Lane Alumni

Wayne Gutowsky (city indoor and outdoor shot put champ 1957); Fritz Pollard (NFL Hall of Fame); Johnny Weissmuller (World Record Holder, starred as Tarzan, has a star in the Hollywood Hall of Fame); Godfrey Danchima (Comedian and Actor), Bato Govedarica (NBA and DePaul star, Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame);

Lane has had many great teams over the years. What made these teams great is the overall system, tradition, and expectations that one has when someone wears the Myrtle and the Gold. Also, every single individual associated with the team helps in the teams success. What makes a team great is not the individual stars on the team, the overall record of the team, or whether they won any city championships. To measure success by those metrics would diminish the efforts of every contributor to the team. A team is successful if the members on the team have worked to their best ability and utilized the potential that they had. So to me the person that puts the greatest effort or tries the hardest will always be great indicator of achievement. Those individuals are putting forth the necessary effort and work to become the best possible athlete they can be regardless of talent level. That is why it is very difficult for me to make the following list. The following lists are individuals who happened to be outstanding athletes at Lane and have gone on to play beyond the high school level. It is by no means my intention to state that they were the most important members of their team that year. Rather, they are individuals who happened to have the ability to play at another level beyond high school.

The list obviously is incomplete. If you know of anyone who needs to be added to this list or recognize any corrections to be made, please contact me the information and we will get him/her posted.

