St. Charles East's Walls chooses Drake

From south to Neuqua Valley up north to Elgin, Brennan Walls did a little traveling for his road games on the St. Charles East football team the last few years.

It's nothing compared to the road trips he'll take in college.

Walls is headed to Drake, which plays in the Pioneer Football League. They'll go from San Diego to Jacksonville, Fla., to North Carolina to Ohio for their road games.

"I'm really excited and really happy," said Walls, who opened holes for Wes Allen the last two years as the Saints' center. "There's lots of road games, it's exciting with all the travel."

Walls made his visit to Drake earlier this month and was sold. He picked Drake over Wheaton College.

"I really bought into coach (Chris) Creighton's vision," Walls said. "I see what he has done over at Wabash, I think that is something that I want to be part of.

"The facilities are awesome," Walls said. "They hosted the national Division I track meet. I hung out with some of the guys on overnight and showed me what it's like to be there, went to a basketball game, it was really fun. I really connected with some of the guys."

Walls will redshirt next season and hopes to compete for the center position the following year. He joins an impressive list from the Saints' 8-3 team headed to play college football, including Allen (Truman State), Pat Friel (Colgate), Eian O'Brien (Truman State), Blake Griffiths (Harper) and Peter Chacon (St. Ambrose).

"Orange and Black all the way," Walls said. "The best years and best friends I've had."