Nazareth's Jake Cestone heads to Nashville to watch ISU, his future school, play in FCS title game

It took awhile, but Jake Cestone is finally set to see his future team play in person.

Cestone, a wide receiver from Nazareth, is one of seven local players in Illinois State's 2026 recruiting class.

With the Redbirds becoming the first team in FCS history to win four straight road games in the playoffs, Cestone has been biding his time.

Finally, on Monday night, Cestone will be on hand at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville when Illinois State (12-4) plays Montana State (13-2) in the FCS title game. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with ESPN televising the game.

The Redbirds are seeking their first national championship in their second trip to the final. To get there, they beat four ranked teams on the road. The biggest win was a 29-28 stunner at top-ranked North Dakota State in the round of 16.

Cestone had originally planned to attend the ISU/North Dakota State regular-season meeting (a 33-16 Bison win) in October, but had a conflict.

Then he was hoping to see a home playoff game. But "the coaches were like, we're on the road the rest of the season," Cestone said.

He's not surprised coach Brock Spack, in his 17th season as the program's all-time wins leader, has led the Redbirds to the brink of a title.

"We could tell one thing about Illinois State [during the recruiting process]," Cestone said. "They were very transparent. I was in coach Spack's office and he was, like, 'I'm not going to pay these guys [big] money. I want guys who come in here and work their (butt) off.'"

The Redbirds have done it with lots of homegrown talent, including the pass-and-catch duo of quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse from St. Francis and receiver Danlel Sobkowicz from Rolling Meadows.

"They love Illinois, they love the Midwest, they love the hard work," Cestone said of Illinois State coaches' affinity for in-state talent.

Rittenhouse overcame five interceptions in the North Dakota State win and has thrown for 3,257 yards and a program-record 36 touchdowns. He's also run for seven scores.

Sobkowicz is the Redbirds' career leader in receptions (257) and receiving TDs (40). He needs 58 more yards to break the program's career record for receiving yards.

Another key piece in the passing game is receiver Luke Mallander, a York grad who was the Missouri Valley Football Conference's Freshman of the Year.

Cestone has been talking up the Redbirds to some of his Nazareth teammates now in the recruiting process. Making it easier is the program's stability in the era of the coaching carousel and transfer portal.

"(Spack) said, 'I love it here. I don't want to go anywhere else,'" Cestone said.

As he's watched the Redbirds' Cinderella playoff run, neither does Cestone.