Table of Lane Tech Alumni Who Have Competed Beyond the High School Level

Name	Year	Sport	Level Beyond High School	Notes
Fritz Pollard	n/a	Football	National Football League (Akron Pros), Brown University	First African American Head Coach in the National Football League; In 2005 Inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame; State of Illinois Track Champion in 1912 in the 440 yard dash with a time of 53 seconds
Johnny Weissmuller	1922?	Swimming	Olympics	Attended Lane Tech but never graduated. He broke 24 world records in swimming including the 300-meter free style and 100 free style. Won 5 Olympic gold medals, 1 bronze medal, and two Chicago Marathons. The most famous on-screen Tarzan. He has a star on the Hollywood Hall of Fame
Lou Gordon	1926	Football	University of Illinois; NFL: Chicago Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Bears	Played in the NFL from 1930-1938 .
Phil Cavaretta	1934	Baseball	Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox	1945 National League MVP.
Bill Fisher	1944	Football	Notre Dame, Chicago Cardinals	Notre Dame ('46-'48), Chicago Cardinals ('49-'53) College Football Hall of Fame
Irv Medlinger	1945	Baseball	St. Louis Browns (MLB)	(LT '45), pitched for the St. Louis Browns in 1949 and 1951.
Bato Govederica	1946?	Basketball	DePaul; NBA (Syracuse Nationals)	All-State player; member of Illinois basketball hall of fame; Chicago Basketball Hall of Fame.
Jim Flemming	1957	Basketball	DePaul	Cager of the year for Lane in 1956, played basketball for DePaul 1958-61, inducted to the DePaul Hall of Fame in 1993, attended his 50th class reunion
Jim Woods	1957	Baseball	Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies	Chicago Cubs ('57), Philadelphia Phillies ('60-'61)
Wayne Gutowsky	1957	Track and Field	Western Michigan University	Indoor and Outdoor City Champion in the Shot Put; attended Western Michigan University where he ran track from 1957-1961; There he held the school record (Indoor and Outdoor) in the shot put and discus.
Robert Johnson	1957 ?	Football	University of Michigan
Mike Laferty	1957	Basketball/Baseball	Colleges,-Contra Costa Jc, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Cal State Hayward	All-conference
Russ Asala	1957	Football	Northwestern University	3 year starting lineman
John Stamos	1958?	Football	University of Michigan
Chuck Logan	1959	Football	Northwestern, Pittsburg Steelers, St. Louis Cardinals	Northwestern ('61-'63), Pittsburgh Steelers ('64), St Louis Cardinals ('65, '67-'68)
Frank Lollino	1959	Football	University of Illinois	1959 grad Frank V. Lollino lettered in football at Lane and went to play at Uof Illinois class of 1963. in addition to coaching high school he was the coach who put chicago westinghouse bsketball high school on the map. he won 331 games at westinghouse and coached 3 nba all stars( mark aguirre, eddie jones and hersey hawkins) winning 2 city championships. he finished his career at LT after a college coaching stint and ended with 517 career victories and hall of fame memberships in the cplbca and ibca.
Mike Schwager	1959	Football	Northwestern	Academic All Big 10 ('64)
John Felske	1960	Baseball	Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies	Chicago Cubs ('68), Milwaukee Brewers ('72-'73), manager Philadelhia Phillies ('85-'87)
Len Church	1960	Baseball	Chicago Cubs	Chicago Cubs ('66)
Bill Ashworth	1962	Golf	University of Illinois	Baseball and Track at Lane. Golf at the University of Illinois.
Jim Urban	1962?	Golf	University of Illinois	He was Chicago City Amateur champ at one time
Jerry Szukala	1963	Baseball	University of Illinois; minor league baseball (Chicago Cubs)	AFTER COACHING AT WENDELL PHILLIPS HIGH SCHOOL HE COACHED AT LANE FROM 1983 TO 1995; 10th all time in the IHSA in wins for baseball
Steve Bukieda	1964	Cross Country	University of Oregon	Led Lane Tech's 1963-64 state championship cross country team by finishing 2nd place overall.
Lee Buzz Capra	1965	Baseball	New York Mets, Atlanta Braves	New York Mets ('71-'73), Atlanta Braves ('74-'77)
Steve Livas	1967	Football	University of Illinois
Peder Dahlberg	1967	Swimming	University of Indiana	Peder Dahlberg was an American record holder in the 100m breaststroke and competed at Indiana when Mark Spitz was there. Olympian?
Tony Chronis	1968	Football	University of Illinois	Lane Tech Football Booster Club president and Assistant Football Coach at Lane Tech for many years.
George Tyms	1968	Track and Field	Northern Illinois University; member of USA National Team	state shot put title in 1968 ; won the state title on a cold rainy day with a throw of 57-6 1/4. About 2 weeks later, I set a city of record of 61-1, which eclipsed the old mark by over 5 feet and stood for 23 years. I continued on at Northern Illinois University where my Lane teammate Rick Bilder ('69), who was 3rd in state and had a best of about 59-6, joined me the following year. Together we dominated shot putting in the Midwest for a number of years. During 1972 we both topped the 60-foot barrier for the first time making NIU one of only three colleges in America with two 60-foot throwers. Although I qualified for 6 NCAA championship meets (placed 7th in 1970 indoors) it was Rick who finally broke through in 1973 and won NIU's first NCAA medal in track. For the remainder of the '70s we both continued our athletic careers for the powerful University of Chicago Track Club and qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1972, 1976, and 1980, where Rick was a finalist. During those years we each won medals at national championship meets. In 1976 I was a member of the U.S. national team for the USA vs. USSR indoor meet in Leningrad. At career's end it was fitting that after being teammates for most of 12 years we were separated by only 1 3/4 inches as Rick's best effort was 65-3 and mine was 65-1 1/4. In 2000 we were inducted together into the NIU Hall of Fame and coach Len Jareczek served as our presenter.