Plenty Of Time and Options

The recruiting process can seem a little overwhelming to those prospects and their families who have never been through it but then there’s the prospects that have had the advantage of watching an older brother go through the process before him. Enter Nick Clancy, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound linebacker from Joliet (Ill.) Catholic is calm, cool and collective.

It’s seems almost the en vogue thing to do these days, make an early commitment. I for one was for the early commitment but through the years I’ve watched many young men make a commitment in July only to back out in December and pledge another school.

Most of the change of heart comes from bad advice given along the way during the recruiting process or they weren’t as informed about the school of their choice as they once thought. Linebacker Nick Clancy had the chance to watch his older brother, Chris Clancy, now a starting linebacker for Ball State go through the process.

“We’re definitely not in a hurry,” said Mike Clancy, the father of Nick Clancy. “Nick wanted to start narrowing things down but I told him from past experiences that were not even close to making those decisions yet.

“I’d say Nick is completely wide open. We have offers from Purdue, Boston College, Vanderbilt, Illinois, Colorado, Iowa State, Northern Illinois, Ball State, Toledo, Air Force, Wyoming and Eastern Michigan.”

Nick Clancy wasn’t available for comment but he did have this to say about schools that may have the inside track for an official visit.

“Vanderbilt was one of the first schools to offer Nick a scholarship and we’re definitely thinking about getting in touch with them to set up an official visit. As a family, we’ve spent a lot of time in Tennessee and we love it down there.

“Boston College is another school that’s high on Nick’s list. Coach Jags (Jeff Jagodzinski) and Coach (Don) Yanowsky have been very good to us and they’ve made us feel comfortable about the distance factor.

“Purdue is one of the first schools to offer and I know that Nick likes (Purdue assistant coach) Mark Hagen a lot. Colorado is definitely in the mix. Northwestern has done a great job in recruiting us and we’ve talked to [former Joliet Catholic linebacker] Chris Jeske on more than a few occasions about Northwestern.”

What about Illinois? Do the home-state Illini have a shot at getting Nick Clancy on campus for an official visit.

“There’s a definite possibility that Nick will visit Illinois.” Mr. Clancy said. “Illinois didn’t show a whole lot of interest in Nick at first but Curt Mallory is keeping in constant contact with us and we’re getting a better feel for them.”

Look for Nick Clancy to set up his official visits during the season and to make a verbal commitment sometime after his senior season. Clancy is poised to have a big 2007 campaign starting with a meeting with rival Mt. Carmel this Sunday at Soldier Field.