Drake right fit for Schaumburg’s Quilico

A weekend visit to Drake University was enough to make Schaumburg senior Bob Quilico put the brakes on his football recruiting process.

Everything about the football program and school in Des Moines, Iowa seemed to be the right fit for the two-time Daily Herald All-Area selection. So, on Thursday night, Quilico made a verbal commitment to play for the Bulldogs.

“It has great academics and the team is really close,” said Quilico, who plans to study finance and accounting. “It’s pretty much like a family away from home. Overall it was a great atmosphere out there and I loved it.

“The coaches are awesome and they are players’ coaches. They talk to you about what you think and really care about you.”

The 6-foot-1, 187-pound Quilico was recruited to play safety. He was one of the Mid-Suburban League’s hardest hitters with 81 tackles as a junior and 111 tackles as a senior in a defensive scheme designed for him to make plays.

Quilico canceled a visit this weekend to Northern Michigan and said he also had interest from Indiana State and Valparaiso.

“Drake just really showed me more,” Quilico said. “On the visit it was a really great atmosphere and I fell in love with the campus and the program.”

The Bulldogs play in the Football Championship Subdivision’s Pioneer Football League, which is comprised of schools that don’t offer football scholarships. They were 7-4 last year and 8-3 two years ago under third-year coach Chris Creighton.

Quilico said he also got a good feeling after meeting fellow Mid-Suburban League products Cody and Brett Seeger (Barrington) and Kyle Klosowicz (Conant) on his visit. Quilico said he would likely redshirt as a freshman and then have a chance to play as a sophomore.

“It’s a great program and it’s moving up,” Quilico said. “I’m really jacked up to be a part of it.”