Crystal Lake Central’s George Dimopoulos commits to NIU

The lack of game video at wide receiver during his junior season could not keep Crystal Lake Central’s George Dimopoulos from his realizing his dream.

Dimopoulos and Tigers quarterback Jason Penza were poised to become one of the area’s most prolific quarterback-receiver duos, but Penza suffered a right (throwing) elbow injury at the end of the first half of the season opener.

Dimopoulos then spent the next 7 1/2 games throwing passes instead of catching them.

“Moving to quarterback and having no experience wasn’t fun, but I had to do what was best for my team,” Dimopoulos said. “It had to happen.”

It feels great. It’s a dream come true. I’ve been dreaming about this since pee wee football.”

—  George Dimopoulos, Crystal Lake Central wide receiver

Ultimately, it all worked out. Northern Illinois University saw enough of Dimopoulos in the final game of the season and in 7-on-7 sessions and workouts this spring to offer him a scholarship. Dimopoulos announced his commitment to the Huskies on Twitter on Friday.

“It feels great. It’s a dream come true,” Dimopoulos said. “I’ve been dreaming about this since pee wee football.”

Dimopoulos and Penza, both juniors, offered a preview of what lies ahead in the 2023 season in last year’s finale. The 2-7 Tigers stood toe-to-toe with Prairie Ridge, the eventual Class 6A state runner-up, in a 56-49 loss. Penza returned to quarterback and Dimopoulos caught seven passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns.

“That (Week 9) video went a long way,” Tigers coach Dirk Stanger said. “What he’s done this spring and summer as well. The coaches at Northern called me after he went to their camp on Friday night a few weeks back and said, ‘Coach, George absolutely crushed it. He looked awesome.’ He generated some momentum. There’s other schools that called him, but it sounds like he’s found his home.”

Dimopoulos said Central was playing in a 7-on-7 event in DeKalb and he was invited to a private workout with head coach Thomas Hammock, offensive coordinator Eric Eidsness, a quarterback and some defensive backs.

Wide receivers coach Joseph Hawkins also was in on Dimopoulos’ recruitment, as was defensive coordinator Nick Benedetto, a Crystal Lake South graduate.

“They had me run some routes and do some 1-on-1s and they said they really liked me,” Dimopoulos said. “I went to one of their junior days (earlier) and was talking to coach Hawkins. I like him a lot. We stayed in touch. I went to their camp and they started recruiting me heavily.”

Stanger said Dimopoulos’ size (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) and his 4.5 40-yard dash speed spoke volumes about his ability as well. He caught 32 passes for 564 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore and had 11 catches for 230 yards and four touchdowns last season.

As a quarterback, Dimopoulos completed 93-of-183 passes for 1,288 yards with seven touchdowns.

“I’ve been coaching a while now. He’s by far the best receiver I’ve ever had,” Stanger said. “When you look at what kind of technician he is running routes and understanding leverage and things like that. He really has the full package.”

Stanger is excited about what Dimopoulos can do this season back at home at wide receiver.

“It speaks volumes to what kind of a teammate he is,” Stanger said. “He knew, after we talked about it, that it may have set him back on the recruiting. He did some camps and some high level 7-on-7 stuff with Midwest BOOM to generate some exposure (this spring).”

Central has a lot of returning players and could challenge for the Fox Valley Conference title and a strong showing in the Class 6A playoffs.

“This is going to be our full season together,” Dimopoulos said. “We got a little preview in Week 9 at PR. We were hanging with them and they went to state, so I think we’ll have a good run.”