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Goshen senior Dustin McFarland is heading north to play football at Illinois College.

The senior made it official on Wednesday when he signed in front of family and coaches.

After receiving offers from more than a dozen schools, McFarland chose to head north to become a member of the Blue Boys.

“I was very excited to sign it,” McFarland said. “It’s a relief to finally get here.”

McFarland will join the Blue Boys, who are coming off a 6-3 season in 2019.

The overall football program and the academics was only part of what sold McFarland on heading to Illinois.

“Their football program is really good,” McFarland said. “They also have a school program that I really like. Of all the 13 schools that offered me I chose this one.”

McFarland will be playing under head coach Ray DeFrisco in 2020. DeFrisco along with his staff immediately made a good impression on McFarland.

“They are very respectful,” McFarland said. “They are on time with everything and they get everything done in order. I really like that.”

McFarland is heading north and with that comes a drop in temperature during football season. Although he will be leaving the warmer temperatures of the south he hopes to show what football players from Alabama can bring to the game of football.

“It’s going to be really cold and I’m going to miss Alabama football,” McFarland said. “I want to bring them my style of play. I want to show them what we have down here.”

McFarland played on both sides of the ball during his tenure at Goshen. He played both offensive and defensive line. Although it’s still early in the going, McFarland believes he will be featured on the offensive line, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be playing multiple positions.

“They are planning on me playing offensive line, but they also said I could be playing fullback or tight end,” McFarland said. “When I get there they will see what I can do. It shows how much potential I have in each position that I play.”

McFarland hopes to continue to get stronger and faster before officially reporting to school.

“I would like to get my weight up,” McFarland said. “Maybe put on 10 to 15 pounds. I would also like to increase my speed. Right now my 40 speed is 4.8, I would like to get down to 4.6.”