A former suburban football star is now one of the top prospects in this year’s NFL Draft.
Laquon Treadwell, who once played football for Crete-Monee High School, is expected to be selected as a first-round pick.
Treadwell moved on from the southern Chicago suburb to play for Ole Miss, becoming the all-time leading receiver in the university's history.
Now, with the draft slated to take place in Chicago this week, Treadwell has returned home as he prepares to learn where his NFL career could begin.
“It’s already written. Somebody’s already got you down for where you’re going,” he said. “So I can’t really stress about it I just got to accept where I go and make the most of it.”
The football star returned to his alma mater in Crete-Monee this week, where he was honored by the school and spent time encouraging other young players.
“He’s the gold standard that all the young men and especially in the football program, they look up to and they know that his name comes up on regular and consistent basis,” said Treadwell’s former coach John Konecki. “He’s the toughest, hardest working, most coachable kid I’ve ever been around in my entire life. He has an insatiable desire to be the best.”
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Treadwell said despite his many successes early in his football career, he doesn’t let things get to his head.
“It took a lot of patience and determination,” he said. “I would work out, middle of the night, run in my neighborhood. It would put me in a mental capacity where I was someone. It always made me push myself.”
