Naperville Central senior Daniel Nussbaum has always wanted to play college football, but his twin brother, Aaron, wasn’t sure he wanted to follow suit.

That changed when Aaron Nussbaum suffered a torn ACL during a game against Lockport on Oct. 4.

“Getting hurt definitely changed my perspective on the whole thing,” Aaron Nussbaum said. “At the end of that Lockport game, I could tell how much I missed it, not even just playing with Daniel but playing with my whole team.

“That pretty much cemented my idea that I was going to play in college. I knew I just couldn’t let it go after that.”

The question then became whether the star linebackers would play at the same college, and if they did, would it be Wheaton College?

Daniel Nussbaum had an offer from Drake and interest from a few other Division I programs, but Aaron Nussbaum fell off the radar after his injury, even after making a triumphant return in a limited capacity in the playoffs.

“Once he tore his ACL, he was kind of done with the recruiting process,” Daniel Nussbaum said. “I was talking to a couple schools, but it didn’t work out.

“Once that happened, we always knew that it was a possibility that we’d both end up at Wheaton. We weren’t planning on doing it, but we weren’t against it.”

Although they arrived at their decisions separately, the Nussbaums committed to Wheaton last month. They are continuing a long family tradition that dates back to an era when their grandfather Jack Nussbaum graduated from Wheaton in 1955.

Jack Nussbaum had five sons, all of whom played football at Wheaton, and 23 grandchildren. Aaron and Daniel Nussbaum’s matriculation will mean 16 of the grandchildren will have attended Wheaton, with 12 playing for the football team.

Aaron and Daniel Nussbaum’s father, Andy, and uncles Tim, Matt, Phil and Tom all played for Wheaton. A string of 100 consecutive games in which a Nussbaum suited up for Wheaton ended in 1988 when Tom Nussbaum, who later coached football and girls basketball at Glenbard South, graduated.

Andy Nussbaum, who is an assistant coach in football and the head coach in girls basketball and softball at Naperville Central, is thrilled to see his youngest children continue in his footsteps. Five of his seven kids will have attended Wheaton, with Aaron and Daniel becoming the third and fourth to play football, following their brothers Joe and Christian.

“Mom and dad are pretty excited,” Andy Nussbaum said. “We’re happy that they’re going close. College football doesn’t really interfere with the high school football schedule. So I will still get to watch them play on Saturdays, which is nice.”

Daniel Nussbaum said the proximity to home was a big consideration.

“The last six to seven years, sometimes I’ll have a sibling at home, but most of the time it’s just me and Aaron and my parents,” Daniel Nussbaum said. “So it’s really nice to be able to stay near them and be able to go home on the weekend and hang out with them, get dinner with them.

“If I went to a school far away, they could still be part of the life, like calling you and things, but this way you get to see them every weekend. It’s something I look forward to doing.”

Aaron and Daniel Nussbaum are also looking forward to joining a second family of sorts at Wheaton, which is a rival of Division III power North Central College. They took separate visits to campus before committing. Both bonded with their future teammates, who include their cousin David Nussbaum, a co-captain and starting right tackle who will be a senior next season.

“I had chosen Wheaton a little bit before Daniel,” Aaron Nussbaum said. “I don’t know if I was the reason he went to Wheaton or if I influenced his decision at all. But I think both of us just kind of found our own place to be, and it happened to be the same place my dad went, the same place my brothers went and now the same place that we’re going.”

Aaron Nussbaum, who will likely redshirt his freshman season, said the Wheaton coaches are considering playing him at linebacker and tight end. Daniel Nussbaum will play linebacker and hopes to see action on special teams next season.

“Daniel has very big aspirations of what he wants to do,” Aaron Nussbaum said. “He wants to be one of the best linebackers to ever go through the school, which is big shoes to fill. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he did it.”

Aaron and Daniel Nussbaum both said football and family weren’t the only factors that led them to Wheaton. They also like the academics and the atmosphere.

“You can kind of tell when you find some guys that you know you can get along with, that you can spend four years with and not ask yourself, ‘Why am I here?’” Aaron Nussbaum said. “That’s how it felt to me.

“We went bowling the night I was there, and every single one of those guys were coming up and talking to me. You feel like you belong.”

Daniel Nussbaum does too.

“It’s definitely a place that I see myself growing there a lot in so many different aspects other than football,” he said.

And he’ll do it alongside his twin brother.

“It’s really special,” Daniel Nussbaum said. “It’s a chance to play four more years with Aaron, which is not something everyone gets to do, obviously.

“And it’s great to play at a place where people know who you are. I know that we’ve got fans out in the stadium and a bunch of family that are going to be rooting for us no matter what happens, so it’s pretty nice.”

Six months after the injury that altered his destiny, Aaron Nussbaum is in a good place.

“Tearing your ACL definitely sucks, and it’s been a hard few months,” he said. “But the spot I’m in right now with my physical and mental health and where I’m going the next four years, I couldn’t be any happier.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.