Nabolotny ends his recruiting nightmare

Glenbrook (Ill.) South two star ranked tight end prospect Michael Nabolotny (6-foot-6, 240 pounds) has ended his recruiting nightmare with an ending more suited for family audiences when Nabolotny called the coaches at the University of Illinois and gave the Illini his verbal commitment.

"I called the coaches at Illinois tonight (Thursday) and gave them my verbal commitment," Nabolotny said. "I basically was a lean to Illinois after Coach (Curt) Mallory called me a few weeks back and offered me, and I talked with my family tonight and decided to end my recruiting process."

Nabolotny is very relieved and excited to have made a commitment to the Illini, and talks about why he decided on Illinois.

"I'm thrilled to get an opportunity to play in the Big Ten. Illinois recruited me as a tight end, and that was a big selling point for me. Academically, Illinois is a great opportunity and the location is also great for my family. My family and I are really excited about my decision. I'm very familiar with the campus and the facilities at Illinois, and it seems like I've been down there a million times. I also felt really comfortable with the coaches and in particular Coach (Curt) Mallory, who also recruited me when he was at Indiana. In the end Illinois I feel is a great fit for me."

Nabolotny also talked about ending what he referred to as his recruiting nightmare.

"It was just a nightmare for me there for awhile. I had interest from Illinois early, then the coach got fired. Indiana? Fired. Miami of Ohio? Fired. I started to tell coaches that called that maybe I was a jinx or something. The one good thing that came out of those changes was that it gave me time to really think about my final college choice. I really wasn't sure at all until a few weeks ago when Illinois called and offered me a scholarship. The coaching changes definitely made it stressful at times, but in the end the nightmare is over with. I couldn't be happier."

In the end, it came down to three schools for Nabolotny.

"I was looking very hard at Miami of Ohio, Northern Illinois and Illinois. I appreciated the recruiting interest from those schools, and they all offered me a great opportunity. In the end I decided that Illinois was too good of a chance to pass up."