(Furthermore, the MC that night was NIU radio announcer Bill Baker, also a Lane Tech grad!). Sadly, "Big Rick" passed away suddenly in 2001 at age 50 and "Coach" passed away just a few months ago. It was a great run and I'll never forget those days that all began in Gym 3 one December day in 1964.
Rick Bilder	1969	Track and Field	Northern Illinois University	3rd in state and had a best of about 59-6, Rick who finally broke through in 1973 and won NIU's first NCAA medal in track; qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1972, 1976, and 1980, where Rick was a finalist. During those years we each won medals at national championship
Paul Rudolph	1969	Football	University of Minnesota
Ken Ferguson	1971	Football	Drake University	Chicago Sun-times player of the year 1970
Andre Allen	1971	Wrestling	Northwestern University	NCAA All American at Northwestern University and 2^nd in IHSA State Wrestling tournament 1971 126lbs.
Ed Tankersly	1972	Football	Arkansas State University, North Park College	A great Lane running back. Led the nation in rushing for Division III colleges.
Phil Ferguson	1973	Football	n/a
Mike Morgan	1973	Football, also ran track	University of Wisconsin, Chicago Bears (Pre-season)	Made it to the pre-season roster of the Chicago Bears. Now works for the state of Wisconsin.; also made it to the Bears Roster where he returned 5 kicks.
Leonard Robascewski	1974	Football	Winona State 74, Wright Junior College 76-77, NE Illinois 78 - 79	played defensive tackle
Dennis Kern	1974?	Cross Country Track	Southern Illinois University	has to be confirmed that he ran track/cross country at SIU.
John Andreasik	1975?	Football	Wright Junior College 76 -77, Valparaiso university - 78 - 79	played defensive end
Jim Stahl	1975	Football	North Central 75 - 78	played quarterback
Len Petty	1975?	Football	Wisconsin 76 - 79	OC
Greg Konieczko	1976	Football	Wright Junior College; Northeastern State (Tahlequa, OK)	played center
Mike Burkett	1976	Football	Jackson College, Wright Junior College	played defensive tackle
Jeff Mazur	1976	Football	Southern Illinois 76, Wright Junior College 77-78, Northeastern Ill. 79 -80	played offensive tackle
Steve Walker	1976	Football	Wright Junior College 77-78, Northern Illinois 79-80	played defensive back
John Todesco	1976	Football	Augustana University 76 -80	played offensive guard
Mike Lampa	1976	Football	Northern Illinois 76 -77	played offensive guard
Peter Batsakis	1976	Football	Princeton 76-77?	played offensive tackle
Phil Lopez	1976	Football	John Caroll(OHIO) 76-79	played fullback
Tim Moylan	1976	Football	Rock Valley Comm College - 76 - 77, Northern Colorado 78 - ?	played running back
Gino Belmonte	1977	Football	North Park College
Rudell White	1979(?)	Football	Oklahoma University	Rudell White III played football for Lane for four years. Started on first team all four years.Letter in his second year and went Oklahoma university in 1980 (needs to be confirmed if/how much football he played at Oklahoma)
Glenn Anderson	1979	Football	Southern Illinois University
Franco Laterza	1979	Football	Southern Illinois University
Renwick Atkins	1980	Football	Kansas
Tom Barrett	1980	Football	WIU
Richard Blackmon	1980	Football	SIU
Kevin Kolakowski	1980	Football	North Park College	Played quarterback in both high school and college.
Matt Marino	1980	Football	Ball State
Danny Jarret	1980	Basketball	Butler University
Gary Kuykendall	1980	Football	?
Craig Nash	1980	Football	Monmouth College	Played Nose Tackle
Jim Federici	1981	Baseball	University of Illinois at Chicago	All Section and All City - senior year as a outfielder on the City Champ runner up team in 1981.
Greg Watson	1981	Football	Southern Illinois University
Robert Popowski	1981	Football	Michigan
Ron (Chip) Fisher	1981	Football	University of Iowa	QB/DB/KR/PR; played in class 6A football team that went to the state semi-finals.
Ron Ellingson	1981	Football	Triton
Robert Gloeckler	1981	Football	Triton
Earl Barnes	1982	Football	Lake Forest
Kevin Bor	1982	Football	Triton/SW Missouri State
Norm Kaiser	1982	Football	Lake Forest
Mark Jacobs	1982	Football	Triton/Culver Stockton in MO
Mark Nelson	1982	Football	North Park
Mike Kuykendall	1982	Football	NEIU
Menus Moore	1982	Football	NEIU
Matt Morgan	1983	Football	Purdue
Eric Morgan	1983	Football	Wyoming
Walter 'Butch' Brzeski	1983	Football	Triton/EIU
Alan Washer	1983	Football	COD
Ricky Velez	1983	Football	COD
Hector Melendez	1983	Football	COD
Jack Cuchran	1983	Football	Mankato State MN/Triton
Bobby Partee	1983	Football	NEIU
Dan Prinn	1983	Football	Southeast Dakota State
Doug Pennington	1983	Football	Northern Illinois; Northwestern Uniersity	Played linebacker.
