JWCC Prairie State Profile: Macomb’s Ladd finds perfect college fit in own backyard

MACOMB, Ill. — Navigating his way home from wrestling practice Thursday morning wasn’t too treacherous, but Ethan Ladd realized more snow and blizzard-like conditions were coming.

“I’m not a big winter guy,” the Macomb senior said. “I’m not going to lie. I hate snow.”

But what if the Western Illinois University football team ended up playing in wintry weather in the playoffs in the coming years?

“That’s a good problem to have,” Ladd said. “I wouldn’t mind that.”

The Bombers multi-sport standout recently accepted an offer from the Leathernecks and is part of a 21-player recruiting class WIU revealed this week. A three-time All-Prairieland Conference selection and an academic all-state honoree, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound linebacker gets the chance to be another hometown hero.

In a way, he already is. Ladd was part of a deep, talented senior class at Macomb that led the Bombers to a single-season record 10 victories, a perfect regular season and a berth in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs. Along the way, Ladd wrapped up his high school career with 202 career tackles, 18 tackles for loss, five sacks, seven forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and two interceptions.

He also anchored the offensive line at center and has been a dominant wrestler, qualifying for the Class 1A state tournament last season at 195 pounds.

Ladd discussed his commitment to WIU, his love for the game and his affinity for the outdoors with Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman for this week’s Prairie State Profile, brought to you by John Wood Community College.

Q: Had going to WIU been an idea and a goal?

A: Ever since I was a little kid, I dreamed of playing college football. I always had in the back of my mind if Western gave me an opportunity I was going to take it.

Q: Did you attend WIU games growing up?

A: Oh, yeah, I went to almost all of them. I remember playing tackle football right by the locker room with all my friends and giving all the players handshakes.

Q: Since you grew up in Macomb, do you already have a stockpile of WIU gear and t-shirts?

A: I have a few, but I probably need to go out and get some more. My family probably does, too.

Q: Was it an easy decision to go there?

A: It really was. I’ve built a great relationship with Coach Hendrickson and his staff and I like his vision for the program. It seemed like the right fit for me. I wanted to jump on the opportunity.

Q: Is it nice to have it done and out of the way?

A: The recruiting process was super long and painful for me. I just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. When Western came knocking, I wanted to get it over with.

Q: As it played out, how much did you lean on your parents for advice?

A: I do ask them for a lot of advice, but this is something they wanted me to make my own decision on. I asked them what their thoughts were, and they gave me their thoughts. But ultimately, they wanted me to make the decision.

Q: So what was their reaction like when you made the decision?

A: They were super excited. They were a little stressed about what I wanted to do after high school. So they were pretty relieved when I finally made the decision. They thought it was the right one, too.

Q: Had you thought about wrestling in college?

A: I had, but honestly, wrestling is hard enough on me in high school. I knew I wanted to play football.

Q: Deep down you’re a football player, aren’t you?

A: I hate to tell my dad this, but I wrestle to get better for football.

Q: How much did the success the Bombers had influence your desire to want to continue playing football?

A: That season was awesome, probably the best time of my life. When it ended like that, I knew I didn’t want to stop playing football. I was looking for an opportunity to play at the next level. I just wanted to keep playing.

Q: What do you have to work on to be a good college football player?

A: I have to get quicker. I’m hitting the weight room really hard right now, but I have to get my strength up too. I’m looking to do that throughout the offseason.

Q: Are you a weight room junkie?

A: Oh, yeah, I’m in there at least once a day, maybe twice. I love the weight room.

Q: Do you know what you want to study?

A: Not entirely, but I’m leaning toward sports management.

Q: What does being from Macomb and going to WIU mean to you?

A: It means everything. I grew up watching Brett Taylor play football at Western. He was the hometown hero and everybody followed him. That was always something in the back of mind. I want to be like Brett Taylor and play football at Western. So this means a lot.

Q: Outside of football and wrestling, what do you do for fun?

A: I like to hunt and fish in my free time. I’m a big outdoors guy.

Q: Did you get time to go deer hunting this year?

A: I have, but not as much as I would have liked to. The COVID year was pretty nice for me because I could whenever I wanted to because we didn’t have wrestling. I was out there almost every day. But right now, I can’t go as much as I’d like to.

Q: Besides deer hunting, what else do you like to do outdoors?

A: I like to fish and I like hiking, too. I just like being outdoors.

Q: Do you have a favorite place you like to go?

A: I like going to Spring Lake. My dad and I go out there quite a bit. We catfish out there at night or just bass fish. I like to hike the trails, too. We go out to Lake Argyle quite a bit, too.

Q: Since it’s Christmas season, what’s your favorite thing about the holidays?

A: I like getting together with family. My cousins are from the Springfield area. So when they come over, it’s nice to see them because I haven’t seen them in a while. I really like being around family.