Recently the IHSA made the difficult decision to postpone the football season until the spring of 2021 due to the global pandemic COVID-19. Illinois athletes and coaches have been forced to adjust their future plans and make new plans. BOOM football has chosen to begin a fall training academy to help athletes prepare for the spring of 2021.
The Academy has already caught the attention of the some of the top prospects in the area.
“I think it will benefit players by getting more exposure and just feel like it’s an opportunity where the best play against the best. It will definitely benefit everyone,” said Malachi McNeal.
McNeal is a class of 2021 prospect who holds offers from the likes of Kent State, Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green to name a few. During his junior season he received All-Conference and All-Area honors.
Jaden McGil a prospect with over a dozen scholarship offers has confirmed that he will participate in the academy.
“As soon as I saw BOOM post the information, I got excited. This is an opportunity to be competitive and go against some of the best in the state. We’ve been waiting Illinois football competition for a year and now we are getting it,” said McGil.
Incoming Bolingbrook freshman I’Marion Stewart had expectations of making a big splash for the Raiders this fall. Once the news of the spring season was announced he made a quick to decision as to where he would be spending the fall.
“I’m definitely going to have to play because that’s where I have a good time and put in extra work,” said Stewart.
Stewart recently picked up his first scholarship offer from Arizona State University.
Along with running the academy during the fall, BOOM will host fall football showcases this upcoming weekend. The event will be broken into events for middle school and high school athletes. This is likely the final opportunity to compete in a large setting before the academy begins.
St. Francis will be well represented at the showcase with recent Illinois State commit Tommy Rittenhouse and 2023 prospect TJ McMillan expected to be full participants. BOOM Football general manager J.R. Niklos confirmed that Carnell Tate (2023), Dontrell Jackson (2022), Trell Harris (2022) and Kaleb Miller (2023) are all registered for the event as well.