By Tina Akouris takouris@suntimes.com August 4, 2013 4:26PM
Cullen Rompa | Supplied photo
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There is no rest for the weary this summer, especially if you?re Cullen Rompa.
The Plainfield East senior is just one of many football players in the area who are going through 7-on-7 camps, trying to figure out what college to visit and which ones to put on their wish lists, and working out and bulking up for the season ahead.
Football practice statewide officially begins Aug. 14
And Rompa is getting himself ahead of the game.
?I?ve been in the weight room every day and I?ve gone to a lot of camps,? Rompa said. ?This year, I?m doing a lot of speed work, too, working on the time in the 40 (-yard dash).
?I?m trying to keep a good, main set of goals, and I know I have to dig deep and focus.?
Rompa, a 5-foot-10, 182-pound running back/linebacker, knows he?s going to have to focus a lot if the Bengals are going to improve on last season?s 2-7 record.
The senior class should help erase those bad memories. They went 7-2 as freshmen and 6-3 as sophomores. It would seem likely this class won?t allow the loss total to fall below three.
The Bengals already have had a decent showing at the 7-on-7 camp at Willowbrook, where they went two-for-two and beat perennial state power Lemont.
?We were supposed to go far (in 2012), but this year I think our speed has increased,? Rompa said. ?We lost some size and gained a lot of speed.?
Rompa also is dealing with the stress of trying to impress college coaches. He doesn?t really have a timetable to make his college choice, and some athletes want to make that decision before the start of the school year. Rompa said he will make his pick when he knows a school is the right fit.
That said, Rompa has a top five list. In order, his wish list is: Upper Iowa, St. Cloud State, Concordia (Minn.), Dartmouth and Sacred Heart.
What Rompa really wants to do is play football with older brother Brennen, who is at Upper Iowa ? hence, the school being his top choice.
Before Brennen leaves for Upper Iowa in another week or two, the brothers are working out often. The brothers typically work out in a field behind their home.
?Brennen is my main (training partner) right now,? Rompa said. ?He is teaching me a lot. Last year I didn?t play much linebacker and he did.?
Besides Upper Iowa and the other four schools on Rompa?s top five, others that have shown interest in Brennen?s younger brother are Indiana State, Western Illinois, Colgate, Northern Illinois and Hillsdale (Mich.).
I asked Rompa, ?What if you get an offer from another school and you?re more blown away by that campus and program and it eclipses playing with your brother??
?I?m going with whatever feels like my second home,? Rompa said. ?It?ll definitely be difficult (being alone), and it would be great to play with Brennen. But sometimes being alone does sound interesting, too.
?I never thought it would be possible for us to maybe play together. I just always thought we?d be on opposite sides of the country.?
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