Mike Flammang	1984	Football	Western Kentucky/Harper College/ Northern Iowa
Dave Ganir	1984	Football	`NEIU, Chicago Chargers`	`(Semi-Pro 1988-1993)`
`Mark Hedrick`	1984	Football	NEIU
Pete Jansons	1984	Football	SIU
Thomas Maheras	1985	Football	Harper Community College / Butler University
`Rick Metzgar`	1985	Football	Elmhurst College
Terry Rice	1985	Football	NEIU
Ronald Rogers	1985	Football	Ohio University
Curtis Spears	1985	Football	Northwestern
Michele Giampapa	1985	Cross Country Track	n/a	Finished second in the state in the 1600 meter run in 1985. Lane’s highest placing female athlete in track and field.
Tod Scwager	1986	Football	Eastern Illinois	Tod Schwager(one d in Tod) was not the son of Michael Schwager, but I am his nephew. I played on the City championship team 1985 with Rob Barry as OG, and then played at Eastern Illinois as a OG and Center. I was also a sectional Champion for the 50 Free(1987) and 400 free relay(1984) for swimming. I am currently teaching Social Studies and coaching swimming at Wheeling High School. - Tod Schwager
Les O'Hara	1986	Football	Minnesota
Don Cuchran	1986	Baseball	Illinois
John Tayler	1986	Football	`Ohio University`
Bill Garret	1986	Football	Ohio University	`remains to this day the #1 all time solo tackler in that schools history`
Robert Barry	1986	Football	Northern Illinois University	OT for 1985 city championship football team; as of 2007 works for the County of San Diego
James Palombo	1986	Sprint Football	U.S. Naval Academy
Milo Popovich	1986	Football	`Moraine Valley CC/ Northern Iowa`
Chris Spade	1986	Football	`Moraine Valley CC`
Darrin Hunter	1986	Football	`Moraine Valley CC/ University of St. Francis`
Adrian Moore	1986	Basketball	Iowa State University	Lane Tech's last basketball player to play major division 1 basketball. Led team to conference championship. 16-1 conference record was the best ever conference record for any Lane Tech team. Played in coach Ken Olson's last year as head coach for Lane after a 15 year stint
Godfrey Danchima	1987	Football	University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana	Godfrey is now a star comedian and actor. He has had roles in Zoolander, Johnson Family Vacation, and Soul Plane. Visit an article written up on him at: http://www.stressfactory.com/comics/godfrey.html
Eddie Romero	1987	Baseball	Lewis University	`Baseball All-City in 1987; Played Shortstop/2B at Lewis University 1988-1991; Lewis was ranked in the top 5 Div. 2 programs in the NCAA during the late 80's; Assistant Baseball Coach Frosh/Soph at Lane in 1991 and 1992.`
Steve Rhee	1987	Football	Drake University	From Steve Rhee: (QB) "I was on the 85 championship team and started a game in the playoffs when we won City. Played with Les O'Hara, Don Cuchran, Popovic, John Taylor, Bill Garrett, Rob Barry, Todd Schwager and a slew of others from that Championship team. I was public league north all section, and area mvp ( pioneer press) for my senior year. Derrick Faulkner RB, Norman Kerr FB, were also all section. We lost in the 1st round of state and City Semifinals to Morgan Park my senior "
Derek Faulkner	1987	Football	SIU	RB played CB at SIU, made all conference I think his junior or senior year.
Mirko Sradonivich	1987?	Football	Eastern Illinois University	RT- Played at Eastern Illinois with Tod Schwager. I believe Mirko got hurt.
John Trumbolivic	1987?	Football	Illinois State University	LT Played at Illinois State University
Tony Campanella	1987?	Football	North Park College	DB played at North Park College
Norman Kerr	1987	Football	NAIA school?	FB went on to play at an NAIA school
Todd Schwager	1987	Football	Eastern Illinois University	Son of Mike Schwager ('59)
Kevin Krebs	1988	Football	Northwestern University	made Academic All Big 10 ('89, '90, '91)
Alex Rodriguez	1989	Football	Ohio State University	Chicago Sun times Player of the Year
Victor Gonzalez	1989	Cross Country	University of Illinois at Chicago
Dave Fiorito	1989	Cross Country	University of Illinois at Chicago
Phil Kopinsky	1989	Cross Country	University of Illinois at Chicago
Azree Commander	1991	Football	University of Wisconsin
Sean Grosvenor	1992	Gymnastics	University of Illinois at Chicago	Grosvenor won individual state championships in the floor exercises and rings in 1991 and floor exercises in 1992. He also took 2nd in the state in the vault in 1991 and 2nd in the state in horizontal bar in 1992. As a result he finished 2nd in the state all-around in 1991 and in 1992.
Greg Smith	1992	Football	Purdue University	Played fullback at Lane Tech; Academic All Big 10 ('94-'95)
Kendrick Gholston	1992	Football	Louisville
Aaron Marshall	1993	Football	University of Colorado	Lane Tech's only Parade All-American ('93)
Cyron Brown	1993	Football	University of Illinois, Denver Borncos (NFL), Philadelphia Soul, Colorado Avalanche (AFL)	Played for the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl.
Pierre Michel (facebook pic)	1995	Football	Morehouse College	"My name is Pierre A. Michel (# 72 pic is up on the Lane Tech Football alumni Facebook page). I played left OT at Lane (varsity 94-95) and was named 2nd team All-City by the Sun-Times in 1995. Accepted an athletic scholarship to Morehouse College and was moved to left guard - played in the 1st 3 games of the 95-96 season before suffering a sever knee dislocation that ended my career."
