Quinn Durkin’s first recruiting visit to an FBS football program made quite an impression.
The rising senior at Sandburg picked up an offer from Army and went to West Point earlier this month.
“It was just unreal, the campus, the history behind it, the coaching staff, the facilities,” Durkin said before a 7-on-7 event June 18 at Sandburg. “It was just — I haven’t seen anything like that before.
“So when I stepped on (campus), I was like, this is incredible. And it just sparked my interest right away. And then I’ve always paid close attention to the Army/Navy game. That’s awesome to watch every year.”
The 5-11, 195-pounder will be the lead back this season for the Eagles, who are coming off a breakthrough season in coach Sheamus Murphy’s debut. Sandburg went 7-3 overall and finished in a three-way tie atop the SouthWest Valley Blue, the program’s first conference title in 31 years.
Durkin said the Eagles are determined to prove that wasn’t a fluke, even after the graduation of Power Four defensive recruits Vincent Smith (West Virginia) and Jayden Weaver (Iowa State).
“It’s pretty hard to replace those two,” Durkin said. “But we do have some dudes, especially at the DB level. D-line, we’re getting there.”
As for being among the south suburbs’ top programs, he said, “definitely, we’re here to stay.
“We’ve got a bunch of good sophomores that came up. They went 8-1, had a great year. And then we actually have seven returning offensive starters this year. And then the coaching staff is in its second year so we have more of a hang of the playbook, tendencies, how we operate.”
Durkin, who is heading into his fourth varsity season, was the Eagles’ top receiver last fall with 32 catches for 636 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also ran 35 times for 163 yards and two TDs.
And Durkin gets another season with fellow senior Sean Ruisz, a dual-threat quarterback who accounted for 1,391 yards and 17 TDs with five interceptions last year.
“Yeah, it’s awesome,” Durkin said. “I’ve been playing with him since second grade. It’s really great to have a connection with a quarterback that I’ve been playing with my whole life.”
And it’s great for Sandburg to have a multi-purpose threat like Durkin.
“Quinn Durkin’s strength is his versatility,” Murphy said. “Last year, if you watched the film, we lined him up everywhere on the football field. Being able to play in multiple spots … he’s got a big tool kit of skills.”
That’s also true in baseball. Durkin helped the Eagles go 23-13 and win Class 4A regional and sectional titles as an outfielder. He’s good enough on the diamond that he originally thought that was where his future would be.
“I was thinking baseball (for college) originally, but now I’m 100% football (in terms of recruiting),” he said.
And the visit to Army showed him just some of the opportunities he could have.