Commitment Report: Isaiah Cherrier (2017)

<p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">After an undefeated regular season, the Mound Westonka Whitehawks&#39; football team&#39;s season ended before they would have liked when they fell to Holy Angels early in the 5AAAA playoffs. One of the bright spots in a great season that ended before they would have wished was senior <strong>Isaiah Cherrier</strong>. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">Cherrier committed early in the college football recruiting process largely because of the relationships he built and the loyalty he was shown throughout the process.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">"The (football) season went really well," Cherrier said. "I felt that I trained very hard coming into my senior season and it showed on the field. The season didn&#39;t end as we hoped, but we still had a great year considering our past records."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">After the football season, Cherrier didn&#39;t take much time off.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">"This winter I hit the weight room hard and gained about ten pounds," the senior said. "My main focus was becoming more explosive."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">Earlier this year Cherrier committed to Western Illinois and will continue to work on his goal of becoming a more explosive athlete.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">"This spring I will be doing my spring workout that the Western Illinois strength coach sent me," the Leatherneck commit said, "as well as running track."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">While Cherrier enjoyed the recruiting process, he felt like his options were limited.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">"My recruiting experience was really busy, exciting and at times frustrating," said northstarfootballnews.com&#39;s 31st ranked senior. "I felt that I was a little under-recruited because of teams no knowing what position I would play in college."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">In the end, his decision came down to three choices.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">"My final choices came down to Western Illinois, Northern Iowa and a preferred walk-on offer from Minnesota." </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">The Leathernecks were in on Cherrier early, and it paid off.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">"I ultimately chose Western because of the relationships that I built with the players and the coaches. They had faith in me since my junior season, and that was something that led me to commit to them early."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">Cherrier knows nothing is guaranteed, but he hopes to be playing sooner rather than later in the coming fall.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">"I will be playing running back for them," Cherrier told northstarfootballnews. "Both the coaches and I have the expectation that I come in and compete for early playing time."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12pt">Hopefully, Cherrier continues to succeed on the college gridiron, and both parties are rewarded by Western Illinois&#39; loyalty.</span></p>