Colin O’Malley knows he wants to play a sport in college. What the Grayslake Central senior doesn’t know is which sport that will be.
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O’Malley, a three-sport athlete, is mulling his options in football and track. He has a 4.5 GPA and would prefer to attend an Ivy League school.
But for O’Malley, having choices is a good thing.
“I’ll do either sport or do both,” O’Malley said. “Football is first, but it doesn’t affect me which sport if I have to pick. It just means I have more options if one doesn’t work out. It doesn’t stress me out too much.”
The 5-foot-10, 165-pound O’Malley missed an opportunity to add to his track resume when the Illinois High School Association canceled the spring season because of the coronavirus pandemic. As a sophomore, he showed promise on Grayslake Central’s 1,600-meter relay team, which qualified for the Class 3A state meet.
O’Malley played football, basketball, lacrosse and baseball as a kid. Despite several coaches pointing out his superior speed and the success of his older sister, Sara, as a runner, he stayed away from the track until eighth grade. Sara O’Malley finished her four-year career at Cornell by placing 11th in the 800 at the Ivy League indoor championships on Feb. 29.
“In baseball, my coaches always said I was really fast, and I always batted first and got on base,” Colin O’Malley said. “A lot of them suggested track, but I was doing baseball, lacrosse, football and basketball. My first year in track went good. I made it to state in eighth grade.”
Grayslake Central football coach Mike Maloney said O’Malley is capable of playing numerous positions in college. A two-year starter, O’Malley played cornerback, slot receiver and kick returner before suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 3 last year.
“Colin is kind of a diamond in the rough,” Maloney said. “He only played three games, so the statistics are not there. But he’s stronger and faster now. He has great hands and is a dynamic athlete.
“He was pretty solid as a sophomore. He checks all the boxes, from leadership, character, to having explosive athletic ability, and also comes from a great family.”
O’Malley said his top choices are Cornell, Harvard and Penn, but he would be receptive to attending a non-Ivy school if there is an opportunity to play football.
“It’s always been my dream to attend an Ivy League (school), especially since my sister went Ivy,” he said. “I’m trying to get an offer.”
Augillard update: Zion-Benton senior guard Amar Augillard’s recruiting picked up in the past few weeks. He has offers from Chicago State, Grambling State and Green Bay but also has received interest from Missouri, VCU, South Dakota State, Columbia and Tennessee State.
The 6-5 Augillard is an intriguing recruit because of his size, strength and playmaking ability and his success in the classroom. He averaged 25.6 points and 8.2 rebounds last season.
“In my mind, my recruiting is going slow, but in a good way,” he said. “I just have to take care of business in AAU.”
Tidbits: Lake Forest senior Shelby Pruett was ranked as the third-best punter in the country by National Kicking Rankings. … In girls basketball, Carmel sophomore guard Jordan Wood received an offer from Wisconsin.
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.