Marist’s TJ Ivy received an early gift a few days before the official announcement of the state football playoff seedings: his first scholarship offer.
The junior tight end received an offer Thursday from Iowa State, the day before the RedHawks ended the regular season with a 41-7 victory over Joliet Catholic.
“It was a great feeling to get that first one and I can’t really explain it,” Ivy said. “I had thought about that getting that first offer, but you never really know how it’s going to go. It was completely unexpected. It was a good feeling.”
Ivy, who also plays wide receiver, capped his week off by helping lead Marist finish the regular season with an 8-1 record. Ivy said he had a small celebration with his teammates Thursday.
“I went to our walk-through after school and was in a good mood and then had a team dinner with my teammates and celebrated with them,” he said.
The 6-foot-5, 217-pound Ivy is hoping to get more offers in the near future. His size alone is drawing attention from colleges. He already attended a game at Illinois, and he plans to visit Michigan State and Notre Dame.
“I’m extremely excited to see what comes in now with offers,” Ivy said. “Coach (Pat) Dunne won’t lead me astray. He knows what he’s doing and will help me. We’ve had a lot of good players come out of the Marist program.”
Renewed focus: Providence running back Richie Warfield burst upon the scene during his sophomore season. He ran for 123 yards and scored four touchdowns and caught seven passes for 51 yards in the Celtics’ 31-28 win over Cary-Grove in the Class 7A state championship game.
After an injury derailed his junior season, Warfield endured another rough season as the Celtics missed the playoffs for the second straight season with a 4-5 record. Earlier this month, Warfield received a roster spot offer from Valparaiso, his first Division I offer. Warfield also has offers from Minnesota State, Hillsdale and Olivet Nazarene.
With his season over, Warfield acknowledged he’s turning his attention to narrowing down his college selection.
“It’s definitely a weird experience after playing three years of varsity football and now coming to that time to move on and pick a college,” Warfield said. “I learned how hard it can be to be successful, but I’m excited about my next step.”
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Warfield said he’s still interested in some Ivy League and Pioneer League schools. Most of the schools recruiting Warfield are targeting him as a running back, with a few recruiting him as an outside linebacker or safety. Warfield started at safety against Mount Carmel in Week 9.
“For the next couple of weeks, I’m going to try and go out on some game days visits and some official visits,” he said. “I’m still waiting to hear from a few schools. I’m keeping all my options open right now, and probably will give it another month or so to finally nail down a decision.”
Tidbits: Former Joliet Catholic and current Oswego East senior Ty Battle, the daughter of former Illinois star forward Kenny Battle, had her first official visit last weekend to Indiana State … Mount Carmel’s Terrance Taylor, a junior linebacker, is planning to visit Iowa this Saturday.
Bob Narang is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.
