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  "path": "/high-school-sports/2026/04/17/practice-makes-prospect-for-montini-qb-israel-abrams",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-18T01:50:04.764Z",
  "site": "https://chicago.suntimes.com",
  "textContent": "<p>When you see Montini’s Israel Abrams throw a tight spiral 30 yards across the field to a receiver in stride, it seems pretty effortless.</p><p>But Broncos coach Mike Bukovsky says Abrams makes it look easy thanks to countless hours of work.</p><p>“The thing I will tell everybody [is] he loves to practice,” Bukovsky told the Sun-Times. “There’s people you coach who don’t love to practice. He loves to work on his craft; he loves to throw. It’s the backbone of his success.”</p><p>And it has made Abrams one of the most sought-after players in the 2027 recruiting cycle. The 6-4, 187-pounder is a consensus five-star prospect, ranked the No. 2 quarterback and No. 39 player overall nationally.</p><p>He committed to 2025 CFP runner-up Miami this month, picking the Hurricanes over national champ Indiana, Ole Miss and Tennessee.</p><p>“Me and my family got down there and [saw] what it was all about — the culture and all the coaches and how I’ll be coached,” Abrams told the Sun-Times. “It was a good vibe.”</p><p>National recruiting analyst Clint Cosgrove loves Abrams’ upside in such a high-powered offense.</p><p>“His arm talent is so impressive,” Cosgrove told the Sun-Times. “He just reads everything so well, so quick and gets the ball out so fast.”</p><p>“I’ve been coaching high school football for 36 years, and I’ve seen a couple of kids that maybe approached his arm strength,” Bukovsky said. “What I’ve never seen is his ability to navigate in the pocket.”</p><p>Again, it was something Abrams worked at.</p><p>“Most definitely, that was my main focus sophomore [year] into junior season,” he said.</p><p>The effort paid off.</p><p>Abrams led the Broncos to a 14-0 record and the Class 4A title last fall, completing 69% of his passes for 4,072 yards and 40 touchdowns with six interceptions. He also ran for 224 yards and 10 touchdowns.</p><p>But gaudy as they were, the stats weren’t something Abrams was preoccupied with.</p><p>“He’s never talked to me about numbers,” Bukovsky said. “He totally understands the team concept.”</p><p><b>Passarella departs DePaul</b></p><p>Michael Passarella, who coached DePaul Prep to the Class 4A state title in 2024, resigned after seven seasons to become the defensive coordinator at Elmhurst University.</p><p>Passarella and Elmhurst coach Mike Heffernan were college teammates at Illinois State and have known each other for two decades.</p><p>“My idea, long term, I wanted to be a head football coach in college,” Passarella told the Sun-Times.</p><p>For family reasons, he wanted to stay in the Chicago area while moving toward that goal.</p><p>“It had to make sense in terms of philosophy and schedule,” Passarella said.</p><p>He took over a DePaul team that was 0-10 the year before he arrived, coming off a winless regular season and a Catholic League playoff loss. His record with the Rams was 28-38.</p><p>Though the 2024 title run was the Rams’ only playoff appearance under Passarella, the program’s numbers are up, and he believes it is positioned for success.</p><p>“We were young, and there is talent there,” he said. “There are a handful of kids who are Division I prospects. That place could be a real gold mine.”<br></p>",
  "title": "Practice makes prospect for Montini QB Israel Abrams",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-18T01:50:04.764Z"
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