College game day visits worth the 3 a.m. wake-up calls for suburban high school football players

Huntley junior quarterback Malik Carter and the Red Raiders are off to an impressive 5-0 start so far this season. Carter has already made a handful of college game day visits and recaps his latest ones.

“I’ve been able to make game day visits so far to Eastern Michigan, Iowa State and also Miami of Ohio,” Carter (6-foot-5, 200 pounds) said. “When my teammates are out celebrating on Friday nights after the game, I'm home in bed getting ready to be up at 3 a.m. driving out to a college. It’s been a lot of fun so far.”

Does he have any additional upcoming game day visit plans?

“I want to get out to Iowa for a game day visit, along with Wyoming and also Purdue. I’m checking schedules now and making sure I can make those visits without interfering with my team's schedule this fall,” Carter said.

Downers Grove North junior safety Connor Crowley (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) took in his first game day visit to Nebraska this weekend and came away highly impressed with the Cornhuskers.

“Nebraska has a great football environment and I had a fun visit and overall experience,” Crowley said. “Nebraska is a big deal and it's the biggest game in the entire state every Saturday.”

So what caught Crowley's attention while at Nebraska on Saturday?

“Getting to talk with some of the coaches at Nebraska was great and they showed my dad and I great hospitality. The facilities at Nebraska are unreal, and everything was very impressive. My dad also liked it a lot at Nebraska and the coaches want me to stay in touch with them,” Crowley said.

Does he have any additional visits planned?

“I'm set to make a game day visit to Wisconsin on Oct. 3, Michigan State on Oct. 10, Miami of Ohio on Oct. 17 and also Northwestern on Oct. 24,” he said.

St. Charles East junior offensive tackle Liam Barrett (6-foot-7, 255 pounds) also made a game day visit on Saturday to defending national champion Indiana for the win over Western Kentucky.

“Overall I had a great time and a great experience at Indiana,” Barrett said.

Barrett gained important feedback from the Indiana coaches during the visit.

“They really like how my game is progressing so far. They feel like I'm making improvements each week. They also like that I'm adding good weight and strength during the season. The Indiana coaches said they want me to stay patient and remain in regular contact with them,” Barrett said.

So what's up next?

“I have visits planned to Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan State and also Northwestern. I might also add another visit or two later in the season. It all will depend on my football schedule,” he said.

Barrett is also excited about how the Saints season has progressed so far.

“We had a tough loss Friday to Wheaton North, but we are still all in on the team and this season. Everyone is working hard and it's just a new level of culture for our program this season. We have been playing complementary football this season and our coaches really have us playing at our best. (St. Charles) North is this week and everyone is excited for that game,” Barrett said.