Antioch's Watson, Warren's Saul sign with ISU

On the start of the early-signing period for college football recruits Wednesday, he didn't miss an opportunity to make his choice known. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound wide receiver/defensive back announced on Twitter that he was signing with Illinois State University.

Watson had more than a dozen scholarship offers heading into the season.

He injured his knee in Week 3 and missed the Sequoits' next six games, before playing in two playoff games. He had 8 receptions for 89 yards in a second-round playoff loss to Cary-Grove.

Illinois State's 2020 class also includes Warren kicker/punter Adam Saul, who made 56 of 57 PAT kicks and drilled 6 field goals this past season for the Class 8A state runner-up.

"With each class, we like to find some guys that can come right in and contribute for us if we can," ISU coach Brock Spack said. "Those guys have to fit our culture of character and responsibility here, and we want players who strive to achieve, both on the field and in the classroom. In recent classes, we've been able to do that well as many of our recent recruits were key to the success of our program in 2019. We hope this class continues that trend, and I'm sure that you will know some of these names very soon."

Among the other Lake County athletes who took advantage of the early-signing period were Warren's defensive tackle Willis Singleton (Iowa State), Warren running back Derrick McLaughlin (Indiana State), Stevenson defensive back Jordan Vincent (Eastern Illinois), Stevenson offensive lineman Ean Norenberg (Harvard), Lake Zurich tight end Hunter Welcing (Northwestern) and Lake Zurich quarterback/wide receiver Jack Moses (Northwestern).