Aleks Popovic didn’t join the parade of players signing national letters of intent on Wednesday.
That’s not to say the Lake Zurich senior tight end doesn’t know where he’ll play college football.
But what’s the rush?
The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Popovic, who announced his commitment to Grand Valley State on Sunday, said he plans to sign with the Division II program in February. That just adds two months to a process that, in his parents’ view, never should have started.
Popovic was allowed to give football a try as a freshman only because his mother didn’t know it was a no-cut sport at Lake Zurich. He said she assumed he wouldn’t make the team.
“Having never been allowed to play football to being a college football player is still crazy to me,” Popovic said. “After my sophomore year, I fell in love with the sport. Since then, I knew that I wanted to play at the next level.
“I also wanted to give back to my extremely hardworking parents by earning a scholarship. As soon as I set my path and locked my eyes on my goal, I went at it nonstop. I made sure to work my absolute hardest in every drill on the field all the way to getting the best grades possible.”
Popovic said he was drawn to Grand Valley State’s winning program and that it’s a place he could call home. The Lakers (10-2) have won at least eight games in each of the past six seasons and have won four Division II national championships since 2001.
“I took a great deal of time to make this decision,” Popovic said. “I knew it would be a life-changing decision for me. I wanted to make sure it was the perfect decision for me. I chose Grand Valley State because it has a winning culture, as well as a family bond like no other.”
Popovic said his family can look back at his journey with fondness, considering he worked his way up from the bottom.
“A few years ago, I knew absolutely nothing about the game of football,” he said. “I had never even worn pads until my freshman year. … It’s great to see that with determination and hard work, you can achieve any goal you set.”
Echevarria posts video: Antioch junior second baseman Eden Echevarria chose a dramatic, colorful way to announce her college commitment on Sunday.
Echevarria made a short video that starts with her walking to Antioch’s softball field and ends with red smoke coming out of her glove and her opening her jacket to reveal a white Wisconsin T-shirt.
Echevarria, who battled .476 with 57 runs scored, 19 doubles, 13 home runs and 52 RBIs last season, said creating the 34-second video was a long process that involved numerous people.
“My parents always had the idea of announcing my decision in a creative way that we had not seen before,” she said. “We decided to do it via a video. My dad, Saul, had a story in mind that he wanted to tell of a small-town girl committing to a major school, walking out to her high school varsity field and acknowledging where she comes from.
“We have a family friend, Tony Nunez, who owns a film company. He helped bring that story to life. We did the two-hour video shoot in one afternoon, and it took about two days for us to get the final video finished that we released.”
Echevarria said she poured over her options and visited five schools, including a few in the Big Ten, before picking Wisconsin.
“I felt Wisconsin offered the best fit for me, in both academics and athletics, and it was where I felt most at home,” she said. “Going to a major school was always a big dream of mine. I’ve always wanted to compete at the highest level possible by playing Division I in one of the Power Five conferences. Playing in the Big Ten is even better since being close to home is important to me.”
Tidbits: Stevenson senior offensive lineman Jason Hicks signed to play football at Butler. … Zion-Benton senior quarterback Tyshion Gordon picked up his third offer, this coming from Eureka College on Dec. 8. … Lake Forest senior Leo Anderson committed to play baseball at Johns Hopkins on Wednesday.
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.