Although he had committed to the Air Force Academy to play college football last fall, Fenwick senior Jack Paris held off on signing in December because he wanted to see if his dream of playing for a Big Ten Conference institution would come to fruition.
Paris’ patience was rewarded as he announced on X (formerly Twitter), Feb. 3, his commitment to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Paris, who will sign his agreement on Feb. 5, made an official visit to the campus over the weekend, and upon conclusion, the Fighting Illini made an offer, and he immediately accepted.
“I’m really excited about it,” Paris told Wednesday Journal in an interview. “I’ve been talking with the coaches for a few months and they’ve been transparent with me, which made it easy to be patient. Last week, they called and said they wanted me for an official visit, so I jumped on it really quick.”
Paris got to tour the campus, including the Henry Dale and Betty Smith Football Center, a state-of-the-art facility that features large strength and conditioning areas, player development areas, locker rooms, position meeting rooms, and a lounge area among other amenities.
He also met with current Illinois players and coaches and felt plenty of good vibes from those meetings.
“I love the staff there,” Paris said. “[Head] Coach [Bret] Bielema, [linebacker] Coach (Archie) McDaniel, they’re just really great people and they’ve been good to me in the process.”
Bielema has led Illinois to postseason bowl games in two of the past three seasons. Last year, the Illini finished 10-3 – matching the school record for victories in a season – and defeated South Carolina in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve, 21-17 in a nationally televised game on ABC.
The excitement generated by Illinois encouraged Paris to keep his childhood hopes alive.
“It’s been my dream to play in the Big Ten,” he said, “and it’s been my dream to play at Illinois, 100 percent. We were at dinner Saturday night, and Coach Bielema told me I had the offer. I got up, shook his hand, and told him I’m committing to him. I told him I’ve been looking for a program like Illinois that has the culture he’s built there.”
Paris, who chose the Illini over Air Force, Vanderbilt University, and several Ivy League and Mid American Conference institutions, said Illinois reminded him of Fenwick’s established culture.
“It was like Fenwick on a bigger scale,” he said. “The coaches’ energy at the start of the visit was the same at the end, and they’re all players’ coaches.”
Paris is Fenwick’s second Class of 2025 recruit who will play collegiately in the Big Ten Conference. Nate Marshall signed his agreement with the University of Michigan in December. Paris said Friars’ head football coach Matt Battaglia provided valuable guidance during the recruiting process.
“I would go up to him and ask questions every other day,” he said. “He was always there for me, answering my questions. If he didn’t have an answer, he’d always get one, which is awesome. The process was so easy for me because I had much trust in Coach Battaglia.”
Paris’ officially signing on Feb. 5 will take place in a ceremony at the school.