Recruiting hasn't necessarily gone to plan for 2024 offensive lineman Ellis McAdoo, who had to take a different route to accomplish his desire to reach the next level.

After playing his high school career at Fenwick in Oak Park, Illinois, coaches told McAdoo that they wanted to see him play against better competition, which led him to take a prep year at St. Thomas More in Connecticut.

"A lot of coaches wanted to see me play against better competition this year. So I took this prep year and we've played some pretty good teams out here," McAdoo said.