Fiedorowicz at top of class
FOOTBALL | Johnsburg TE leads what Lemming calls bumper crop of area juniors
February 14, 2009
BY TAYLOR BELL
Any evaluation of the most outstanding three-sport male athletes in Illinois high school history must include Johnsburg?s C.J. Fiedorowicz in a conversation with Dike Eddleman, Charlie Hoag, Willie May, Homer Thurman, Bob Trumpy and Dave Butz.
Fiedorowicz, a 6-7, 245-pounder with 4.55-second speed in the 40-yard dash, has attracted 11 big-time scholarship offers as a tight end in football and two Big Ten offers in basketball. He also can throw a 91 mph fastball but might pass up baseball this spring to compete in the 100, 200 and 400 meters and perhaps the discus in track and field. He has been timed in 11.1 seconds for 100 meters.
Chicago Area?s Top 30 Juniors Fiedorowicz is the top-rated football prospect in the Chicago area in the Class of 2010. Other junior standouts are Notre Dame-bound offensive lineman Christian Lombard of Fremd, wide receiver Kyle Prater of Proviso West, defensive end Chance Carter of Loyola, Illinois-bound defensive back Corey Cooper of Proviso East and quarterbacks Chandler Whitmer of Downers Grove South and John Whitelaw of Hinsdale Central.
??It is an outstanding class, one of the best in the last 20 years,?? said recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, who has been observing the process for three decades. ??Of course, you have to temper everything because things change from now to May [when college coaches make their personal evaluations]. But several kids are getting multiple offers now. That?s a good indicator that the college recruiters mean business.??
Fiedorowicz knows his future is in football. He already has narrowed his list to six schools and plans to make a decision in the spring so he can concentrate on his senior season. He said he will choose Iowa, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue or Illinois. But he admits he would like to consider Florida and USC, if they offer.
??He looks like he should be in the NFL already,?? Lemming said. ??He has great size and speed, and he has production to back him up.??
Johnsburg coach Todd Winter said he has produced 17 Division I football players and two who played in the NFL.
??But I have never had a kid who was so athletic,?? he said. ??People look at him and can?t believe how athletic he is.??
Curiously, Fiedorowicz didn?t play football until eighth grade because he was too heavy for youth leagues. But he accelerated quickly. As a freshman, he played four games on the sophomore squad, then was promoted to the varsity for the last five games and amassed 400 yards receiving.
As a junior, he caught 49 passes for 809 yards and 11 touchdowns in nine games, also played linebacker, was co-most valuable player of the Fox Valley Conference?s Fox Division and was a member of the Sun-Times? 25-man All-Area squad.
??When I got my first letter ? from UCLA when I was a freshman ? it made me realize I had a future in football,?? he said. ??Until then, I didn?t know I was that good. Now they say I?m No. 1 in the class. I don?t want to get a big head about it, but it gives me motivation to work harder.
??I want to get my decision out of the way, maybe by spring. Recruiting has been kind of crazy, a lot of phone calls, a lot of letters. I have school and sports all year-round, and it?s hard to make visits and do everything I have to do. I want to have a great senior year.?
