Darren Sunkett talks winning, recruiting and his loyalty to East St. Louis football
Darren Sunkett can remember the days of the early 2000s when, if colleges were interested in signing one of his East St. Louis High football players, they would have to do things like, you know, call him or set up a meeting to talk about the kid. Maybe, even talk to their parents first. In 2025?
How quaint.
“It’s changed, 360,” Sunkett said of how colleges recruit high school athletes now. “I was watching a special recently about coach (Nick) Saban, and he said there were (NFL) GMs who didn’t even speak to him. They don’t know if they’re getting a good kid or a bad kid out of college.
“The same thing has trickled down to the high school level with the recruiting process. It’s definitely social media. The easiest way to contact kids is through their Twitter (now X), Instagram, that sort of thing. That’s the route it goes now. They leave high school coaches out of the loop.”
Sunkett, who in 2023 was inducted into the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame and Friday was named the Chicago Bears 2024 Illinois High School Boys Coach of the Year, began his coaching career at East St. Louis in 2000. He’s taken the Flyers to five state titles since, including the 2024 IHSA Class 6A title.
Not surprisingly, the Flyers have several players from the last squad that will officially sign to Division 1 colleges on National Signing Day, Feb. 5. Players such as linebacker Mehki Dixon (Grambling), safety Charles Bass (Missouri) and running back TaRyan Martin (Kent State) will officially sign on Feb. 5. Some others have committed to smaller-time schools.
Despite being sometimes kept out of the loop on the recruiting process with his kids, National Signing Day remains one of his favorite days of the year – and why he keeps coaching at East St. Louis, despite several offers over the years to move up the coaching ranks.
“You think sometimes, ‘this might be my final year,’ but then comes an incoming freshman, and you want to nurture him and bring him up through the program and see him go off to college. For me, that still keeps the fires burning,” Sunkett said.
Sunkett is the only active high school coach to have won state titles in Illinois and Missouri, where he won with Riverview Gardens.
Sure, East St. Louis remains one of the country’s most economically distressed cities and high school enrollment has continued to dip along with its population. This is where “Coach Sunk” has gained that much more respect. He could have taken the money and ran a few times.
But he’s stayed, because this is home. This is where he can make a real difference.
“I’ve been close (to being lured away) a few times, to be honest. But I’m just not a guy who likes to move every two or three years,” said Sunkett, who has 232 wins with the Flyers and a .780 winning percentage. “It’s just not me. I’ve got kids and grandkids and pulling them out of high school would be tough for them. For some people, that’s their goal, but that can be very unfair to your family, constantly bouncing around, city to city and state to state.”
Top high school players have always been subject to acts of recruiting subterfuge by colleges, but today’s prep players are further tempted by promises of big-money NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals and other payouts since the NCAA was forced to accept players being paid.
“That’s just the nature of the game now. A top player can be offered the sun and the moon, so they have to have good guidance, get good advice,” Sunkett said. “That’s where I try to be of as much help as I can, if they ask for it.”
At one time, Sunkett, 58, had aspirations of a career in the NFL.
In 1987, after graduating from Division II Cheyney State in Pennsylvania and growing up in Camden, N.J., he moved out west and was invited by the San Francisco 49ers to try out for their training camp roster as a defensive back. He worked out alongside a couple of guys named Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, under the gaze of defensive coordinator George Seifert, but ultimately was not invited to camp.
“Didn’t work out, but those are still memories I’ll never forget,” Sunkett said.
Sunkett played some minor-pro football in San Jose, California, before latching on as a defensive back coach at Ladue High in St. Louis in 1993. When the head job came up at East St. Louis in 2000, Sunkett won out and the program has done nothing but win since.
Sunkett becomes animated when discussing his senior class of 2026, and how many potential Division 1 college players it will produce.
While he wouldn’t name specific schools, Sunkett said incoming seniors such as Armaad Sharp, Kortez Rupert, Leon Howard Jr., Amir Tillman and Carnell McIntosh have all received multiple Power 4 Conference offers. He has a sophomore, cornerback Raheem Floyd, who already is getting inquiries from Power 4 schools.
“We’ve got an outstanding class. They’re getting visits already from numerous colleges. I’m excited for them,” Sunkett said.
Sunkett has a reputation for being hard to get ahold of (media people know this), but if one of the college recruiters wants to talk about one of his kids?
“They know where to find me,” he said.
This story was originally published January 30, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
