11 former IHSA football players part of CFP semifinals

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The semifinals of the College Football Playoff are Thursday and Friday, with the winners advancing to the 2026 championship game set for Jan. 19 in Miami.

No. 1 seed Indiana meets No. 5 Oregon in the Peach Bowl, while upstarts No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 10 Miami meet in the Fiesta Bowl.

At least 11 former Illinois High School Association players are rostered on the four semifinal teams, led by Indiana‘s six former Illinois high school players. Here is a look at each and how they fared so far in 2025:

Illinois players for Oregon

  • Dierre Hill, fr., RB, Belleville Althoff: The 2024 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year is an important situational offensive player for the Ducks, with 683 scrimmage yards on 84 touches and six touchdowns.
  • Nick Duzansky, so., LS, Wheaton St. Francis: The longsnapper has played in three games this season. His brother, Tyler, was a longsnapper this season at Penn State.

Illinois players for Indiana

  • Pat Coogan, sr., OL, Chicago Marist: The 6-foot-5, 311-pound Notre Dame transfer has anchored the line this season, starting every game at center. He became the first lineman since 1944 to win MVP of the Rose Bowl in a victory against Alabama in the CFP quarterfinals.
  • Jacob Bell, fr., QB, Naperville North: The 6-foot-2, 213-pounder redshirted in his first season at Indiana.
  • Garrett Reese, fr., DB, LaGrange Park Nazareth: The 6-foot-2, 203-pound true freshman has played in eight games including the Rose Bowl. He has a tackle and one fumble recovery.
  • Bruno Massel IV, fr., WR, Elmhurst York: The walk-on did not play in a game this season.
  • Matt Marek, fr., OL, Orland Park Sandburg: The 6-foot-3, 308-pounder played in three games during his first season in Bloomington and took a redshirt.
  • Tyler Morris, sr., WR, LaGrange Park Nazareth: The Michigan transfer injured his knee in the spring and did not play a game in 2025.

Illinois players for Miami

  • Justin Scott, so., DL, Chicago St. Ignatius: The 6-foot-4, 303-pounder has played in 13 games as part of the defensive front rotation. He has 22 tackles, 6.5 for loss, and a sack.
  • Marquise Lightfoot, so., DL, Chicago Kenwood: The 6-foot-5, 230-pound end has played 13 games as part of the defensive end rotation. He has 22 tackles, 5.5 for loss, and 2.5 sacks.

Illinois players for Ole Miss

  • Mike Baker, fr., PK, Wilmette Loyola: After a redshirt in 2024, Baker had three extra points in three games early in the season.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: College Football Playoffs: Former IHSA players in CFP semifinals

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