New Palestine’s Isaiah Thacker (22) and head coach Kyle Ralph talk after Thacker scored a touchdown against Cathedral during the Class 5A Regional 7 championship game at Arsenal Technical High School on Friday, November 12, 2021. Thacker recently committed to play college football at Ball State University.
Rob Baker | For The Daily Reporter
NEW PALESTINE — They are going from being Dragons to Cardinals.
New Palestine football standouts Luke Burgess and Isaiah Thacker announced their college commitments Sunday.
The two highly-recruited Dragons will be wearing the same colors (red and white, just like at NPHS) and have the same mascot at their college destinations, but they’re going to different schools.
Burgess, a highly sought-after offensive left tackle, announced he will be continuing his athletic and academic career at the University of Louisville.
He chose the Cardinals over North Carolina and Florida State. In all, the 6-8, 290-pounder had 28 Division-I offers, including at least one from every Power 5 conference.
Thacker, a standout wide receiver and kick returner, verbally committed to Ball State University.
He chose the Muncie, Ind., Cardinals over a number of other Mid-American Conference schools, including Akron, Kent State, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan and Miami of Ohio, as well as, in-state Division I FCS program Indiana State.
“Sometimes it could be stressful, but overall (the recruiting process) was pretty good. I got to meet a lot of new people,” Thacker said.
“Ball State said they only had a few slots left and they were going to see if others were going to commit. If I waited, that spot might not be there. ‘Now was the right time.”
With their verbal commitments, both players said the fit was right.
“I chose (Ball State) because it was the best fit. It felt like home. I love the players there and I like the coaches, too,” Thacker added.
“I think the biggest thing was the fit,” Burgess said. “I released my top three, North Carolina, Florida State and Louisville. They are all amazing schools. I was really trying to find my fit. The energy of the (Louisville) program and the city, as well as the players already there, it felt like those are my people.”
Burgess rattled off the schools that offered. He couldn’t recall them all, but the list included, along with his final three, Arizona State, Boston College, Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Illinois, Kentucky, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, Purdue, Rutgers, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and West Virginia.
“It’s been pretty wild,” Burgess said of what has been a very long process. “I got my first offer from Indiana about a year and two months ago. Since then, I’ve been taking a lot of visits and I’m thankful for the process. I got to see a lot of places I probably would have never seen in my life. One of the best parts was spending that time with my family traveling to all of these places, out west to Iowa State, south to Miami and north to Boston (College).”
Burgess said he was also glad to get his choice made before his final high school season.
“Even last year, I knew I wanted to commit before my senior season. I wanted to do it in the spring, but I had a couple late offers that had my mind thinking. The big focal point for me was committing before my senior season so I could focus on trying to win a state championship,” Burgess said.
New Palestine head coach Kyle Ralph believes both college programs are getting standouts with great work ethics and a big window of growth.
“I always tell people you can’t coach size and (Burgess) is a mountain of a human being,” Ralph said. “It’s really hard to find offensive tackles that are long like him that can add even more weight to their frame, and are mobile. People that are 6-7 and 6-8 are not easy to come by, as a general statement. He’s almost 290-295 pounds. Guys that are 6-7, 6-8 and weigh that much and can move are even more rare.”
“A lot of people fell in love with his frame and his ability to move at that size. It’s pretty unique.”
Ralph said Ball State is getting quite a steal in Thacker, who a few Power 5 schools were looking at as a defensive back.
Thacker wanted to remain at wide receiver.
“He is really becoming a well-rounded football player. He was getting opportunities and looks from Power 5 schools at defensive back. Big 10 schools and Oklahoma came in to look at him at DB, but he fell in love with Ball State and he wanted to play wide receiver. I am very happy for him,” Ralph said.
Last season, Thacker had 34 receptions for 693 yards, for a 20.4 yards per catch average. He scored five touchdowns. He also averaged 27.8 yards per kickoff return and had one touchdown.
“Those guys have really made themselves into those desirable Division I level prospects because of their talent, but also their work ethic that has been coupled with that to get them there,” Ralph said. “I am very proud of the effort and time those guys have put in.”