Brad Pearson	1998	Wrestling	North Central College	message from Brad: I am a Lane Tech alumni. I graduated in 1998. I wrestled at Lane and went on to wrestle at North Central College. I currently am a blue belt in jiu-jitsu and compete occasionally. Eventually I look to compete in mixed martial arts.
Vaugn Grey	1998	Track	Monmouth College
Lee Sharping	1999	Boys Volleyball	DIII Milwaukee School of Engineering
Paul Yee	1999	Boys Volleyball	DII Milwaukee School of Engineering	Currently Head Women’s Volleyball Coach at DIII Mary Baldwin College
Nick Logalbo	2000?	Basketball	Illinois Bendictine	Current Lane Tech boys varsity head coach
Stephanie Metzger	2000	Volleyball	Lake Forest College
Gideon Akande	2002	Football	Holy Cross	Bruising all-city running back who also ran downstate for track and was all-city in wrestling.
Erik Benz	2003	Football	Northern Illinois University	ILB
Melissa Wegner	2002	Softball	Lake Forest College	2006 ESPN Academic All-American
Cortez Evans	2002	Football	Concordia St-Paul, Minnesota State Moorhead	Played fullback for Lane. As of 2007, a Defensive Line coach at Macallester College in St. Paul, MN.
Lincoln DePaula	2003	Football	Harper College	Also ran track ; free safety and split end at Lane; helped Harper to first ever national championship.
Whitney Beals	2004	Cross Country/Track	Illinois State University	Holds the last known fastest time in the 800 meter run in Lane Tech girls track history.
Dwayne Pillow	2005	Football	Harper College
Deon Flowers	2005	Football	Wheaton College
Couri Benz	2005	Football/Baseball	Oakton Community College; Long Island University	Public League record breaking (TD passes) QB for Lane Tech city championship football team. Pitcher for Lane Tech's city championship baseball team
Jacqueline Vera	2006	Girls Soccer	Loyola University	Pioneer Press Top 50 Female Senior Athletes of 2005
Robert Tabaka	2006	Boys Soccer	Illinois Wesleyan
Laura Ciesla	2006	Volleyball	Caldwell College	starred in both basketball and volleyball for Lane Tech.
Ed Cortez	2006	Football	Harper College
Benjamin Vidal Gomez	2006	Football	Dubuque
Xavier Torres	2006	Football	Central Michigan University	Pioneer Press Top 50 Male Senior Athletes of 2005 video
Jorge Robles	2006	Football	St. Xavier	Played cornerback; video
Laura Barnhardt	2006	Volleyball Basketball	Carthage College	Pioneer Press Top 50 Female Senior Athletes of 2005
Jorge Espinosa	2006	Track and Field	University of Illinois at Chicago
Edwin Rodriguez	2007	Soccer	Dominican University	Helped lead Lane Tech to a state supersectional appearance in 2005.
Diane Karouzos	2007	Hockey	St. Cloud State	Also played on the girls softball team.
Amy Nokes	2007	Volleyball	Charleston Southern
Peter Bielecki	2007	Soccer	Illinois Wesleyan (?)
Jamelle Williams	2007	Wrestling	University of Chicago	Williams is a two time city champion runner up and in 2007 became the first Lane Tech wrestler to qualify for the IHSA state meet in years.
Stephanie Hughes	2007	Track/Cross Country	DePaul University	One of Lane Tech's best female distance runners.
Fuad Salami	2007	Track	Southern Illinois University	Likely holds the school record in the 100 meter dash.
Lalo Bellamy	2007	Basketball	Bakersfield Community College (California)	starting center on Lane Tech Basketball Team
Shelton Jackson	2007	Basketball	Kankakee Community College	Shooting guard on basketball team; one of Lane's top scorers in the last 20 years.
Chris Anton	2007	Football	North Park College	Wide receiver and special teams star.
Kenny Blanks	2007	Track	Southern Illinois University
Kevin Beltran	2007	Track and Cross Country	University of Colorado	Holds one of the fastest time for Lane Tech in the 800 meter run.
Chris Gollardo	2008	Cross Country	DePaul University
Daniella Torres	2008	Softball	Miami of Ohio
Rodolfo Fransual	2008	Soccer	Morton College	i am playing soccer at morton college and i am currently captain and top scorer of my team, i was also named one of the top players of the week in the njcaa division 1 soccer - rodolfo (October 2009); also kicked on the football team and started on the boys volleyball team.
Morgan Monroe	2008	Track and Field	Purdue Univerrsity	http://purduesports.cstv.com/sports/c-track/mtt/monroe_morgan00.html; hold Public League record in 300 meter hurdles; 3rd in state in 300 meter hurdles
Maria Joyce	2009	Basketball	Illinois Central College
Jordan Holod	2009	Basketball	Morton College
Darrius Rhodes	2009	Basketball	Morton College
Anthony Jantke	2009	Football	Concordia College
Siobhan Stahl	2009	Girls Soccer	Monmoth College
Cameron Hill	2009	Boys Basketball	Stillman College
Idia Omiagate	2009	Tennis, Track	DePaul University (running track)	All-state track in the 100 meter dash; multiple state qualifier tennis
Deonte Griggs	2009	Track	University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
Demetrius Jacobs	2009	Track	University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
Chritopher Kyles	2009	Track	DePaul University	All-state 4x200 meter relay; 3rd in the state in the 100 meter dash his senior year; started as safety for city championship football team.
Fernando Arroyo	2009	Cross Country	Morton Community College	All-city 3200 meter run.

