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The Class of 2025 in The Herald-News coverage area featured plenty of talented players who signed with Division-I schools. While the area will lose plenty of talent with this season’s group of seniors graduating, the cupboard is far from bare.
Here are five Herald-News area players to watch for the 2025 season.
Brady Varner, Morris
Class: 2026
Position: QB
Varner put up strong numbers for Morris last season as a junior, completing 62% of his passes for more than 1,800 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also displayed some talent as a runner, scoring four times on the ground. After a full year of learning to command the offense, he is primed to break out in a big way this fall.
Zane Caves, Minooka
Class: 2026
Position: QB
Caves was a key catalyst for the Indians last season, directing an offense which averaged just under 30 points a game in fashioning an 8-3 record. The left-handed Caves, a three-sport standout who stands 6-5, used his athletic ability in both the passing and running games to add an extra dimension to the Minooka offense. With a full year of varsity experience under his belt, expect Caves to be one of the top performers in 2025.
Emmett Easton, Coal City
Class: 2027
Position: DL
Easton stepped right into the Coalers' starting lineup on the defensive line as a sophomore and helped spearhead a defense that allowed just over 10 points a game and authored four shutouts en route to reaching the Class 4A semifinals. Coal City prides itself on its defense, and the 6-1, 250-pound Easton gives them an anchor in the middle that is hard to move.
Brogan Kjellesvik, Morris
Class: 2027
Position: OL
Although he will be just a junior in the 2025 season, the 6-4, 260-pound Kjellesvik has already been a starter for two years at Morris. His presence on the offensive line helped the team run for 2,037 yards, an average of 185 per game, and helped them advance to the Class 5A semifinal. Morris has turned out several outstanding offensive linemen in its history, but very few have started since they were freshmen like Kjellesvik.
Gunnar Varland, Seneca
Class: 2026
Position: RB/DB
The 5-10, 170-pound Varland led the Fighting Irish in tackles last season with 79, including eight tackles for loss. That helped power a defense that surrendered just 152 points in 11 games (13.8 points per game). With a senior-laden backfield on offense, he didn’t get a lot of chances to carry the ball, but when he did, he racked up 120 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. With a bulk of the ball carriers from last season having graduated, Varland looks to be next in line to be the main back in an offense that routinely puts up more than 300 rushing yards a game.