Illinois football prospect leaving school early

Dana Becker

Illinois football prospect leaving school early image

One of the top tight end prospects in the Class of 2026, and one of the top players in Illinois high school football, will enroll at Alabama following this semester.

MORE: Top Illinois high school football team loses a game this weekend

Mack Sutter, a senior at Dunlap High School in Illinois, will not play basketball this winter. Instead, he will head to Tuscaloosa to get a jump on his collegiate career.

"I'll be graduating at the end of the semester," Sutter told the Peoria Journal Star. "It was a really hard (decision), but I kind of had to do what's best for me because I got to get down there, put on some muscale and weight, then learn the playbook and all that for my future."

Sutter, a 6-foot-6, 230-pounder, caught four passes for 59 yards in a 44-0 win for Dunlap last week. He hauled in a 23-yard pass for a touchdown and forced a fumble on defense.

Recruited by almost 50 schools, Sutter received 30 offers from the Big Ten and SEC. In the end, it was the Crimson Tide that won out.

Sutter is regarded as the No. 7 tight end in the Class of 2026 and the No. 1 player in Illinois by 247Sports. He caught 35 passes for 505 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior while also completing six passes for 119 yards.

On defense, he had 36 tackles with six sacks, eight tackles for loss, an interception returned for a touchdown and two forced fumbles.

Last year, Sutter was a first team all-Mid-Illini Conference pick, averaging a team-high 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He said he will "miss" basketball but "they'll be good this year" with head coach Ryan Julius.

Sutter's father is Ed Sutter, a five-year NFL veteran who played linebacker in the Big Ten at Northwestern.

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Dana Becker

Dana Becker is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He has been a sports writer since 2000, covering high school sports, the Big 12 and more for On SI, The Fort Dodge Messenger, Mason City Globe-Gazette, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others.