Marmion senior Bobby Winkel considered Northern Illinois football coach Jerry Kill a straightforward man after only a handful of meetings with him.
That's a good place for any Huskies recruit to start, but at the time, Winkel was only pondering the possibility of joining the team as a preferred walk-on fullback.
In cementing his decision late last week, Winkel used the words of his soon-to-be boss as ultimate guide.
"A preferred walk-on gets all the clothes, all the tutors, all the scheduling assistance," he began, channeling Kill. "It's exactly like being on the team, just without the scholarship money."
More than anything, the opportunity to play at an NCAA Division I school motivated Winkel, a two-way player who was named to the Chronicle's All-Area team as a linebacker.
Several other programs courted him, including Division III Augustana and Lake Forest, leaving the Batavia native to comfortably take his time as last month's national signing day neared.
He visited with Kill again on Feb. 23 and decided to move on to DeKalb.
"The thought in my head was you only get one chance to play at this level, and not a lot of people get that chance," Winkel said. "I feel that I can compete in Division I and I know I have the work ethic to succeed."
Winkel figures that drive will guide his goal to bulk up from 220 pounds to about 230. He stands 6-foot-1 1/2 and isn't ruling out one final growth spurt. Two uncles on his mom's side of the family shot up to 6-4 during college, while another reached 6-3.
Still, he feels his present size puts him in a good position, even if the Huskies come calling for help at linebacker. Winkel forced two fumbles and grabbed an interception as a senior while rushing for 646 yards in 148 attempts (4.3 average) and six touchdowns.
Winkel joins Geneva senior defensive back and Chronicle Player of the Year Michael Santacaterina as a preferred walk-on at NIU. Vikings defensive tackle Frank Boenzi, a former Tri-Cities Chargers youth teammate of Winkel's, has signed with the school, as well.
"It's kind of cool we're reuniting again," Boenzi said.
In the meantime, both athletes are preparing for spring sports. A thrower on the track team, Boenzi is set to compete in the Vikings' first indoor meet of the season today. Winkel plays baseball for the Cadets and is looking forward to sharing the diamond again with younger brother Jake.
School daze: Boenzi continues to work toward gaining academic eligibility for next season through the NCAA Clearinghouse. He said he recently scored a 20 on his ACT, an improvement from his previous best of 19.
Stronger grades this semester and his marks in summer and online courses also will factor in, but Boenzi is confident he will be eligible before he leaves for NIU.
"I just need to keep my grades improving so I can know where I'm going to land and what I need to do," he said.
• Kevin Druley is a sportswriter for The Chronicle. He can be reached at kdruley@kcchronicle.com.
