabama, Ohio State and Tennessee.”
For Fishers wideout and number two overall recruit in the state per 247 sports, JonAnthony Hall, he chose the Cardinal over the likes of Notre Dame, Michigan, IU and Purdue.
“The recruiting process has been really crazy,” Hall said. “Having all of these schools come after me and want me, with Stanford they were on me for a while before offering me. With it being far away I was unsure, but once I got out there it felt like home, and from an academic standpoint there really is no school that compares to them so it was an easy choice.”
As for his Tigers, they are coming off yet another sectional championship loss to city rival HSE.
“Just working on our craft more,” Hall said. “I think we have a really dynamic offense under coach Moore in his second year here, we are starting to click and do things that can really help us offensively. We have Gage Sturgill who had some experience last year [at quarterback], but during the summer he has been killing it so I think offensively we will be really good.”
Rounding out the top three in-state recruits, Ben Davis ATH and Notre Dame commit Mark Zackery IV chose the Irish over the likes of Alabama, Georgia and Michigan.
“It is a blessing, there is a lot that comes with because I am a regular student as well,” Zackery said. “Just being able to balance what I do, going to see other sports and trying not to get caught up in everything that is going great in my life. I had a little bit of recruiting insight from Dawand Jones, I was a ball boy when he was on the team.”
Despite any help the current Browns offensive linemen may have gave, all of this attention is a lot for any 14-17 year old as they are trying to be a high school student.
“The recruiting process was a lot since it started my freshman year and I did not know how to handle it, but I had a great support system with my mom and my dad and they helped me through it. There would be days I would talk to coaches, but also days where I would stay off my phone and just be a regular kid and focus on being a great athlete. Notre Dame felt like the best fit for me because the coaching staff really valued me not just on the field but as a person as well. At Notre Dame they value athletes a lot, so they are recruiting me as a corner but I am ready to do whatever they want me to. I value academics as well, and they have what will help me in the future because I know football will end one day.”