Berner, Hoffman sign for football

EDITOR'S NOTE: To see a video of Chester High School football coach Jeremy Blechle discussing the two signings, see the Herald Tribune's Facebook page or website.

In a dual signing event on Wednesday, Chester High School's Jordan Berner and Garret Hoffman signed their national letters of intent to play football at the next level.

Berner, the two-time Black Diamond Conference MVP and all-state selection as a junior, sent his LOI to SIU earlier in the day and signed a "fake" one in front of friends, family and current and former coaches.

Hoffman, with Lindenwood University-Belleville Special Teams Coordinator/Quarterbacks coach Kyle Dougherty in attendance, signed the real deal to become part of the Lynx.

Both players helped Chester reach the Class 2A Elite Eight in 2014.

According to Yellow Jacket Radio, Berner - who verbally committed to the Salukis in October - is the first Chester athlete to play Division I football since Scott Lamb signed with Illinois State in 1998.

"(Jordan) is a kid I was excited about getting," said new SIU coach Nick Hill during a signing day news conference earlier Wednesday. "He's done it all for Chester. It was almost unfair for the Black Diamond (Conference) to have Jordan in their conference.

"He'd line up at quarterback, middle linebacker, he's got almost a thousand receiving yards in his career, on big downs, they'd put him at wide receiver and have him run a fade. He's really done everything there."

Hill said Berner, who will be a defensive end for the Salukis as SIU switches to a 4-3 defense, was listed conservatively at 6-5 and 230 pounds on the college's signing day sheet.

"Really, he weighed in at 243 when he was here on his visit," Hill said. "So these are conservative numbers than actual numbers.

"He's a big kid and physically, he's probably ready to play right now."

Berner holds school records for interceptions in a season with seven, interceptions in a career with nine and career tackles with 310.

Offensively, he finished his Yellow Jacket career with 934 yards and nine touchdowns at tight end, along with five rushing touchdowns and a passing TD out of the Wildcat formation.

A three-sport athlete (football, basketball and baseball) for most of his career, he is undeclared on his major, but leaning toward kinesiology.

Berner will be one of three players - Murphysboro running back Clay Rendleman and Johnston City kicker/punter Nico Gualdoni are the others - to represent the 618 area code in this year's recruiting class.

"I'm on top of the world right now, I'm on Cloud 9," Berner said. "Pretty awesome."

Last season, Hoffman compiled 66 tackles (16 solo), two pass deflections, two fumble recoveries and an interception en route to a second straight First-Team All-BDC selection.

He was also an All-South pick as a junior.

Hoffman joins a Lynx program entering its second year with head coach Dale Carlson. Carlson went 4-6 and 2-4 in the Mid-States Football Association in 2015.

"I like the campus a lot, I like the football program, they just got a new coach and I'm excited to see what can do with his own recruiting class and a whole year's work," Hoffman said.

Hoffman noted he plans to pursue a criminal justice major, with the goal of becoming a part of the FBI or a state trooper.

"It's close to home," Hoffman said. "They've got a very good criminal justice program. The state crime lab is right there and they showed me that they really wanted me on campus."

Dougherty said Hoffman inquired about Lindenwood in early August.

"He reached out to us and we followed the lead on it and took the initiative and had him on campus for a game this season," he said. "Garret was the one who really initiated the contact there."

Dougherty noted that Lindenwood's plans are to put the 6-foot, 245-pound lineman on the defensive side of the ball.

"He's got a great get-off, uses his hands really well, defeats blocks and makes plays down the field," he said. "We think he can develop into a really, really good player."

After the ceremonies, Chester football coach Jeremy Blechle gave his take on what it has been like to work with both players.

"I probably couldn't have had a better situation being a first-year coach working with two experienced guys who know basically how the program runs and two guys you can put out in front of the whole team as leaders," he said.