Pecatonica (Ill.) DuPec 2022 defensive end recruit Jake Anderson (6-foot-6, 240 pounds) didn't wait too long to give Illinois State University his verbal commitment after the Redbirds extended him a scholarship offer back in Mid May. Anderson made a recent on campus visit and gave Illinois State his verbal commitment and discusses his college choice here. .

"I went and made a visit to Illinois State and it was pretty awesome," Anderson said. "It was my first visit to Illinois State. Illinois State is a great offer and I knew once I saw the campus and got to talk with the coaches at Illinois State I was ready to make my decision so I committed."

Anderson broke down his decision and what factors sold him on the in-state Illinois State Redbirds.

"I was able to take a campus tour at Illinois State along with getting to dit down and really talk with the coaches and get to know them better. I also was able to meet some of the players at ISU and watched one of the player workouts. I just really like the football program at Illinois State and I love the coaches. Illinois State offers a strong education plus they play in a great conference. I was able to get to know the defensive line coach (Brian Hendricks) along with head coach Brock Spack. Illinois State is also not too far from home and it's only like a 2 1/2 hour drive which is great for my family."

So why did Anderson decide to commit to the ISU Redbirds this early in the recruiting process?

"Illinois State just has so much to offer and I didn't want to miss out on such a great opportunity. Illinois State recruited me as a defensive end and they feel I'm a great fit in the defense. It's such a great fit for me in so many ways it would have been very hard to say no to them. In a lot of ways I was always going to make an early decision. I wanted to make a decision and then have the rest of my summer to focus on my team camp this summer and get ready for my senior season this fall."

Look for Anderson to scale back his upcoming summer camp plans.

"I'm already signed up for the North Central Camp on Monday so I'm going to camp with one of my teammates (DuPec QB Hunter Hoffman). Outside of that camp I'm done with the college camps this summer and I have no plans to camp anywhere else this summer except for my tam camp in July."

Jake Anderson is verbally committed Illinois State.