January 19, 2012
Michigan, MSU line up for aggressive blocker Ethan Pocic of Illinois
Sam Webb
Ethan Pocic has offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, West Virginia and Wisconsin. (Photo courtesy of Sam Webb)
The state of Illinois' 2013 football recruiting class likely will go down as one of its best in recent memory, and the position that will be most responsible for that distinction is the offensive line. Names like Kyle Bosch (Wheaton St. Francis) and Logan Tuley-Tillman (Peoria Manual) have already been profiled in The Detroit News, but possibly the best of the bunch is the focus of this week's feature ? Lemont Township High star Ethan Pocic.
This 6-foot-6, 280-pound left tackle prospect was an imposing presence on a team that went 12-1 and lost in the state semifinals last season. For his exemplary play in the trenches he was awarded All-State honors and invitations to the Army, Under Armour, and Semper Fidelis All American games. He added another accolade Monday when he was named the top lineman at the Core6 Winter Showcase in Westmont, Ill. Former Iowa and All-Big Ten offensive lineman Mike Jones is line coach for Core6 and believes Pocic has all the tools to be elite.
"Ethan was unquestionably our MVP," Jones said afterward. "You just look at him in person and he looks like an NFL left tackle. He reminds me a lot physically of Brian Bulaga from Iowa and the current Packers right tackle. He just has a great frame that college coaches love to look at. When you see him move, run, change direction, and compete ? you like him even more. He's a physical, aggressive run blocker. He really likes to run block. As a coach you can try to teach a kid as much technique in run blocking as you want, but if they don't want to do it, it's hard. So the great thing about Ethan is he loves run blocking. He's a tough kid. He likes to get after it and coaches love that."
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