Play on: College-bound stars Egbe, Evans hoping to extend Palatine’s season

The expanded IHSA football playoffs worked out well for some teams.

Palatine lost three one-score games early in the season, so turning in the equipment at 4-5 would have been painful.

With the new format, the Pirates will play on. Palatine at Yorkville on Friday in Class 7A should be one of the more interesting opening-round games.

“We're definitely fortunate to get a Week 10 together and create more memories,” Pirates coach Chad Bobbit said.

Palatine is also blessed with some top-level talent this season. Senior Jayden Evans is a Northern Illinois commit. He's played cornerback and safety on defense, slot receiver, and has taken on a new role in recent weeks as the lead running back and frequent Wildcat quarterback.

Then there's junior defensive end Eliaz Egbe, who is ranked in the national top 300 by 247 Sports for the Class of 2028. He spent last Saturday on a game-day visit to the Indiana vs. Ohio State game.

These two players took different paths to reach an elite level. Egbe didn't start playing football until his freshman year of high school. Evans' father Tabyrone played running back at Carthage College, so Jayden started in youth football early, often with his dad as a coach.

“In seventh and eighth grade, I was a receiver only,” Evans said. “Then I made the switch to defense sophomore year, when I played cornerback on varsity.”

The plan is to play defensive back at NIU, but Bobbit says there were colleges recruiting him to be a slot receiver.

“I like the competitive aspect (at cornerback) of going against another person, guarding players,” Evans said. “I also like the ball in my hands, I'm a playmaker. So it's been great making plays on offense and defense this season.”

When Egbe first showed up as a freshman, Bobbit said the coaches wondered whether to put him on the 'B' team because he was so new to the sport. They didn't, and by the end of the year, he moved up to varsity for the playoffs. Two years after donning pads for the first time, he was getting Power Four college offers.

Egbe said he felt confident he could play at the next level in the summer before his sophomore year when he won a practice rep against current Illinois lineman Tony Balanganayi.

“Ever since I played football freshman year, I always knew I was going to go D1 and make my family proud, get offers,” Egbe said. “It's not something that I'm shocked about. I feel like I put in a lot of work and just happy that my work is finally paying off.”

Football wasn't the only sport he figured out quickly. Last spring, he did track and field for the first time and finished fifth in the state in the discus.

“Six weeks after touching the discus for the first time, he broke the 50-year-old school record,” Bobbit said. “He ended up being our fastest 100-meter runner, anchored our 4 x 100 relay. Obviously, the athletic talent is off the charts.”

Egbe is listed at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, not the kind of length schools look for in elite edge rushers. He expects to play as a stand-up linebacker at the next level, something he did during his sophomore season at Palatine. Even with those athletic skills, Egbe's standout trait might be his calm, thoughtful demeanor.

“He really is a sponge for information,” Bobbit said. “He stares you deep in your eyes and wants to know why he's doing what he's doing and how he can get better at it. Which is really awesome, because anything you coach him in, he really invests himself in getting better.”

Egbe is taking that intellectual approach to his college search. He's made game-day visits to Illinois and Indiana, and is hoping to make a few more, with Nebraska, Michigan and Iowa State among the schools on his list. Some of his other offers are Northwestern, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Penn State, Purdue, Maryland and Boston College.

“I'm thinking about waiting until later in the season, wait for more offers to come before I even start evaluating,” Egbe said. “Right now, every single team that has offered me is on the same level. I haven't really thought about which team I like more or less. I'm still waiting.”