Nebraska Football Recruiting: 4-Star Recruit Jordan Westerkamp Player of Year

The Nebraska Cornhuskers must be extremely happy with their 4-star recruit Jordan Westerkamp as the senior Montini wide receiver was recently named the Chicago Tribune's Player of the Year.

Westerkamp— who committed to the Cornhuskers in May and holds Illinois records for yards, catches and touchdowns—beat out Chicago area standouts like Big Ten prospects Aaron Bailey and Ty Isaac, Malcolm Weaver and Western Michigan recruit Anthony Maddie.

Seventeen schools heavily recruited Westerkamp—including the Arizona Wildcats, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Tennessee Volunteers and eight Big Ten teams.

The 6'2", 195-pound Westerkamp also had a record-setting game in the Illinois High School Association 5A State Championship Nov. 26.

He broke the all-class record for most yards receiving in an Illinois championship game. He nabbed 11 balls for 331 yards and five touchdowns as he lead his Broncos to a 70-45 win over the Joliet Catholic Academy Hilltoppers.

Westerkamp's effort was even more impressive as Joliet Catholic's defensive backs were providing double and triple teams on him.

Montini quarterback John Rhode said Westerkamp was making catches even on bad throws, as a constant drizzle began to fall as the game progressed.

Besides the championship game, Westerkamp had an impressive 10-catch, 155-yard performance for four scores against Marian Central in the quarterfinals.

Westerkamp is considered the 10th-best receiver to come out of Illinois while having a 40-yard dash of 4.5 seconds and a 40" vertical leap. He concluded his high school career with 235 catches for 4,618 receiving yards and 68 touchdowns.

Talent certainly runs in Westerkamp's family, as his father Bob played wide receiver for the Illinois Fighting Illini and his older brother Christian was a staring receiver for Montini.

Bob Bajek is a writing intern at Bleacher Report. He is also a freelance reporter and can be followed at Patch.com and Twitter.