Wildcats find another gem in south suburbs

Providence tackle Patrick Ward ‘‘fell in love with Northwestern and the academic side of it,’’ his coach said.
(Michael R. Schmidt/Herald News)

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Once upon a time, when Big Ten football was up but Northwestern was always down, the Wildcats went prospecting for talent in the south suburbs and came up with a determined young lad named Patrick.

Unwittingly, NU hit a purple lode for the ages. That would be Pat Fitzgerald, once the pride of Sandburg High School in Orland Park, then a College Football Hall of Fame-bound middle linebacker in rose-frenzied Evanston and now one of the most promising young head coaches in the nation from his happy den on the Enchanted Lakefront.

Today, the Wildcats will be using the same mining map and some of the same coordinates to land one of the best offensive linemen in Illinois: four-star tackle Patrick Ward of Providence Catholic in New Lenox.

Ward is big, smart, talented and undoubtedly bold. He is 6-7 and 290 pounds, a straight-A student who scored a 35 on his ACT and hopes to be an aerospace engineer. In the interim, Fitzgerald and staff only can hope Ward’s line-of-scrimmage engineering helps NU reach even higher sorts of aerial vistas in the Big Ten.

‘‘Everything at Northwestern added up to an atmosphere that made me feel like I should be a part of it,’’ Ward said. ‘‘I’m excited to play for Pat Fitzgerald. He’s a dynamic young coach, and the program is on a nice upswing.

‘‘It’s [also] a phenomenal academic school, and everybody there understands how important academics are to your life. Everyone is dedicated to making sure each player gets their education.’’

Ward’s brand of football helped take Providence coach Mark Coglianese and his high-vista Celtics to familiar strata last fall. Providence advanced to the IHSA playoffs for the 12th time in the last 15 years before losing 24-17 to eventual Class 6A champion Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin.

Along the way, Ward keyed a rushing attack that averaged 5.4 yards per carry en route to an aggregate 2,369 yards. Providence also threw for almost 1,300 yards, and Ward was named all-state by the Illinois Football Coaches Association and all-conference in the Catholic Blue.

‘‘Northwestern is a perfect fit for Patrick,’’ Coglianese said. ‘‘He is such a great student and so concerned, not just about his future playing football, but about his career goals and goals as a human being. He fell in love with Northwestern and the academic side of it.’’

According to Rivals.com, Ward is the No. 5 player in Illinois, the No. 17 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 180 player in America, regardless of position. He will be the first four-star prospect to sign with NU since defensive end Loren Howard in 2002, according to assorted recruiting services.

He also comes with a notable Big Ten football pedigree: His father, Brian Ward, played on three bowl teams as a tackle and guard at Illinois, including Mike White’s wrought-orange 1983 crew that went to the Rose Bowl. The Illini were in the deep panning for Patrick Ward, as were Stanford and Wisconsin.

And what about the south-suburban connection with Fitzgerald?

‘‘It may have played a little bit into Patrick’s choice,’’ Coglianese said. ‘‘Our offensive coordinator, Marty Balle, coached Pat [Fitzgerald] at Sandburg. Then we have another guy, Larry Lokanc, who is another Sandburg guy who’s real close with Pat, as well. So we do kind of have a connection with Pat.’’

The purple prospecting goes on.