I’ve often been asked by parents how important it is in the college recruiting process that their child plays for a successful high school team.

My response always is the same. If an athlete has the talent, colleges will find them.

That brings me to Wednesday’s national signing day.

I was checking my Twitter feed when I noticed a thread by the University of Indianapolis football program announcing its 2019 recruiting class.

The Greyhounds are a member of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference.

It’s not the Big Ten, but it’s outstanding competition.

Indianapolis announced it had signed Dylan Shelton, a superb defensive lineman from Lincoln-Way East, along with two standouts from Brother Rice in defensive lineman Zach Wareyko and tight end Dan Sullivan.

That’s a nice haul of talent.

As I scrolled down further, I saw the Greyhounds had one other local signee — Rich South running back Malyk Moore.

Trivia: What’s the most glaring difference between Lincoln-Way East, Brother Rice and Rich South’s football teams in 2019?

Answer: Success.

Brother Rice ended up 13-1, earning second place in Class 8A, and East was 12-1. Rich South finished 1-8 and was outscored 342-81.

If success plays a part in a kid receiving a college scholarship, Moore would be on the outside looking in.

In fact, the 5-foot-8, 190-pound Moore broke his right ankle and missed the final five games of the season.

But Shelton, Wareyko, Sullivan and Moore were recruited and are now signed for the same college.

Talent stands tall, folks.

I reached out to the Indianapolis coaching staff to learn how Moore, a virtual unknown in the Southland, had caught their attention.

David Denham, a defensive line and special teams coach, was kind enough to give me a call.

“We go to as many (high school prospect) camps as we can in June and July to evaluate talent,” Denhan said. “Our running backs coach (David Stokes) and I saw Malyk at two camps.

“We got to see Malyk work out and we got to talk to him. His integrity, his character and his work ethic — he’s a great young man and a darn good football player. We fell in love with that young man.”

I asked Denham if Rich South’s lack of success raised a red flag.

“It really doesn’t matter how successful a team is,” he said. “It helps when you have a program like Lincoln-Way East. They’re coached hard and coached right, and you know what type of player you’re going to get based on their history.

“What’s most important is the education. Malyk has good grades (3.0 GPA out on a 4.0 scale).”

There was something else impressive about Moore, according to Denham, that parents need to understand.

“Whenever we talked to Malyk, he looked us in the eye and said, ‘Yes sir, no sir, thank you,’” Denham said. “Those are the small things that a lot of young men forget to do nowadays.”

Here’s what type of kid Moore is. When he was playing for the Richton Park Raiders in eighth grade, he was being wooed by more successful high school programs.

He wanted to help rebuild Rich South, but it didn’t happen. The Stars were 1-17 during his two varsity seasons.

Moore has no regrets.

“I learned a lot,” Moore said. “I got a lot of opportunities to play that I don’t know if I would have at another high school. I got to play with my friends and received a very good education.

“I put in the work necessary to get to the next level. I count my blessings.”

pdisabato@tribpub.com

Twitter @disabato