‘Fell in love with the place:’ Joliet Catholic’s Justin Bonsu commits to Navy

Senior will join former teammate Devean Washington in Annapolis

Joliet Catholic's Justin Bonsu (11) tries to avoid getting tackled by Brother Rice's Jake Dugger (19) on Friday, Oct. 07, 2022, at Joliet Memorial Stadium. (Dean Reid for Shaw Media)

Justin Bonsu did a little bit of everything for the Joliet Catholic football team in his senior season.

And while his collegiate football endeavors will likely find him at the wide receiver position, Bonsu tried his hand at – and was effective at – serving as one of the Hilltoppers’ primary running backs and while also spending some time at the defensive back position.

That flexibility is something any college football program is on the lookout for.

Bonsu’s natural abilities had already attracted interest from the Naval Academy. The added flexibility was more than enough for Navy personnel to try to get Bonsu into the fold.

“They came to see me my junior year,” Bonsu said. “And they really liked me. But they said they wanted to see more. And I guess in my senior year I had a pretty good year. And then they came by again, they checked me out. They felt like I was somebody that represents their school and pretty much has the same values, goals and stuff like that.”

An official offer soon followed from Navy. Bonsu wasn’t totally sold that it was the right fit, but an official visit to Annapolis came in January and a union between Bonsu and Navy seemed much more likely.

“I checked it out and I just fell in love with the place,” Bonsu said. ”It was just amazing. The area, the people, coaches, everything about it was amazing.”

Joliet Catholic's Justin Bonsu (11) runs the ball during IHSA Class 4A first round playoff on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, at Joliet. (Dean Reid for Shaw Media)

Bonsu eventually committed to Navy in November and with it comes, as all service academy arrangements do, a minimum five-year work/service commitment that must be fulfilled at the conclusion of his time at Annapolis. Bonsu admitted to some trepidation, at first, about such a commitment, but with a little bit of research and personal reflection, Bonsu, who intends to major in engineering, eventually came to see the arrangement as a real positive.

“I would say I was skeptical, for sure,” Bonsu said. “But, then I really looked into the details. It’s not really as much a burden as some people see it as... "

Bonsu also had a resource within the Navy program to help reassure him. Devean Washington, a 2021 JCA graduate, is a safety on the Navy roster. Bonsu also gleaned advice from another active player with JCA roots in the service academy pipeline as Jabril Williams is a defensive back at Army.

“I was in contact with Jabril Williams the whole time,” Bonsu said. “And then Devean Washington; I saw him on the visit and then we talked two or three times like for two hours straight and he filled me in on the ins and outs on everything and how day-to-day life works. With all of that known, I feel very comfortable with my decision.”

Joliet Catholic coach Jake Jaworski feels Bonsu’s athletic flexibility and JCA’s recent success with placing players in the service academies are both positives to give him confidence Navy will be a great fit for Bonsu.

“With Justin you’ve got a long athlete, slated to play at wide receiver but he did a little bit of everything for us. From an athletic standpoint, I think it’s a pretty good fit for them,” Jaworski said. “And then as far as the relationship goes with the service academies, we currently have a guy at Navy and a guy at Army that seem to be enjoying their time in both places, and it’s always good when you have resources in a program that can kind of give you some feedback on it.”