Cameron Brooks and Jarve Bey Jr. knew this day would come when they were playing together as kids.
The Homewood-Flossmoor High School defensive linemen officially signed to play college football on Dec. 18 in the school’s auditorium. It’s the culmination of a decade or so playing together.
“(Brooks) used to be a linebacker, actually. He was behind me and I had my hand in the dirt. He was making all the plays,” Bey said. “It’s definitely going to be weird to play without him because we’ve always played together. We’ve always been brothers.”
Illinois. (David P. Funk/H-F Chronicle)
Brooks, a three-star recruit, committed to the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in June. He visited Michigan, Kansas State, Kansas and others. The Illinois coaching staff was a major factor in his decision.
“I feel like the program is headed in the right direction. Coach (Bret Bielema) is one of the main reasons I committed there. I feel like he’s a standup guy who really believes in his players,” Brooks said. “Coach (Terrance) Jamison, the defensive line coach, is moving guys to the (NFL), Jer’Zahn Newton, Keith Randolph, guys like that. Those are guys I feel like I can emulate.”
The football plan is for the 6-foot-3, 285-pound Brooks to play a 3-technique defensive tackle. Illini coaches would like to see him add a little weight to play against Big Ten guards and tackles.
He’ll major in finance and kinesiology. Whenever football is finished, he’d like to be a strength coach.
Brooks is staying relatively close to home while Bey heads to the great white north of Winona State in Minnesota.
“Winona just felt like the place I needed to be. It felt just like H-F,” Bey said. “The place, the town, the coaches, it all just felt like I was used to.”
(David P. Funk/H-F Chronicle)
Bey said he considered Division I programs like Eastern Michigan and Miami of Ohio. He preferred the Warriors scheme and coaches. They want him to play a 2 or 3-technique on the interior defensive line.
He said he doesn’t mind doing that in the cold of the land of 10,000 lakes.
“My parents said they’ll make sure they’ll come out so I don’t get homesick,” Bey said. “It’s only a six-hour drive so it’s not that long.”
He’ll study exercise science with a major in education and a minor in English with the goal to be a teacher.
Green to play for back-to-back champs
Myles Green wanted to play for a champion.
That’s why the H-F defensive back signed with South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits are the defending two-time FCS national champions.
“My first time up there it just felt like home but I also know I can get developed in my position there,” Green said. “Going into a winning program, knowing that they develop even at the level that they’re at, people don’t look at them as one of the big teams in college football but I think they could be very big.”
championship program in college. (David P. Funk/H-F Chronicle)
SDSU has produced seven NFL draft picks since 2018, a much higher number than most FCS schools.
Green played both in the defensive backfield and as a wide receiver for the Vikings. He’ll be a cornerback in college but Jackrabbits coaches are open to giving him a chance to play offense, as well.
“I think going there early (for the second semester), there’s definitely an opportunity to play as a true freshman,” he said.
Green visited North Dakota State and Kent State, too. He said the isolation of one of the least densely populated areas of the country is a positive thing.
“I can just focus on football with no distractions,” Green said. “I wouldn’t say I was looking for that but once I seen it, I was like ‘Yeah, this is what I need.’”
Green will study architecture engineering. He hopes to someday own his own firm and design houses.
