Rex Becker chooses to play football at Wayne State College

Alan Dale Cedar County News HARTINGTON — It was quite simple: Wayne State was the place he really belonged.

Just like that, Cedar Catholic senior defensive lineman Rex Becker reversed course, pulled his verbal commitment from Chadron State and is now heading to Wayne State to play football.

Playing for the Wildcats offers friends and family a closer opportunity to watch him for the next four years.

“It’s closer to home and I really like the new head coach (John McMenamin),” Becker said. “It just seemed like a better fit. The coach is really fired up and really wants to do something. I followed him on Twitter when he got hired. He reached out to me and I told him before that I was reconsidering if I wanted to go to Chadron or not.”

McMenamin told Becker he wanted him to come on an official visit to try to keep him closer to home.

“I went on my visit and I really liked it. It really impressed me. They are putting a lot more money into their sports, and I want to be a part of something bigger,” he said.

Wayne State finished the 2019 season with a 4-7 record. They will also play a vast majority of their games – home and away – within six hours, with most likely taking half that time.

McMenamin was the offensive coordinator at Central Missouri for the past five years – going 42-17 with two Division II playoff appearances.

If not for his hire, Becker may have gone to Augustana in Sioux Falls, S.D., instead.

One thing that led Becker to make the change was the apparent disconnect between Chadron coaches and himself after the Trojan declared his collegiate intent after the prep season ended.

“I liked the Chadron d-line coach, they have great facilities and have a great program going on there,” Becker said. “It’s a long drive to Chadron and I felt like I was put on the backburner. The head coach was supposed to visit me at school, and he called me the night before and said he couldn’t make it because he had a kid coming up on a visit or something like that.”

Cedar Catholic head football coach Chad Cattau said he couldn’t be happier with Becker’s change of direction.

“(Wayne is) a program with a new head coach and I know there is a lot of excitement over the hire,” Cattau said. “Their coaching staff convinced Rex that Wayne was the best place for him, and I know Rex is excited to play there. They are planning to use him as a hybrid defensive end/defensive tackle at this point. Wayne State also will provide Rex with a great education, and I know that is very important to him. They have a great reputation for their academics so I know he will be set for life after he graduates.”

Cattau said it will be great to be able to watch Becker play in college.

“I know I am excited personally because I, along with other fans of Rex, will be able to easily go watch his games. Since he will be playing only a half hour away from here, he will have an excellent following for his games, and I believe that was important to him when he made this decision. His family is very important to him and this will allow him to stay closer to them.”

Becker knows that he is heading to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, one of the top leagues in Division II.

“I feel I fit in there and I want to go to a program where I can help them win,” Becker said. “I am ready. I am going to hit the weights hard and play in some all-star games this summer.