St. Viator's Cleary opts for Boston College

Emmett Cleary is used to heavy lifting as an offensive and defensive lineman for St. Viator.

But the 6-foot-7, 260-pound senior removed a heavy burden last week when he verbally committed to play football at Boston College.

"It's a relief and I can concentrate more on what I'm doing right now," Cleary said. "With anything like that it does weigh on you a little bit."

Cleary also received scholarship offers from Purdue and Northwestern. The proximity of those schools and playing in the Big Ten wasn't enough to outweigh what he saw with Boston College.

"When I was there I found it was the best place where I can really be my best as a player and student," Cleary said. "(Purdue and Northwestern) was real tough to leave behind because I have friends and family at all those schools.

"If there wasn't something I really liked about Boston College I wouldn't have considered going out there from the beginning."

Cleary liked what he saw from new head coach Jeff Jagodzinski and his staff after they took over at Boston College. Cleary said he had a great feeling about the school after a visit while looking at other schools on the East Coast in the spring.

Another key factor was Viator sophomore coach Bill Castonzo's son Anthony, a graduate of Lake Zurich, is a freshman offensive lineman at Boston College.

"It was real important for me to see as a parent he was absolutely happy about how (Anthony) was treated," Cleary said.

Cleary has an "A" average and scored 33 on his ACT and 2,240 on his SAT. He plans to study pre-med and wants to become a surgeon or go into research.

And now he can worry about helping Viator end a 3-game losing streak and keep its hopes alive for a fourth straight playoff berth.

"I was very careful not to let it take away from my preparation for games," Cleary said of the recruiting process. "But it's a weight off my shoulders and I'm playing looser. It's better."