Hoosiers land South quarterback

In IU football coach Terry Hoeppner's first recruiting class he scoured the entire country for a quarterback. This year he only needed to look across town.\nBloomington High School South quarterback Ben Chappell became the second IU football commitment for 2006 June 11.\n"The coaches were excited and said that I was the quarterback they wanted," Chappell said. "It is going to be a great situation for me."\nThe quarterback had the opportunity to attend camps at Illinois, Purdue and Michigan during the summer but scrapped those plans by making the early commitment to the Hoosiers.\nWhile the Big Ten schools, the University of Louisville and most of the Mid American Conference were busy trying to land Chappell, an unfamiliar name to the football game was also in the hunt -- Harvard.\nIn addition to being a star on the field Chappell stars in the classroom, boasting a 4.0 GPA, and had the opportunity to attend the Ivy League school for free.\nEven with the tremendous opportunity to attend an esteemed university and be its No. 1 prospect at quarterback, Chappell said that IU was just a better fit for him.\n"It was a tough decision, but I am more comfortable at IU," he said. "I think the football opportunity will be better for me at IU. But the Harvard opportunity was very flattering for me because it is so prestigious."\nOne advantage that IU had over every other school was home field advantage. Having the ability to stay in Bloomington and to continue to play in front of friends and family was a factor, he said.\nAnother was the offensive system.\nOnce Hoeppner arrived in Bloomington in December, the passing attack immediately became the cornerstone of the IU offensive scheme, something Chappell feels he will fit right into.\n"I'm very excited about the spread," said Chappell, Hoeppner's first quarterback commitment since coming to IU. "I think it will fit me perfectly."\nLast season at South Chappell passed for more 2,000 yards and 28 touchdowns leading the Panthers to a 7-4 record.\nThe coaching staff also figured into the decision. Dealing with quality people was one of the reasons the Chappells were won over by Hoeppner and IU, said Stephen Chappell, Ben's father.\n"We were very impressed with the coaches," Stephen said. "They all seemed to be enthusiastic and genuine. They have an excellent track record with (Hoeppner's) background at Miami Ohio and his development of players like Ben (Roethlisberger). He has proven he has a winning formula and he is interested in developing players as people and \nstudent-athletes."\nWhile passing up academic opportunities at Harvard were tough for Chappell, he knows he still has the opportunity to get a quality education at IU as he plans to major in accounting at the Kelley School of Business.\nDespite IU's lackluster performance in football over the past decade, Ben Chappell said he knows things are going to change with Hoeppner.\n"I'm really impressed with everything he has done with the program," he said. "Everything he did with the process was great and I committed because of him. I know it is going in the right direction and that is something I wanted to be a part of"