Brother Rice sophomore Kameron McGee was quick and concise when describing his team’s mentality on defense this season.

“See ball, go get ball,” McGee said. “That’s it.”

McGee’s performance on the football field emblemized those words. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound defensive end consistently found the football and wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks, posting 54 tackles along with 21 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks during the 2025 season, which culminated with a Class 7A state title.

“We’re just thankful,” McGee said. “It’s history for us. We’ve been talking about winning since we first started in January 2025. When we won... It’s been so much of a journey and we’ve built so much chemistry. Getting to know everybody by their first and last name and knowing where they come from... If somebody goes down, then the next person can go up and have the trust from all of the guys.”

It was the first state football title since 1981 for the Crusaders, who went 13-1 and shut out St. Rita 16-0 in the state title game at NIU earlier this month. McGee, who helped Brother Rice blank three opponents in the playoffs, played an integral role in Brother Rice’s state championship victory against the Mustangs, recording six total tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks.

“One of the keys to success was the extra time they gave us,” McGee said. “We reframed and refocused. That was one of our mottos for the season... We had three extra practices to see what they would do and catch on to their tendencies. That extra time helped us see what we needed to see in order to shut them out.”

McGee, a five-star prospect who broke up nine passes, forced two fumbles and recovered one fumble during his sophomore season, is the 2025 Friday Night Drive Defensive Player of the Year. An All-CCL/ESCC honoree and a Friday Night Drive All-CCL/ESCC player, McGee was part of a Brother Rice defensive line that collectively brought home the CCL/ESCC Blue’s Lineman of the Year award.

“Brayden Parks, Mikey Fitzgerald, King Liggins... those are my best friends,” McGee said. “I’m the underclassman, but I look to all of them as brothers, as friends and as family. They opened up 1-on-1 opportunities for me. Brayden took on double teams, King took on double teams and Mikey took on double teams for me to go make a play and vice versa... We had a next-man-up mentality this year.”

Brother Rice, whose only loss this season came against unbeaten Mount Carmel, this year’s Class 8A state champion, finished 13-1 for the first time since 2018, when the Crusaders shut out six teams en route to a state finals appearance. While Liggins, an Illinois recruit, will be graduating early, Brother Rice will have both McGee and Parks, a four-star prospect, returning next season.

“[Kameron] is the best player in the country,” Brother Rice coach Casey Quedenfeld said. “I’ve coached in five states and I’ve seen the best of the best. He’s mature beyond his years and he loves the game. He studies the game. He’s so athletic and powerful. At any given time, he can make a play to totally kill momentum.”

With McGee spearheading the charge off the edge, Brother Rice held four opponents scoreless and limited teams to an average of 10.28 points this season. The Crusaders, who climbed to No. 1 in the AP rankings in Class 7A, made their first major statement of the year during their 28-6 win over three-time defending 8A state champion Loyola in September. McGee had two sacks in the win.

“What really made us successful was getting off the field on third downs,” McGee said. “Last year, we’d get the other team to third down and they would convert. This year, we had a whole bunch of third-and-long, third-and-short and fourth-and-short plays where we got off the field and gave our offense more opportunities.”

A Bellwood native with one sister and two brothers, McGee played both ways as a freshman and became a breakout star on defense. Currently rated the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2028 class by 247Sports, McGee has received offers from several prestigious programs including Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Oregon, Notre Dame, Texas and LSU.

“I felt like I improved in the mental part of the game,” McGee said. “During my freshman year, I could just run around and make plays. Sophomore year, I got to really learn the defense and I got to know what I’m really good at and how I could use my advantages against other people. I’m pretty fast, explosive and I can drop back into coverage and stick onto a receiver, even as a defensive lineman.”

Inspired by his mother, Dessazzer Banks, McGee is one of the most disruptive pass rushers in the state who still has two more years of high school football to play. McGee, whose favorite NFL players to watch include Green Bay Packers and former Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons, said that mental and physical growth will be among his top priorities as he prepares for the 2026 season next fall.

“My role model is my mom,” said McGee, who started playing football as a first-grader. “She’s my everything and she does everything for me... It’s funny because my older brother played and I didn’t really want to play, but my mom asked me to play and I got good at it, so I kept on playing and I fell in love with it.”