‘Edgy’ Tim: Mueller, Abrams, Solecki ready for busy springs

South Elgin High School junior tight end Gavin Mueller (6-foot-6, 250 pounds), a three-star ranked recruit by Rivals.com, recently released his list of top eight favorite schools and talked about his time frame for making a college decision.

“I really felt like it was time for me to start to break things down …,” Mueller said. “It was not easy to narrow things down, but I do feel really good about the eight schools still left on my list.”

Mueller walked us through his next step in the recruiting process along with visit plans.

“My top eight schools in no order (are) North Carolina State, Arkansas, Purdue, Wisconsin, Colorado, Notre Dame, Ole Miss and Texas A&M,” he said.

“I'm going to visit all eight schools this spring … and I'm planning to then set up some official visits for the late spring and early summer. I'll probably set up (four or five) official visits, take those official visits and then make a decision in June. I've seen four out of my top eight schools already in person, so some schools I'm very familiar with and others not so much.

“I want to get to know the coaches better at each school, including the tight end coaches at each school,” he said.

Mueller, who transferred from St. Francis to South Elgin this semester, is excited about his new team and teammates.

“We have a really hardworking group of kids who are getting after it in the weight room.”

· Montini sophomore dual threat quarterback Israel Abrams (6-foot-4, 180 pounds) remains in high demand this winter as college coaches from across the country continue to track and offer him.

“Everything has been going really well with recruiting and I was able to add my latest offers from both Wisconsin and Cincinnati,” Abrams said. “I'm playing 7-on-7 along with training for football and lifting with my team, plus I still throw with (quarterback coach Mike Hohensee).”

Abrams filled us in on his upcoming spring travel plans.

“My plan is to get out to visit pretty much every school that has offered me a scholarship,” he said. “I'm planning to make spring visits to Purdue, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Cincinnati along with going back to Iowa State and Nebraska.

“I'm still sorting everything out and will have my schedule set very soon. I'm also looking at visiting three schools who haven't offered me just yet but are still pretty interested in me. Alabama has picked things up and said they want to see me throw in person and also see me come down for a visit. Tennessee is another school who wants me to visit them along with Ohio State. I had been in pretty steady contact with coach Chip Kelly when he was at Ohio State, but he left for another job so I'm just starting to get back in touch with Ohio State again. Missouri is another school that still remains interested in me and I'm hoping to also visit them.”

Coming off a 2024 Class 3A state title, Abrams and his Montini teammates are back in the lab getting ready for another football season.

“We will have a really good group back for the 2025 season. We are expecting to have another big year and we have the kids to get it done. Everyone is staying hungry and working hard.”

· Downers Grove North junior defensive end Aiden Solecki (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) keeps adding scholarship offers.

“My recruiting has been going well and it's been a bit of a surprise to add so many recent offers,” Solecki said. “I look back at my sophomore year when I had no idea what position I would play and it's been a pretty crazy time. I always believed in myself and worked hard and now it's all starting to pay off for me.”

Solecki filled us in on his upcoming spring visit plans.

“Some of the Power 4 schools that have been recruiting me want me to make visits this spring,” he said. “I'm all set to attend a spring practice at Michigan State on March 22. I'm also planning to go to Purdue on April 1. I'm planning to take a few more visits and looking more towards getting out to some schools farther away from home like San Diego State, Fresno State and Buffalo. We had a lot of Power 4 coaches in school back in January, and besides Michigan State and Purdue, I'm also in contact with the coaches from Louisville, Iowa and Northwestern.”

Does Solecki have a time frame for making a college decision?

“Right now I'm not looking too hard at anything to be honest, but that will start to change soon,” he said. “My plan for now is to make my spring visits and see how those go and then move forward from there. My parents and I will start looking harder at schools this spring and the visits will play a role for sure. Once I feel comfortable I'll make my decision, but I'm not close to that point just yet.”