‘Edgy’ Tim: South Elgin’s Mueller set to make college decision
South Elgin High School junior tight end Gavin Mueller (6-foot-6, 255 pounds), a four-star-ranked recruit by Rivals.com, wrapped up his final planned official visit last weekend at Louisiana State University, and remains on target to announce his college decision.
The announcement will take place at 3:20 p.m. Wednesday in the school's library.
Mueller, also a standout basketball player, played his first season of high school football last fall while attending St. Francis. He’s narrowed his final list to Colorado. Wisconsin, LSU and Notre Dame.
Mueller made official visits to all four except Notre Dame.
West Aurora junior quarterback Mason Atkins (6-foot-3, 190 pounds) gave his verbal commitment last week to Ball State University.
“I've been able to build up a really strong relationship and a connection with the Ball State coaches and it was time for me to make my decision,” Atkins said. “Ball State made me feel wanted and it's a place where I feel I can succeed so I gave them my commitment.”
Atkins pointed to a few key factors in making his commitment.
“The relationship I have with Ball State coaches, including (head coach Mike Uremovich) along with (offensive coordinator Craig Harmon) and the overall connection we have was really an important factor in my decision,” he said. “The Ball State staff really believe in me.
“Iowa was a school that early on seemed to be pretty interested in me, but they wanted to wait on offering me and wanted to see me in a camp this summer,” he said. “I also looked into several other (Mid-American Conference) schools like NIU and also Buffalo. In the end I just felt like I was ready to make my decision, and why wait on other schools to offer me? I also did not want to wait and pass up a great opportunity waiting for me at Ball State. A lot of schools at all levels wanted to see me in camps this summer but I was ready to make my decision and didn't want to wait any longer.”
With his college decision behind him. Atkins can now focus on his summer and gearing up for the 2025 season without having to focus on recruiting.
“I would say the hardest part of the process for me was just how wild it can get with quarterback recruiting,” he said. “Offers seem to get picked up really fast and it's always changing. Just the overall timing with recruiting really is important and it worked out for me in the end.”
Rolling Meadows junior tight end Sean Kerr (6-foot-5, 215 pounds) has continued to see his recruiting stock steadily rise this spring.
“I've been able to add new offers recently from both Bryant and UMass,” Kerr said. “My recruiting has definitely picked up over the last few weeks and we are expecting more college coaches to stop into school over the next few weeks.
“Besides Bryant and UMass I've also been in contact with the coaches from Indiana State, San Diego State along with South Dakota State and also South Dakota,” he said. “Holy Cross is supposed to be in school soon and also Columbia has been starting to show more interest. The feedback from the college coaches has been good and they all want to see me in a one day camp this summer and see what I can do in person.”