by Bill Seals
Although a rising sophomore running back from the Illinois high school ranks didn’t get moved up to his school’s varsity team until the postseason last fall, he’s turned some heads on the camp circuit over the summer. One of those to take notice is Iowa State, which became the first Power-5 school to offer.
Evanston running back Sebastian Cheeks, who will likely play behind three-star 2020 prospect Quadre Nicholson in his team’s backfield for at least another season, is showing he will be a force to be reckoned with. Cheeks secured an Iowa State offer at Lindenwood this spring and followed that up with another impressive showing at the North Central camp in front of head coach Matt Campbell.
“I went to Lindenwood and Iowa State and a couple other colleges were there,” said Cheeks. “One of the Iowa State coaches (Drew Hall) came over to me and wanted to get to know a little bit more about me. I told him that I’m going into my sophomore year at Evanston High School. He was up front with me and said they wanted to offer me. I was kind of in shock.
“At first, a lot of the colleges were shocked when they saw my film. I’m 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, and I ran a high 4.6 40 time. A lot of colleges started looking at me. Iowa State was shocked and (Coach Hall) started following me throughout a lot of the drills. He liked what he saw. They invited me to the North Central Camp and I went up there, so they got to see me on two different occasions. Coach Campbell and Coach (Alex) Golesh were at that camp.”
The fact that I-State was the only one that extended an offer after his various showcases this year is big, says the rusher.
“I was just in shock (afterwards),” he said. “Obviously, it was my first offer but I’ve been talking to a lot of colleges. None of them have really come at me since I’m so young right now. They want to see a lot more of me and more varsity film. Iowa State came at me both times and told me how it was. They told me they really liked what they saw.”
Although he’s limited to communicating with the coaching staff on his own terms, Cheeks has taken it upon himself to reach out and learn more about his first offer.
“I’ve gotten to talk to a lot of them and have been in contact over Twitter,” he said. “It’s not entirely about football and they want to know how I’m doing individually. They want to get to know my character off the football field.
“The campus looks beautiful. I’ve been looking at Iowa State and it looks like a powerhouse. I like the college. I’ve been watching some of the games. The coaching staff looks great, as well as the facilities and the extra stuff that comes along with it.”
I-State also will enjoy the benefits of prolific former running back David Montgomery playing near Cheeks’ hometown of Evanston.
“I’m really happy he’s coming here and I get to see him on the Bears,” he said. “I get to see how Iowa State built him. He looks really solid and Iowa State helped shape him. I heard he kind of came from a rough neighborhood.”
Although a rising sophomore running back from the Illinois high school ranks didn’t get moved up to his school’s varsity team until the postseason last fall, he’s turned some heads on the camp circuit over the summer. One of those to take notice is Iowa State, which became the first Power-5 school to offer.
Evanston running back Sebastian Cheeks, who will likely play behind three-star 2020 prospect Quadre Nicholson in his team’s backfield for at least another season, is showing he will be a force to be reckoned with. Cheeks secured an Iowa State offer at Lindenwood this spring and followed that up with another impressive showing at the North Central camp in front of head coach Matt Campbell.
“I went to Lindenwood and Iowa State and a couple other colleges were there,” said Cheeks. “One of the Iowa State coaches (Drew Hall) came over to me and wanted to get to know a little bit more about me. I told him that I’m going into my sophomore year at Evanston High School. He was up front with me and said they wanted to offer me. I was kind of in shock.
“At first, a lot of the colleges were shocked when they saw my film. I’m 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, and I ran a high 4.6 40 time. A lot of colleges started looking at me. Iowa State was shocked and (Coach Hall) started following me throughout a lot of the drills. He liked what he saw. They invited me to the North Central Camp and I went up there, so they got to see me on two different occasions. Coach Campbell and Coach (Alex) Golesh were at that camp.”
The fact that I-State was the only one that extended an offer after his various showcases this year is big, says the rusher.
“I was just in shock (afterwards),” he said. “Obviously, it was my first offer but I’ve been talking to a lot of colleges. None of them have really come at me since I’m so young right now. They want to see a lot more of me and more varsity film. Iowa State came at me both times and told me how it was. They told me they really liked what they saw.”
Although he’s limited to communicating with the coaching staff on his own terms, Cheeks has taken it upon himself to reach out and learn more about his first offer.
“I’ve gotten to talk to a lot of them and have been in contact over Twitter,” he said. “It’s not entirely about football and they want to know how I’m doing individually. They want to get to know my character off the football field.
“The campus looks beautiful. I’ve been looking at Iowa State and it looks like a powerhouse. I like the college. I’ve been watching some of the games. The coaching staff looks great, as well as the facilities and the extra stuff that comes along with it.”
I-State also will enjoy the benefits of prolific former running back David Montgomery playing near Cheeks’ hometown of Evanston.
“I’m really happy he’s coming here and I get to see him on the Bears,” he said. “I get to see how Iowa State built him. He looks really solid and Iowa State helped shape him. I heard he kind of came from a rough neighborhood.”
