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| Football FeverFriday, August 24, 2007 6:10 AM CDT |
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Central Catholic: Waldron finds home, stardom
BLOOMINGTON - No wonder opponents have a tough time catching Ryan Waldron. The Central Catholic High School football standout has been on the move all his life. | Photo gallery | 5 Things to Watch | Team facts Waldron's path to stardom reads like Rand McNally, with stops in North Carolina, Florida and Long Island, N.Y., prior to his arrival on Bloomington's east side in January 2005. "This is our sixth house Ryan has lived in," said his mother, Carol Waldron, a director in the business and technology office at State Farm Insurance. "Having to move at mid-year (as a freshman), he wasn't very happy. He tried to tell me he was going to stay and live with his friends' families (in New York). I said, 'No, you're coming with our family.' " Thus, after six years on Long Island, Waldron moved to the heartland with his mother, his father, Wesley, and his younger brother, Will. "There was a slower pace, less people," Waldron said of Central Illinois. "It was kind of mellow at first, so it was nice. I like it a lot." Waldron's adjustment has included a highly successful transition on the football field. The senior running back is the Pantagraph area's top returning rusher, amassing 1,247 yards and 22 touchdowns last season for the 9-2 Saints. He also was Central's leading tackler and intercepted four passes at outside linebacker, earning All-Area and first-team all-Corn Belt Conference honors. Pretty heady stuff for a guy who did not play football - was not allowed to play - until his freshman year. Carol Waldron has been transferred frequently, and along the way, denied her son's requests to play football. She finally relented when he enrolled at a Catholic high school in New York. "I've always loved to watch football. I really liked the hits. It's OK when it's done to someone else, but not your child," Carol Waldron said. "He had played soccer, and that was a good thing. But he wanted to try it (football) in high school, and he loved it from the time he started." It has become a passion for Waldron, who attended camps this summer at Illinois, Wake Forest, Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Eastern Illinois and Iowa. He also improved his speed in the spring as a sprinter on the Central track team, and has dedicated himself in the weight room, adding muscle to his 6-foot, 205-pound frame. How much? "He looks good with his shirt off," Saints coach Bobby Moews said. Waldron has looked good enough on the field to attract attention from college coaches. He hopes to become the Saints' third straight scholarship player. Tight end Michael Hoomanawanui and defensive tackle Josh Brent signed with Illinois the past two years. "I didn't think a small school like this would have big recruits. But if you play hard, people will find you," Waldron said. "I just want to play hard and hopefully something will happen." Waldron is far more comfortable than in August 2005. With only a year of freshman football under his belt, he found himself on the Central varsity as a sophomore. He called it "a big jump," and said it took time to adjust to "the speed of the game and learning everything quickly." An ankle injury early in the season limited Waldron's carries on offense. However, he became a regular on defense for a team which advanced to the Class 4A playoff quarterfinals. That paved the way for a breakout junior season in which Waldron was third in the area in rushing and scoring. "He has great speed, he has good size and he's really strong," Moews said. "You have to bring it if you're going to tackle him. As the season went on, his field vision got better and better. I expect him to be even better this year. "Defensively, he reads well. His quickness off the edge was outstanding last year. He was running by guys and getting big hits on quarterbacks." Waldron is likely to be a safety in college. Saints defensive coordinator Mike Moews believes he has the speed to play there, saying Waldron successfully covered wide receivers this summer in 7-on-7 competition. More often than not, he did it with a smile. It is Waldron's way. "He's a good leader and he's loose. He keeps everybody else loose," Bobby Moews said. "Sometimes I think he's a little too loose. But he knows when to tone it down. One thing I know about Ryan ? he's having fun playing football. When that smile goes off his face, I know he's had a bad day or something's wrong." "I like having fun with my teammates," Waldron said. "Practice shouldn't just be hard work and grind into the dirt. It should be fun." The games are fun as well, though not as much for Mom. Carol Waldron now supports her son's desire to play, but ? "I'm a tad nervous (during games)," she said. "I'm not one who can sit. I have to stand and walk a little bit." E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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