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Football: SWR senior officially bound for Northwestern in Big Ten

Wiederkehr_signing

Shoreham-Wading River senior Ethan Wiederkehr officially inked a National Letter of Intent to play football at Northwestern University. Wiederkehr, who helped lead Shoreham to three straight Class IV Long Island Championships, will trade in his blue and gold of one Wildcats team for the purple of another.

A four-year varsity player, Wiederkehr was joined by his parents, coach and athletic director for a signing ceremony at the high school library on Wednesday, the first official signing day for football players. He’ll join a Northwestern Wildcats team that plays in the Big Ten Conference. It represents the highest level of football for any Shoreham graduate.

Wiederkehr had received offers from as many as 18 colleges before deciding in the summer to attend Northwestern. He was one of 27 high school athletes to sign with Northwestern on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-5, 270-pound lineman had a season to remember this past fall. He was awarded both the Bob Zellner Award as the county’s top lineman and the Rob Burnett Defensive Player of the Year Award. He was also named the state’s Defensive Player of the Year by USA Today High School Sports.

Wiederkehr, who lives in Wading River, will likely red-shirt for a year at Northwestern. For linemen, it’s rare that a player will see the field as a true freshman. To prepare for the next step, Wiederkehr opted to skip playing other sports the rest of this year to focus on training. He’ll report to Northwestern in early June.

“I can’t wait to start the new chapter in my life,” he said in December.

Northwestern ended its last season with a 31-24 win over No. 23 Pittsburgh in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. The Wildcats went 7-6 on the year. Two of their losses came against top-1o teams in the country (Ohio State and Wisconsin).

Photo caption: Ethan Wiederkeher signs his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday. (Courtesy photo)

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