Homestead receivers Jared Kistler and Ethan Chambers have both signed their letters of intent to play college football at Indiana State. The signing took place yesterday afternoon as part of college football’s early signing period.
“The coaching staff [played a] big role in it,” Chambers said. “[It] definitely [had to do with] them giving me a chance when I may not have had all the film or all the looks that a lot of other guys that go there did.”
“I felt like that was the best opportunity for me there,” Kistler said. “I clicked well with the coaches. And I like my position coach a lot. And I just felt like that was home for me, so I decided to go there.”
Chambers plans to major in Psychology. With that major, he hopes to work in Sports’ Psychology. Kistler plans to major in either Film & Communication or Business.
Both Kistler and Chambers look forward to being teammates in college just like they were in high school. In fact, it wasn’t just high school when they got to be teammates with each other.
“I’m very excited to be a teammate with Ethan Chambers,” Kistler said. “I’ve been teammates with him since P[olice] A[thletic] L[eague], since middle school, since high school, and now I get to be a teammate with him in college. That’s very exciting to do, and I’m very grateful for that.”
“I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be fun. We’ve been teammates forever, ever since PAL,” Chambers said. “So it’s really comforting knowing that I’m going with somebody that I’ve had a relationship with for a long time.”
The Sycamores are coached by Curt Mallory. He played college ball at Michigan, and is entering his fourth season as Indiana State’s head coach.
“I think Coach Mallory’s a great coach,” Kistler said. “I think he’ll do very well at Indiana State and help that program, make it a positive program, and succeed.”
“I think he’s a really great guy,” Chambers said. “He’s done really great things down there. Obviously, him and his family, they run deep in coaching. I think he’s done really great things with the program down there.”
Kistler has been one of Homestead’s top receivers each of the last two years. Last year, he led the Spartans with 677 yards. This year, he was the team’s second leading receiver with 687 yards.
“The coaches help me a lot to grow in the skill of football,” Kistler said. “Freshman year, I was very fast, and I didn’t know how to run routes in-depthly enough, and Dre Muhammed and the Homestead coaching staff helped me a lot throughout the seasons that I’ve been here and become a great wide receiver at the next level.”
Chambers was Homestead’s third leading receiver this past season. He caught for 403 yards, averaged 11.2 yards per catch, and scored five touchdowns.
“I’d say [I grew] quite a bit from freshman to senior year,” Chambers said. “A lot of people wouldn’t recognize me, both with the hair and the body.”
Both Chambers and Kistler have been coached by head coach Chad Zolman. Under Zolman, the Spartans have had 17 winning seasons. They are coming off of back to back SAC championships. They greatly appreciate being part of consistently successful program like Homestead.
“Every day, all the kids show up to practice, they want to compete, they want to get better, they want to be the best team in the SAC,” Kistler said. “I got to be able to be a part of that for two years, and I’m very grateful for that.”
“It’s awesome having coaches like Coach Z and all the other guys,” Chambers said. “They just hold us to such a high standard. It’s just really good to be able to be a part of a successful program.”
