Three years ago, Morgan Park’s Jovan Clark wasn’t wondering if he’d play college football.
He was wondering if he’d ever play again, period.
But Clark came back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament to become one of Illinois’ premier linebackers. On Wednesday at Morgan Park, Clark and two teammates made their college intentions official on the first day of the early signing period.
Clark, the state’s consensus No. 25 prospect in the 247Sports.com rankings, is headed to Washington State. Cornerback Jahmare Washington, ranked No. 26 in Illinois, is going to Wisconsin. Receiver Pierre Jackson Jr. is bound for Wyoming.
They headline a senior class that helped Morgan Park establish itself as the Public League’s dominant program with three straight trips to the Class 5A quarterfinals.
And they all took different paths to this point.
“I didn’t know if I was ever gonna return back to the field,” Clark said. “Coming back from an ACL is definitely tough. But I had a great support system: my family, my mom, my dad, my brothers, my sisters.
“The whole Morgan Park community just stuck by my side and was always with me throughout the whole journey.”
Clark is graduating soon and heading off to begin his next chapter early, making Wednesday a bittersweet day.
“It’s definitely sad,” he said. “I shed some tears. . . . I’m gonna be a little homesick, but it’s for business reasons.”
Washington, like other high school athletes navigating the recruiting process in the portal era, felt the weight of the decision he was making.
“The process was — I wouldn’t say stressful, but it wasn’t light to take on,” he said. “I was young . . . I was still going through things as a teenager, typical life things I had to grasp on my own. I had to stay level-headed. You’ve just got to stay true to what you want to do. . . . Now we’re here today.”
Jackson is the new kid in town, transferring to Morgan Park this year from a school in Georgia. The Mustangs made him feel at home right away.
“They’re like my brothers,” he said. “Straight walking in, we all clicked. It’s a business trip, time to go to work.”
Possibly because of the move, Jackson said, “The [recruiting] process was really slow. You’ve just got to trust the process, trust in God.”
Saying goodbye to this senior group won’t be easy for Morgan Park coach Chris James.
“You built the program to this level,” James said. “As a coach, those guys, those building blocks, you’re grateful for. . . . With [Tysean] Griffin, Chris [Durr Jr.], Jovan and Jahmare and Ahmad [Grayer] . . . we wouldn’t be in the position we are without those players.”
Griffin and Durr are freshman receivers at Illinois and Wyoming, respectively. Grayer is a senior defensive back who’s still uncommitted.
“Now we’re going to be a good program year in and year out,” James said. “And it’s going to be because of them.”