Hirsch pledges to Illinois State

Normal (Ill.) Community senior offensive guard recruit Garrett Hirsch (6-foot-3, 275 pounds) won't need to move very far for college. Hirsch decided to stay at home and pledged to Illinois State University last night.

"I gave Illinois State my verbal commitment," Hirsch said. "I didn't want to miss out on playing for the Redbirds so I committed."

Hirsch talked about why he decided to end his recruiting process and pledge to the ISU Redbirds.

"I can easily see myself playing for the Redbirds. The stability of the coaches and the football program was a factor for me. I had offers from Southern Illinois and also Western Illinois and I had a lot of interest from Missouri. All three programs ended up looking for head coaches. The football program is great and they have built up a winning tradition at ISU. ISU is also a great school and I also love the coaches at Illinois State."

Hirsch however left open the possibility of a few Power 5 schools coming in late for him.

"With all of the coaching changes I've been hearing from a few of the coaches who recruited me. They are all waiting for new jobs. I grew really close with Missouri assistant coach AJ Ricker in particular and we've been staying in touch. If one of the Power 5 schools came calling and offered me it's something I would consider and I told the Illinois State coaches that as well."

Even if the Power 5 schools came calling, Hirsch admits that playing for the ISU Redbirds would be hard to pass up.

"Playing for Illinois State is also something I've always thought about doing and getting to stay at home and play for the Redbirds is pretty special. My dream has always been to play for a Power 5 school and if that never happens I'll be very happy and excited to play for Illinois State."

Garrett Hirsch is verbally committed to Illinois State.