Hit hard, then hit the books
If grades and ACT scores were as important to college coaches as 40-yard dash times, size and touchdowns, Lakes High School would have a couple of Division I all-Americans on its football team.
Instead, quarterback Justin Hotle and defensive back Mike Scott are just going to have to settle for being No. 1 in the senior class and two of the smartest kids in America.
No joke.
Hotle and Scott, who happen to be best friends, are tied down to the very last fraction of a point on their grade point averages. Each sports a 4.471, thanks to identical schedules jammed with nothing but Advanced Placement and honors classes in the major subjects.
Meanwhile, both have scored among the best nationally on the ACT test. A score of 36 is perfect and Hotle boasts a 35 while Scott, who won $18,000 on Jeopardy when he was 11, is just behind with a 34.
"You don't usually see that with a football player," Lakes coach Luke Mertens said. "Let alone two on the same team."
Kind of puts to rest the stereotype of the "dumb jock" football player, doesn't it?
Hotle and Scott are hoping to break other stereotypes, too.
While maintaining near perfection in the classroom, the two smarties are not only playing football, they're also on the basketball, baseball and track teams, too. Both Hotle and Scott are three-sport athletes - a rare breed in high school sports today.
"We want to show that you don't just have to be a nerd to do really well in school," Scott said. "You can be an athlete, too."
Hotle and Scott have been on the athlete track for as long as they can remember. Both were heavily involved in all kinds of youth sports and traveling teams.
They became friends in grade school and found themselves on the same accelerated academic track in middle school. Once they got to high school, they began taking the exact same classes, including their first AP class.
They enrolled in AP European History together. As sophomores.
Since then, they've been rolling up the A's like an all-American running back would roll up the yardage.
In fact, Hotle has never gotten anything less than an A in high school. Scott has gotten a B+ twice - he likes to point out he was less than a point from an A both times - but took some advanced Spanish classes in junior high that count on his high school transcript. That has allowed him to keep pace with Hotle in the grade point average department.
"We're both just really driven people," Hotle said. "We're always trying to do the most we can and the best we can. But we each want the other to do well, too. We push each other to do well. It's almost like we're invested in each other because we've been friends for so long."
Their friendship is as much a support system as it is part of their social network.
Few people at Lakes High School can relate to Hotle and Scott - either academically or athletically, let alone in both areas.
"There are those days where you're working on four or five hours of sleep and you have a lot of homework but first you've got to go out and perform at practice for two hours," Scott said. "And we do that all year long because we're in three sports.
"It's not always easy and it's nice to be able to be able to hang out with someone who understands what you're going through."
On the football field, Hotle and Scott have done plenty of commiserating, as have the rest of their teammates.
After getting a win in their season opener against Grayslake North, the Eagles have lost four straight games. A loss against North Chicago tonight would officially eliminate Lakes from postseason consideration.
"We just can't seem to put a whole game together," Scott said. "We might be doing OK, but then if the momentum shifts away from us, it's like we can't recover.
"It's frustrating."
The losing bugs Hotle and Scott like-gasp-a B+ does.
So how's this for a dilemma? I asked Hotle and Scott if they would each take a B+ in one of their classes if that would guarantee that the football team would run the table and make the playoffs.
"Absolutely," Scott blurted out. "Oh yeah," Hotle said quickly.
Of course, then they both smiled and reminded me that most of their college applications are being sent out for early decision and wouldn't reflect grades that they have yet to receive, including a B+ that would benefit the football team.
Smarty pants!
And speaking of colleges, both Hotle and Scott are pretty much set there.
Scott will be going to Illinois, partly because of family tradition and proximity to home. But he stands to get a lot of financial assistance because he's applying for the National Merit Scholarship and is a serious contender.
Meanwhile, Hotle is applying mostly to Ivy League schools.
Scott likes anatomy and biology and could see medical school in his future but will probably enter college undeclared. Hotle is interested in business and the economy.
I told Hotle this country could use someone like him working on the economy.
"I'd like to do something like that someday," Hotle said.
For now, Scott and Hotle are just trying to enjoy every last morsel of what has been a spectacular high school career, which has also included stints in the band and on the school academic team.
Their basketball coach, Brian Phelan, is the sponsor of the math team and is recruiting them hard for that, too.
"I figured that high school was only four years so I wanted to do everything," Scott said. "And I wanted to do everything well."
"We've both done a lot," Hotle said. "It will be sad when it's over."