Crystal Lake South's Bernstein chooses Vanderbilt

Big Jake's headed for big-time college football in the SEC.

Crystal Lake South senior Jake Bernstein, a 6-foot-4, 279-pound left tackle, gave his verbal commitment Tuesday night to play for Vanderbilt University of the Southeastern Conference.

It wasn't an easy decision for the 17-year-old resident of Lake in the Hills, who was rated a 3-star prospect by Rivals.com and a 31/2-star prospect by Scout.com. He had offers from Illinois, Northern Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, Memphis, Cincinnati and Central Michigan.

After narrowing the list to three, Bernstein picked Vanderbilt over finalists Minnesota and Colorado.

"It came down to academics first of all, and their strength coach," said Bernstein, who plans to study kinesiology. "I basically based it on where I was going to spend most of my time in college, which would be the weight room. And coach (John Sisk) seems like a really good guy." Bernstein can bench 355 pounds, squat 465 and clean 275 five times.

The Commodores' challenging schedule attracted him as well. The last four BCS national champions hail from the SEC.

"That was also a big part of what I based my decision on," Bernstein added. "To face opponents like Alabama, Florida, Georgia. That's the best of the best and they produce a lot of pros. If I'm going to play in the SEC, I've got to work my butt off or I'm going to lose my spot."

Crystal Lake South coach Chuck Ahsmann said Vanderbilt was a wise choice for his standout lineman.

"I think it's a great fit," Ahsmann said. "His family is focused on academics and Vanderbilt is just a great university. They play in the SEC, so it's a heck of a conference even though Vanderbilt's a smaller school.

"Looking at playing time, he might have a chance of playing there sooner than he may have at some of the other programs. I think he looked at that as well."