TE Bretag pledges to Illinois State

Naperville North senior tight end recruit Finn Bretag (6-foot-3, 225 pounds) recently gave Illinois State University his verbal commitment. Bretag discusses his college decision to pledge to the in-state FCS ISU Redbirds in this latest recruiting update.

“It really just came down to both a belief that the Illinois State coaches have in me along with the overall fit,” Bretag said. “Illinois State just feels like the best place for me so I committed.”

Why did Fretag pledge to Illinois State

“The coaches at Illinois State really stand out to me. They just have always had a plan for me at Illinois State and they just believe in me as a player and also as a person. Illinois State is a pretty special place. They offer a great education, they play in a great conference in FCS (Missouri Valley) and you will play against great players and program literally every week. Overall my best opportunity on and off the field is at Illinois State. Illinois State feels I can play as both a traditional tight end with a hand on the ground along with playing as more of a hybrid receiver in its offense.””

“It’s going to take a lot of work but Illinois State will allow me a chance to compete and play early and my goal has always been to play early and contribute as soon as I can at the high college level.”

So which other schools did Bretag consider before locking in his decision to Illinois State.

“I had some great FCS offers along with a lot of looks and attention from some various MAC schools as well as some attention from a few Power 4 schools as well. I’m just very grateful to all of those schools for recruiting me. The bigger schools wanted me to wait to make a decision and see how things went this fall. A lot of those same coaches all felt that I’m a bit of a late bloomer physically and want to see some early tape. I’ve been able to add some considerable weight and strength and I’ve also lowered my testing times, especially my 40 yard dash time. I just felt that I was already pretty set on Illinois State. Illinois State just checked off a lot of boxes for me and it was time for me to end my recruiting process. I did not want to pass up the opportunity at Illinois State and I’m just very happy about my decision.”

“Just deaing with the stress of recruiting was hard. It can be just a time consuming process and I’m just not a selfish type of kid. I’m just excited to go back to my team and just focus in on my senior season and let the focus be on my team and my teammates.”

Finn Bretag is verbally committed to Illinois State University.