East Side senior commits to national championship contender as Flyers chase title
When he committed to Indiana University last year, Kortez Rupert didn’t generate much press. The prevailing sentiment was, “That’s nice. Good for the local kid, going to a second-division Big Ten school.”
Now, the Indiana Hoosiers are 11-0, ranked No. 2 in the country, and have a legitimate shot at a national championship. Once known mainly for Bob Knight and basketball, the Hoosiers are now among the hottest names in college football.
Pardon the 18-year-old wide receiver from the East St. Louis Flyers if he feels like saying: How do you like me now?
“They were ranked last year, but not as high as other schools that were looking at me, that didn’t take a chance on me. (Indiana) took a chance on me and now they’re ranked No. 2, so I feel that just shows how good of a player I am, and I feel like I can develop in that program,” Rupert said.
Before he dons Hoosier red, Rupert has at least one more game in the orange and blue of coach Darren Sunkett’s Flyers, who face a Class 6A state semifinal Saturday at St. Laurence. The Flyers are heavily favored to win and play for a second consecutive state championship on Nov. 29 in Bloomington. Against Illinois opponents this season, East St. Louis has outscored them 449-33 in eight games.
Rupert caught five passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s 49-0 quarterfinal victory at home over Chicago Simeon. Listed at 6 feet, 160 pounds, Rupert will need to add strength to succeed at the next level, but he should benefit from the Hoosiers’ strength program under coach Curt Signetti, who recently signed an eight-year contract extension worth a reported $11.6 million per year.
Rupert is the latest in a long line of standout receivers to come out of East St. Louis under Sunkett. Normally not one to talk much about individual players, Sunkett singles Rupert out for his work ethic since joining the program.
“Kortez really developed into an outstanding wideout for us. At one time, he was kind of one-dimensional, just a deep-ball guy,” Sunkett said. “But he really worked on his game. Now, he can beat your vertically, he can beat you horizontally. He does a lot of things well, and that’s all about development. We’ve got two great receiver coaches, and they put a lot of time into working with our kids.”
Being a starter at East St. Louis brings high expectations. The team is so deep that it didn’t even play some of its top athletes, like four-star running back Myson Johnson-Cook, in Saturday’s shutout over Simeon and still won in a rout.
“That’s what keeps you on your toes, you know? You know if you have a bad game, somebody else can take your spot,” Rupert said.
Said Sunkett: “Everybody wants playing time, but there’s only one ball.”
Rupert has run the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds, placing him among the elite incoming freshmen at Indiana. He also had offers from Division I programs such as Kentucky, Oregon State, Western Michigan and Boston College, but he chose Indiana at a time when other top prospects were still putting the Hoosiers on the back burner.
Those prospects may regret that decision now. Rupert is grateful he isn’t one of them.
“It’s exciting to think about going there and hopefully playing for a national championship,” Rupert said. “But there’s still some business to attend to here first.”
