Two-sport star Neukirch gave his all for Huntley

Taryn Stricker of Harvard (left) and Jordan Neukirch of Huntley are the Northwest Herald Athletes of the Year. (Travis Haughton – thaughton@nwherald.com

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The fact that Jordan Neukirch was bigger, stronger and faster than most other players on a football field would have been enough to make him stand out.

Those qualities, however, hardly defined Huntley’s two-sport star. Red Raiders football coach Steve Graves said Neukirch was about so much more than ability and talent. It was Neukirch’s intangibles that made him extraordinary.

“What made him a special athlete for every coach who worked with him was his willingness to learn, to be coached to be the best he could be,” Graves said. “He never shortchanged any drill or instruction. Everybody wants to work with somebody who paid attention from beginning to end of practice, but not too many players can do that.”

Neukirch’s tangible qualities, along with his intense focus on other aspects of athletics, helped the Red Raiders to win a share of the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division football championship. He was selected as the Northwest Herald Football Player of the Year and was named to the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association’s Class 6A All-State team. He also was picked to the Northwest Herald All-Area second team for boys basketball.

Ultimately, it led to another significant individual honor, as Neukirch is the Northwest Herald Male Athlete of the Year. Area athletic directors nominate athletes from their school, then members of the sports staff vote for their top five athletes. Neukirch was first on all but one of six ballots and finished with 29 points, one less than the highest possible total.

In Neukirch’s honor, Dr. Steven Rochell of Crystal Lake Orthopaedics will contribute $2,500 to Huntley’s athletic department. The Rochell Foundation began its donations to the Athlete of the Year winners’ schools in 1993.

Neukirch (6-foot, 2-inch, 225 pounds) enrolled for summer classes at Illinois State University, where he will play football. Neukirch also is working out with his football teammates almost every day.

“It was definitely a great year, being in the playoffs for the second time in school history and sharing a [division] title,” Neukirch said. “We started 8-0, then had a letdown game [a loss to Johnsburg], but we still felt we did something special.

“In basketball, we were up-and-down, but we had success at the end when we beat Jacobs and lost by two to Dundee-Crown. Playing in front of a big crowd [at the Class 4A D-C Regional championship] on their home floor was really fun.”

In his words nominating Neukirch, Huntley AD Bruce Blumer said: “He will do anything that you ask of him, always willing to help other people.”

The qualities of which Graves and boys basketball coach Marty Manning spoke define the essence of Neukirch, who was one of the toughest competitors in the area for a long time.

In football, Graves saw a player who, when offenses were having their way with the Raiders’ defense, would not give in, but find a way to get it done. In basketball, Neukirch was considered by area coaches to be one of the premier defensive players, one who always took the opponents’ top scorer, regardless of size or position.

“Our players vote on team awards and he was voted Defensive Player of the Year and MVP,” Manning said. “I don’t know if that’s ever happened. His teammates think a great deal of him. He’s probably not the best basketball player in our conference, but he did so many things to help us be successful. He galvanized our basketball team.”

Neukirch carried 201 times for an area-best 1,725 yards and 21 touchdowns. In basketball, he averaged 9.9 points a game. And as a student, his GPA was 3.7, ranking 56th out of 395 students in Huntley’s senior class.

“His intelligence is outstanding, not only his football savvy, but his intelligence overall,” Graves said. “That allowed us to adjust things from that [linebacker] position. Jordan was the kingpin. You just don’t see those special kids come along every time.”

Neukirch heeded advice from his parents and coaches when he was a young athlete.

“They always stressed defense,” he said. “I always took that to heart that if you want to get on the floor, you have to cover people.”

Neukirch considered transferring to Marian Central before his senior year, hoping to get more exposure with one of the state’s top Class 5A programs. After enrolling at the Woodstock school, the family changed its mind and Neukirch stayed at Huntley.

Jordan and his father, Adam, did a one-day camp tour of NCAA Division I-A and I-AA schools last summer, and Jordan ended up committing to Illinois State in early August.

“I’m real thankful for the way it worked out,” Neukirch said. “It was something that was meant to be that way. I think I made the right decision. We had a lot of fun, and I was glad I got to share it with the guys I grew up with.”