Brother Rice quarterback Jack Lausch follows heart, signs with Northwestern

Jack Lausch followed his heart on one of the most important decisions in his life.

The Brother Rice quarterback thought he had his future all worked out heading into his senior season: He would play baseball collegiately at Notre Dame and walk on to the football team.

Then the life-changing offer came.

Northwestern offered him a scholarship to play football on Dec. 5 after a senior season when he earned the CCL/ESCC Blue Player of the Year award and was an IHSFCA All-State quarterback.

The offer surprised the quarterback. Lausch thought he had his future all mapped out, but after an impressive senior season, he knew he wanted to continue to play football and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play in the Big Ten.

So he followed his heart and committed to the Wildcats on Monday, Dec. 13, and signed his letter of intent on Wednesday.

“This is an incredible opportunity,” Lausch said. “I’m really excited to get to work with these guys I’m going to meet throughout this year and to get to work at a big-time program, I’m more than excited for this opportunity.”

Lausch had committed to play baseball at Notre Dame in June as an outfielder and decided he would try to walk on to the football team. But as his senior football season went on, his coach Brian Badke watched as his quarterback reassessed after an impressive season and decided that he wanted to focus on football.

He just needed an offer.

That offer came when Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald called Lausch to let the quarterback know he had a football scholarship offer with the program. Lausch and his family were excited about the prospect and he knew right away that it was something to think about.

He and his family visited Northwestern’s campus this past weekend and as Lausch thought about it more and let it all settle in, he decided to follow his heart.

“It was an incredibly hard decision,” Lausch said. “They’re two amazing places. I was really torn; it was a really, really hard decision. But it came down to what I thought was the best opportunity for me and my family. My heart just told me this was the best opportunity for me and I trusted that.”

The decision wasn’t only between whether he wanted to go to Northwestern or Notre Dame; he had to choose between football and baseball. Lausch is one of the top baseball prospects in the Midwest and was heavily recruited by the Notre Dame baseball staff.

But Lausch couldn’t go away from the dreams he had of playing college football at a Big Ten program. That’s why he worked hard every year growing up, watched it and studied it. That’s why he loved playing football.

Lausch still doesn’t know whether he’ll try to play baseball at Northwestern, but he does know playing college football was something he always wanted to do, so he needed to take this opportunity.

“It’s a tough decision,” Lausch said. “I trusted my gut, trusted my heart and went with what I felt was best for my future and what my heart wants to do in the future. It was obviously really tough going back and forth, but I’m just going to trust my gut and heart on this one.”

Lausch finished the season with 2,447 passing yards and 20 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,084 yards and scoring 21 touchdowns on the ground. Badke told Fitzgerald that Lausch was someone Fitzgerald would want in his program.

Badke has watched as Lausch developed into not only one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the state, but a great leader on the field and in the classroom.

“I think he’s a perfect fit for what Northwestern does offensively,” Badke said. “He’s a dual threat, he can make all the throws and he can run. What they do offensively, he’s going to do a lot of great things for them and he’s a great leader, he’s a field general, he makes everyone around him better.”

Lausch is excited for not only what signing his letter of intent means for him but also what it means for his family. He’s had their support throughout the entire process and knows it’s a cool moment for both he and his family.

While he didn’t think he’d get a scholarship so late in the process, it was better late than never. Now he’s following his heart and can’t wait to see where it takes him.

“I’m really excited to get to work,” Lausch said. “I’m really excited to start learning and keep growing as a player. When I get to campus, I’m excited to compete and have a lot of fun.”