Shooting Star: In biggest moments, St. Charles North’s Keaton Reinke earned college offer

No added pressure, but Northwestern would be watching.

That was Keaton Reinke’s reality as he stepped on the field for St. Charles North football’s 2024 season opener at Palatine. The junior wide receiver missed eight weeks of the 2023 season due to a broken collarbone and returned to action in the North Stars’ first-round playoff loss.

Reinke always dreamed of playing Division I football, but the injury delayed his future vision as he watched from the sidelines. His junior season was his next best chance of redemption.

“Going into the season, it was, like, ‘OK. Let’s just show everyone who I am,’” Reinke said. “Because not a lot of people knew who I was because of the injury.”

People who did have their eye on Reinke were coaches at Northwestern. They told him they liked his size and route running and that the receiver would be on their recruiting radar. All Reinke needed was more numbers to support his raw talent.

With 10 catches for 151 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Pirates, including the game-winning score, Reinke boosted his resume, all the while shrugging off the spotlight from Evanston.

“I didn’t really think about it too much, because then I feel like I get in my head,” Reinke said. “So I just try to play like I normally do … I stayed with my team, with my guys, and just played football the way we do.”

The eye-popping performance against Palatine was only the start of a prolific season for Reinke, who earned a Class 7A all-state honorable mention after hauling in 80 receptions for 1,218 yards and 18 total touchdowns.

“I think the biggest compliment I can pay him is that as the recruiting process got a little bit more hectic, he upped his game,” St. Charles North coach Rob Pomazak said. “He really just handled it with a grain of salt. It’s very mature.”

Reinke’s dream was back on schedule, and in June it became reality when he committed to Northwestern.

Growing up in Illinois, Reinke attended a few Northwestern games but was more of an Iowa fan. Iowa, Minnesota and Stanford were among his final choice of schools, but Reinke opted to stay home.

“I think at the end of the day, they had the best staff,” he said. “I felt the most comfortable there. How they viewed me and their plans for my development, I really liked. And then just the academic piece of Northwestern, you can’t do much better than that.”

Reinke still has a year left before he enrolls in college, and in the meantime will hone his competitiveness in both football and baseball, sports he’s played since elementary school. Both he and Pomazak agree a dual-sport lifestyle is more beneficial than distracting.

For Reinke, it starts with physical similarities. A center fielder, he said tracking down balls in the outfield mirrors his route running. Plus, as a right-hander armed with a 91-mph fastball on the mound, Reinke’s battles with opposing hitters only increases his competitiveness.

Baseball and football also have contrasting leadership tactics, Reinke said. A slow-paced game like baseball requires less intensity while the high-octane style of football necessitates constant communication and reinforcement. Reinke aims to blend these two styles this season.

“Just being able to coach up your guys and not yell at them, but teach them, and then just leading by example,” Reinke said. “Like, 100% every play, not making any excuses, just listening to what coach has to say and showing everyone, ‘Hey, this is what we need to do.’”

“He’s an ambassador for multi-sport athletes,” Pomazak said. “He’s a guy who I put in front of all 170 of my kids because if our best player can be a high-level multi-sport athlete, there’s no reason why other people can’t do it.”

Reinke’s dream is accomplished, but there’s still more progress to complete, such as improving his first three steps on routes and lowering his 40-yard dash time to around 4.4 to 4.5. If Reinke can excel under pressure like last season, this season’s numbers know no bounds.

“He’s going to approach it with his ears pinned back and just attack it,” Pomazak said. “I think that’s a huge weight off his shoulders to accomplish such a goal, especially with Northwestern … I think it’s going to allow him to play free and you’re going to see him be one of the best players in the state of Illinois this season.”