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4 New Names Added/Update to List of Lanenites Who Played Beyond High School

Northwestern University, University of Michigan, Purdue, Kansas University, and Minnesota.... just some of the schools Lanenites have played for in the past.

In the Lane Tech Alumni section of this website, there is a list of Lanenites who have played beyond the High School level. When the list was first made on August 25, 2006, there was a total of only 27 names on this list. The list was obviously incomplete. Since then thanks to a gracious contribution of Walter “Butch” Brzeski, we have added more names to the list. Below is a list of new names that have recently been added to the list. Lane TechFan.com gives a gracious thank you to all who add to this list which give due recognition to some of the athletes who have contributed to Lane’s success in the past. There will be more names coming soon.

Here are some Lane Tech alums and their colleges they played for (all from the Sam Bronswick years - 31 players by my count and could be more):

***all football unless noted****

1980:

Renwick Atkins (Kansas)

Tom Barrett (WIU)

Richard Blackmon (SIU)

Matt Marino (Ball State)

Gary Kuykendall (Triton/NEIU?)

1981:

Robert Popowski (Michigan).......

August 26, 2006

Jacqueline Vera Signs to Play Soccer for Loyola University

Jacqueline Vera (class of 2006) has been called the best girls soccer player to ever come out of the Public League. Her statistics speak for themselves. In addition to leading Lane to 2 city championships; she is also the....

Xavier Torres Signs to Play Football for Central Michigan University

In 2004 Xavier Torres was an important in Lane's football city championship; But in a team filled with many stars including All-City Quarterback Couri Benz, receiver Dwayne Pillow (currently playing football at Harper... )