Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin football coach Ken Leonard was eager to send out highlight videos of junior offensive lineman Ryan Klachko. Through 26 years at SHG - including three state championships in the last decade - Leonard said the 6-foot-4, 285-pound junior had the most impressive game tape of any offensive lineman he's coached.
Leonard's hype recently has been validated. After viewing the film, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State and Purdue extended scholarship offers to Klachko.
"I think before it's all said and done, I think he'll have offers from just about all the Big Ten," Leonard said.
Nicknamed "The Russian" because his parents are Russian natives, Klachko played guard last year but will move into the starting tackle spot left by Indiana recruit Marlandez Harris.
"(Klachko is) a kid that can run really well, and he's a big kid," Leonard said. "On top of that, he's a pretty nasty kid. He's a kid that has a motor, a nastiness and a kid that can run. That's what (college programs) are looking for.
"He had 35 knockdowns or pancakes. That's pretty impressive. He gets to the second level really well. He does all the things he has to do to be a big time lineman. I think he has enough athletically to be a defensive tackle."
Illinois has passed on Big Ten prospects out of SHG since Ron Zook came to the UI in 2005 - Harris went to Indiana in 2010, Leonard Hubbard to Wisconsin in 2008, Jeff Sanders to Indiana in 2006 and Eric Peterman in 2005 - but may now be trying to develop a better relationship with the premier in-state school.
Leonard said he hopes UI makes more of a presence in Springfield because the Cyclones continue to produce sought-after recruits, like Klachko.
"(Klachko is) working. He's a hardworker," Leonard said. "He just wants to be as good as he can, get us to the state championship and get into a Division I school and go from there."
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