At 6 feet 4 inches and 225 pounds, Brett Nagel can be an imposing sight when he’s slashing his way downfield.
It’s even more intimidating when the Lemont quarterback follows the blocking of his 6-7, 305-pound buddy, Graham Pocic.
“Brett is not only a good runner, but he is the kind of quarterback you like blocking for,” said Pocic, who turned down a scholarship offer from Florida to commit to Illinois.
“He’s not a ‘pretty boy.’ He lowers his head, breaks tackles and runs the ball like a tough guy.”
It will be tough going Friday night for No. 17 Lemont (3-0) as it plays host to No. 13 Richards (3-0) and game-breaking quarterback/safety Tommie Thomas.
And it will be an intriguing matchup, because Nagel also plays safety.
“I sit back there and read the opposing quarterback on every play, and I know Thomas does the same,” Nagel said. “We’re both going to try and outsmart each other. If I happen to throw an interception, I’ll look to get one back right away.”
It’s not easy to outsmart Nagel, who carries a 4.3 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and scored a 32 on his ACT. Among his 13 scholarship offers are strong academic schools such as Stanford, Northwestern and Boston College. Iowa and Purdue round out his top five choices. His older brother, Aaron, is a first-year player at Notre Dame.
“(Former Bears quarterback) Jim Harbaugh is the coach at Stanford, and I’m a big Bears fan,” said Nagel, who is being recruited as an outside linebacker by the Cardinal. “I went out there for a visit, and I like [Harbaugh] a lot.”
Florida, Michigan, Florida State and Wisconsin were among the glamor programs that made offers to Pocic.
“I was pretty open to the idea of playing at Florida and went there for a visit,” Pocic said. “It was so hot there at the end of July — 100 percent humidity. I wondered how players adjust to that heat when they’re practicing.
“I ended up choosing Illinois over Michigan and Wisconsin because Champaign feels like home. You look at how they’re playing — they’ve gotten so much better. I’ve got a chance to play right away with a rising football program.”
Nagel, Pocic and teammates Gordon Kickels, Willie Hayes, Bobby Earnest and Peter Corsi are three-year starters who played on the Hornets youth football team that won the southwest suburbs’ championship in 8th grade.
“After that, we thought that maybe we could all win a state championship at Lemont,” Pocic said. “Things got out of hand last year with a couple of guys getting suspended and one getting kicked off the team. We’re a lot closer as a football team this year, and we won’t let that happen again.”
The running game is clicking so well that Nagel has thrown only 12 passes in the first three games. He has five rushing touchdowns and two TD passes.
“It’s great having a lineman in front of you that is as good as Graham,” Nagel said. “If I get pressured or can’t find anywhere to go, I can always run to the right and know he will be driving his man back.”