Mount Carmel quarterback Blainey Dowling commits to Eastern Illinois

Blainey Dowling wasn’t sure he’d achieve his dreams of winning a state title and earning a full-ride scholarship to play college football after the Mount Carmel quarterback lost to Brother Rice in the Class 7A quarterfinals to finish a junior season of growing pains.

But Dowling dedicated himself to improving both his quarterback play and his body over the offseason and achieved his goals a year later, winning a Class 7A state title and committing to Eastern Illinois on Sunday.

“Here we are now,” Dowling said. “I’m going on a full scholarship and it’s a great opportunity.”

Dowling’s work over the offseason helped him become one of the best quarterbacks in the state this fall. He threw for 2,977 yards and 43 touchdowns and also ran for 250 yards and 5 touchdowns.

The senior won the CCL/ESCC Blue’s Lawless Award as the division’s best overall player and broke Mount Carmel’s season passing touchdown record.

EIU coaches took note of his impressive senior season and visited Mount Carmel on Dec. 5 to watch Dowling throw routes. They offered Dowling a full-ride scholarship, his first, and the quarterback quickly committed, but the coaches told Dowling to visit campus first before making anything official.

Dowling visited Charleston this weekend and liked how much it felt like a family and how it felt like he had known the EIU players for years. He also enjoyed the small-town feel of Charleston and how it compared to Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood.

“I feel like it’s a great fit for home,” Dowling said. “Somewhere I can call home for the next four years.”

Dowling also earned scholarships from Western Illinois and Drake after EIU offered last week, but neither could offer him a full-ride scholarship. The quarterback held offers from Dayton, Winona State, Notre Dame College, Lindenwood, Minnesota State and Findlay, but he couldn’t pass up an opportunity to take on a full-ride scholarship after falling in love with the coaching staff and campus at EIU.

“Just being able to help out my family and pay as little as possible, that was the biggest thing,” Dowling said.

Despite his dreams coming true, Dowling isn’t done working. He knows about EIU’s reputation of helping under-recruited quarterbacks reach the top level like Tony Romo and Jimmy Garoppolo, but he’s focused on his own success and not what others have done.

Dowling will be the lone quarterback recruit in this class for EIU and he’s already started studying EIU’s playbook each night. After an offseason that helped him reach his dreams, Dowling is dedicated to working harder to climb the depth chart to ultimately accomplish what he did at Mount Carmel.

“There are still some doubters that I need to prove wrong,” Dowling said. “I’m pumped and I’m not going to take this offseason lightly. … I’m going to work hard to earn an opportunity at Eastern.”