Naperville North's Austin Roush commits to Division III national champion North Central College

Chicago Tribune

28-01-2025

Offensive lineman Austin Roush first entertained the idea of playing college football during his sophomore year, when Naperville North coach Sean Drendel told him that he had the necessary size and talent.
It turns out coaches from other schools agreed with Drendel, as Roush later learned from North Central College offensive coordinator Eric Stuedemann.
'He was telling me that coaches from other high schools were sending him my film after sophomore year,' Roush said. 'He told them, 'I can't make contact with him until he's a senior.'
'When he told me that, it was surreal. There are people out there saying that 'this guy could be good.' It just made me feel a lot better about myself.'
The 6-foot-3, 270-pound Roush, who committed to NCAA Division III national champion NCC last week as former Naperville Central defensive lineman Maverick Ohle announced he was transferring there from Ohio, has long had the size to play at the next level.
'Up until sophomore year, I was always the biggest, tallest, heaviest kid,' Roush said. 'For me, the hitting part, just burying people in the ground, gives me an adrenaline rush to keep going on the next play even harder.
'As time went on, that urge to bury someone just kept growing.'
Roush became the linchpin of an offensive line that did an outstanding job protecting Indiana-bound senior quarterback Jacob Bell, who was sacked just 18 times on more than 450 drop-backs. The Huskies (7-3) averaged 36.1 points and amassed nearly 4,000 yards of offense.
'Austin is a great player who was born with a lot of talent, but his work ethic is amazing,' Naperville North senior cornerback Zach Mally said. 'When he's on his own, he's always doing something to make himself better.
'I saw in practice he didn't really wait for a coach to show him what he did wrong. He corrects himself a lot, which I think is why he's able to excel over some of these other offensive linemen. He definitely led our offensive line this year, which made a big impact on our team.'
Roush, who also had an offer from Division III runner-up Mount Union, has played all five positions on the offensive line. The Huskies used him at tackle and guard this past season.
'His big piece is his versatility,' Drendel said. 'As the year went on, we figured that he's a better interior guy, and that's why we moved him back to left guard.
'He's a very effective run blocker, and he's a very talented pass blocker. He's well-rounded.'
That extends to the classroom, where Roush said he has a 3.4 GPA. He's also a student of the game.
'Austin is a very intelligent young man,' Drendel said. 'He likes the intelligence piece that is a little bit hidden behind the toughness, and I think he just does a really good job with it.'
Roush said he gets his smarts mainly from his father Aric, who played guard at Sycamore.
'His knowledge, it easily catches on for me,' Roush said. 'In the summer before the season, I take in all the information. I have a notebook where I write down all the plays, and I can easily remember (the responsibilities) of all five positions.'
But Roush thinks his best position is guard.
'At center, I could do it, but it definitely wasn't my best position because the mentality of trying to snap the ball and get your block is pretty hard for everyone, and then at tackle I just wasn't fast enough by my standards,' he said. 'By coach Drendel's standards, I was definitely fast enough to play tackle, but for me personally, I just didn't feel fast enough.
'Guard is just in between those two. This past season, me at guard definitely helped the team perform a lot better.'
Roush feels good about what he accomplished with the Huskies.
'It was nothing short of special,' he said. 'I can definitely say I've grown not only as a player but definitely as a man.'