Planning for the next four years

Providence Catholic's Pat Ward, the offensive MVP on The Herald News All-Area Football Team, signs a national letter-of-intent Wednesday morning to attend Northwestern University while his mother Laurel and younger brother Ryan look on. Ward's teammate, kicker/punter Pat Wright, signed with University of St. Francis.
John Patsch/Staff Photographer

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NEW LENOX -- Pat Ward played his senior season of football at Providence Catholic High School with the weight of high expectations squarely on his broad shoulders.

No problem at all.

Ward made just about every all-state team imaginable. He garnered just about every Chicago Catholic League award available to him. He was the offensive MVP on The Herald News all-area team

And on Wednesday, he completed the whirlwind year when he signed a national letter-of-intent to attend Northwestern University on a football scholarship.

Ward and all-area kicker/punter Pat Wright, who cast his lot with former Providence wide receiver and current University of St. Francis football coach Mike Uremovich, were the Celtics from coach Mark Coglianese's program who signed at the morning ceremony in the school library.

Joining them was three-sport female athlete Allie Heniff, who will attend the University of Dayton and run on the cross country team as a walkon.

Ward's final four list included Stanford, Wisconsin and Illinois, but as long ago as the beginning of last summer, he said he was "pretty sure Northwestern was it, even though I was still taking visits."

Ward, an offensive tackle who stands 6 feet 7 and weighs 285 pounds, is equally imposing in the classroom. He scored a 35 on his ACT and carries a 4.8 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale.

"I felt there were some expectations on me, but I tried to ignore it," Ward said.

"I'm sure there was a lot of pressure on Pat," Coglianese said. "But he performed above and beyond on the field and especially in the classroom. With his work ethic in the weight room, his leadership and his performance, he was a coach's dream.

"Coach Fitz (Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald) is so excited about getting Pat. He's bring the whole package there."

Ward said the idea of playing in the Big Ten, and playing for Fitzgerald, was enticing.

"Coach Fitz has the program going in the right direction, and this is the perfect time to jump in," he said. "I've always cheered for the Big Ten, and I love getting the chance to play there."

Ward, who plans to major in some form of mechanical engineering, said he probably will not learn whether he will redshirt next season until after preseason camp concludes. But he will be ready to play.

"I'll be traveling up there a couple of times a week to work out," he said. "I've already met all the Illinois players at Northwestern, and some others from out of state. So I feel like I belong there already."

Ward runs a 5.1 in the 40, not bad for someone his size. "But I do want to improve on that," he added. "I want to work on getting better at everything."

Knowing his track record, it will happen.

"I think he's going to be very successful," Coglianese said. "He has to work, though. There are no guarantees if and when he will start there, but that's OK as far as Pat is concerned. He will excel in the weight room and the classroom and will be the best he can be."

Wright, meanwhile, has kicking credentials to indicate he could have played at a higher level. Uremovich is thrilled to have landed him.

"Jeff Knowles, our defensive line coach, made it a priority to get Pat signed," Uremovich said. "He's a great student-athlete. We couldn't be more excited."

Make no mistake, a kicker matters.

"You have 89 guys fighting it out all afternoon, and then one guy comes in and kicks the ball that decides the game," Uremovich said. "Championship teams have to have great kicking games."

Wright made 11-of-15 field goals as a senior, many from relatively long range, and 32-of-34 extra points. He averaged 52 yards on his kickoffs and 37 yards per punt even though he was asked at times to angle punts toward the sideline.

"I said going into the year that I thought special teams would be a strength, and Pat answered the bell," Coglianese said. "He did all we asked. He worked hard in the offseason and during the season.

"He probably could have gone bigger, but St. Francis seems like a perfect fit. Mike (Uremovich) runs an awesome program, and I think Pat will do well there."

Wright, a resident of Lemont, said the opportunity to play right away drew him to USF.

"That was a big part of it," he said. "Also, they were the first ones who talked to me and my visits were nice."

Wright, who will be a graphics design major, said his biggest adjustment in college will be "kicking off the ground. That, and everything will be speeded up. My timing on everything will have to get better, more precise."

And then there's Heniff, who participates in basketball and track as well as cross country at Providence.

She was planning to attend Dayton anyway, but she talked to the cross country coach and was offered a walkon spot on the roster. "My neighbor goes to school at Dayton, I went with here to visit and I honestly fell in love with it," she said.

Last fall was her first in cross country, the Celtics went to the sectional for the first time and she beat the school record. Now, the possibility is there that she could earn a scholarship later. She is undecided on a major but said she is leaning toward something to do with food.