Tommy Schutt of Glenbard West: Top 50 football recruits in 50 days

One year from now, Tommy Schutt will suit up for the school he has followed passionately since he was 4 years old.

"I feel blessed," said Schutt, Penn State's newest 300-pound prized defensive line recruit. "I am very excited."

Yet, Monday, on this typically warm summer day in Glen Ellyn, Ill., a quaint town in Chicago's western suburbs where trees line every street and signs announce you have entered the land of the Hilltoppers, Schutt was clearly focused on one thing following a six-hour football practice at Glenbard West (Glen Ellyn, Ill.): Wheaton Warrenville South.

WW South is the two-time defending state champion in Illinois Class 7A. The two schools are located less than five miles away from each other, and it‘s not rare for students from the schools to run into each other on a weekend.

On Aug. 28 in a game to be televised by ESPN2, Schutt and Glenbard West will face WW South in the season opener. What a way to start a season in which Schutt, the No. 46 recruit in the nation, is hoping for a state championship.

"This whole offseason dealing with recruiting stuff, my No. 1 goal the whole time has still been to beat Warrenville South and win a state championship," Schutt said.

That is exactly the type of talk that Penn State's legendary head coach Joe Paterno will love to hear — although he still hasn't met Schutt, a highly recruited defensive tackle who gave a verbal commitment to Penn State on Aug. 10, virtually immediately after returning home from an unofficial visit to the campus.

Schutt is the No. 46 recruit in the nation according to MaxPreps.com/CBS recruiting expert Tom Lemming, and the second lineman in two years from Glenbrook West to go to a major-college program. Offensive lineman Jordan Walsh is a freshman at the University of Iowa.

In Schutt, Penn State is getting a defensive tackle (he'll play mostly at defensive end this year at Glenbard West, and also probably at tight end and fullback offensively) who Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet says can't be matched in Illinois. Schutt, who will turn 18 on Sept. 17, is 6-foot-3 and 301 pounds.

"He's freakishly strong," Hetlet said. "He can handle anybody. He can handle any offensive lineman in the state. We had one of the best last year (Walsh) that was a year older than him on our team that went to Iowa. He couldn't handle him."

Are you listening, Big Ten coaches?

So, as WW South coach Ron Muhitch prepares his Tigers for the Aug. 28 game against Glenbard West, it won‘t be a matter of which offensive lineman takes on Schutt, but which two linemen? And even that may not be effective.

"You can double-team him, but that's not going to work," Hetlet said. "He's athletic. He's just the complete package, everything you need."

And that is why he attracted so much attention as a recruit. More than 20 schools offered Schutt a scholarship, including national champion Auburn, Florida, and nearly every Big Ten school including Iowa, Illinois and Northwestern. Notre Dame actually pulled its offer 30 minutes before Schutt was to call them with acceptance the first week of August — the Irish ran out of scholarship spots for defensive tackle when another high school recruit (Sheldon Day of Warren Central, Ind., according to the Chicago Tribune) accepted. Michigan also pulled its offer for the same reason, but Schutt said he wasn't planning on Michigan.

That turn of events led Schutt to Penn State, which for Schutt always has been Happy Valley.

When he was 4 years old, an older brother of Schutt's friend went to Penn State. From then on, Schutt became a Nittany Lion fan and has traveled to State College to see a couple of games, the first time when he was in elementary school and Penn State played Purdue.

"I loved the place from the first time I was there," Schutt said. "I thought it was unbelievable. The atmosphere is out of this world."

And now he'll be playing there.

"It was a dream of mine. I never thought it would come down to this, (that) I'd be in this situation," Schutt said.

Hetlet believes it's precisely the right place for his star defender.

"A great choice. They recruit kids with great character and Tommy has a great character, and he's a good solid citizen," Hetlet said. "I think it's a great fit for him."

Penn State is known for producing great defensive players, and it was the coaching staff that sold Schutt on becoming a Nittany Lion.

"Coach (Larry) Johnson, the defensive line coach, is really one of the major factors for me," Schutt said. "He's just a complete guy on and off the field. I can't wait to play for him."

Although Schutt visited Penn State and watched preseason practice last week, he didn't get to see Paterno. The day before Schutt visited campus, Paterno — entering his 46th season as head coach and the nation's all-time winningest coach with 401 victories — collided with a player during practice and wound up in a hospital for evaluation and treatment of his injuries. It'll merely give Schutt time to figure out what to say to a legend.

"I'll probably just introduce myself and obviously it's an honor to meet him and I can't wait to play for him," Schutt said.

By then, Schutt will need no introduction. He is a two-time all-state selection. He is a force in the Hilltoppers' run defense and this year wants to work more on his pass rushing.

"The last couple of years, I thought I was pretty strong at stopping the run and controlling the line of scrimmage," Schutt said. "This offseason and this year, I'm more focused on some more pass-rush stuff and hopefully coming out with a couple of more sacks."

And if his defensive domination isn't enough, Schutt also brings leadership with him. It is one of the reasons that Glenbard West has blossomed into a state contender every year, including 2012.

"A super positive guy in the locker room. He's never negative on kids, never jumps kids, really positive," Hetlet said. "I think he's a great leader, first and foremost. He's going to be the dominant player up front on the defensive line and that'll create a lot of problems."

The oldest of three children in the Schutt family and the son of a commodity trader-turned-schoolteacher plus a mom who is webmaster for the Glenbard West hitters football.org Web site, Schutt learned those leadership skills early.

"It's something I've always tried to do, something my dad kind of brought upon me, always led me in that direction," Schutt said. "It's something I enjoy. I like motivating the guys and trying to get us to our full potential."

As his teammates completed a series of 12 across-the-field sprints and pushup drills after six hours of football Monday, Schutt encouraged the Hilltoppers with words and a slap on the back. It is all an opening act, a prelude to what Schutt hopes is a long-awaited win over powerful WW South on the 28th of August.

"I thought we had a really good offseason and great summer so far. We'll keep getting after it these next couple of days. I can't wait for the game in a couple of weeks," Schutt said.

"It's a great rivalry," Hetlet said. "We're so close to those guys, they've got an unreal program. We lost to them in the state championship game in double overtime two years ago, lost to them in the quarterfinals last year. So we're excited about playing them. It's good for the kids."

Paul Bowker, an online and newspaper sports journalist for 25 years and the author of two Major League Baseball books, covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at bowkerpaul1@aol.com.