The urgency for Emmanuel Rugamba was paramount.
Nine days before he and his Naperville Central teammates open fall camp in preparation for the 2015 season, Rugamba decided it was the right time to say ‘yes’ to Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz.
“All things fell into place with Iowa, distance, level of competition, coaching staff, opportunity and the home feel I got from the school,” Rugamba wrote in a text, detailing his decision last Saturday to commit to the Hawkeyes. “No other schools offered as much as Iowa did.”
Rugamba is heading into his third year on varsity for Naperville Central, which is coming off a 9-3 season and a trip to the Class 8A state quarterfinals in 2014.
As one of Conor Joyce primary targets at wide receiver, he caught 27 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns last year.
Thrown into the fire on both sides of the ball for the Redhawks last year, Rugamba will head to Iowa City in the fall of 2016 and make the switch full-time to defensive back.
Rugamba recorded 12 tackles, two PBUs and one interception for defensive coordinator Mike Ulreich’s unit last year.
“It’s something I have (thought about for a while),” he wrote about the decision to switch full-time defensively in college. “Over the years, I worked out with a DB coach Todd Howard and TNC. So he’s done a great job of getting me familiar with the position.”
The Hawkeyes went 7-6 overall in 2014, including a .500 record in the Big Ten, and lost to Tennessee in the TaxSlayer Bowl.
His choice to accept Ferentz’s scholarship offer over those from Boston College, Indiana and Pittsburgh marked the achievement of a life-long goal.
“I’ve always dreamed of playing at the highest level, so being in the Big Ten and anticipating early opportunity is something that was huge with the decision,” Rugamba wrote.
First things first, however.
A year removed from claiming the 2013 Class 8A state title, goals at Naperville Central remain high with fall camp opening on Monday, 18 days before the Aug. 28 season opener at Glenbard North.
A sophomore on that 2013 team that went 11-3 behind QB Jake Kolbe as the Redhawks engineered upsets of Homewood-Flossmoor, Marist and Loyola Academy, Rugamba still feels there’s a sense of unfinished business.
“It was pretty important to get the decision done before the first day of fall camp because now it’s all about the team and trying to get back to a state championship,” he wrote. “It helps me focus more on that goal.”
