TE Sanders pulls the trigger

Springfield (Ill.) Sacred Heart Griffin #21 state ranked tight end prospect Jeff Sanders (6-foot-6, 235 pounds) had made a few college camps this summer, but Sanders decided to end his recruiting process on Friday afternoon and gave the Indiana Hoosiers his verbal commitment.

"I decided to end my recruiting process today," Sanders said. "I called the coaches at Indiana and gave them my verbal commitment."

Sanders talked about why he decided to verbal to the Hoosiers.

"For me, the more I thought about Indiana and all of the people involved in the football program including the coaches, Indiana just felt like the best place for me. Everyone at Indiana just treated me great, every without the recruit name tag on. Both head coach Terry Hoeppner and my recruiting coach Bill Lynch have been great, and they have also been very honest and straight forward during my recruiting process. They are a great staff and I really look forward to playing for them next year. Indiana just felt like home so I decided to commit to the Hoosiers."

Sanders also talked about why he decided to make an early verbal commitment.

"I really didn't want my recruiting to get in the way of preparing for my senior season. I camped at Illinois and Vanderbilt and the coaches at both schools said that I performed pretty well, and they talked about keeping close tabs on me. I just want to get ready for my senior season with no distractions, plus Indiana just seems like the ideal situation for me both academically and on the field. It just feels great to get all of the pressures of recruiting off my back now."

Sanders also talked about those involved and helped him during his recruiting process.

"My family has just been incredible during all of the calls and such. Also my head coach Ken Leonard has just been great during the recruiting process. Coach Leonard really went above and beyond to help me in this process and my family and I owe him a great deal."

Sanders was recruited by the Hoosiers as a tight end.