Former Freeport star joining Rockford area standout on German football team

The world is about to change for Freeport-product Steve McShane, who just signed a contract to play professional football for the Leipzig Kings in Germany.

And former Harlem star A.J. Wentland will be right there to help show him the way.

After he was recruited by the league's leading tackler (Wentland), McShane signed a contract with the Kings of the European League of Football on Jan. 2.

Now, he will continue to train near his new home in San Antonio, Texas, and he will head to Germany this spring to get ready for the season.

He will join Wentland, who led the ELF with 160 tackles last season, and the rest of the Leipzig Kings as practices start in May, and the season will begin in June.

"I just really want to play football," McShane said. "And to have A.J. there and to get to see what I can do in Europe, this is going to be a great opportunity."

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'The clock is ticking'

McShane was a star at Freeport, even playing some as a freshman, when a certain senior linebacker for Harlem was tearing up the league. Wentland remembers tackling McShane.

"I tackled him, but even then, when he was a freshman, you could tell he was going to be special," Wentland said. "Now, I get to have him on my team... I'll still probably tackle him in practice, though."

McShane graduated from Western Illinois University, where he played football and baseball, back in 2019, and he was quickly invited to rookie training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He didn't catch on there, and had a short stint in the XFL that was cut short due to a torn Achilles tendon.

But he's healthy now, and has been training and working out with his brother Deion down in Texas. He's also itching to shake off three years worth of rust and play in a real game again. Now he has that chance.

"The clock is ticking, you know," McShane said. "I really want to get out there and see what I can do, and show what I can do. ... I still believe in myself. I want to do this."

Keeping the dream alive

Wentland led the NIC-10 in tackles in 2013, then broke the McKendree University single-season tackling record in three straight seasons.

He's now working toward a career in coaching but was enticed by a nice contract to return to play another season overseas. This will be his sixth professional football season, having played in Germany, Finland and Austria.

"I keep saying this is my last year, but we'll see," Wentland said.

McShane's signing was one of several key signings for the Kings, along with bringing back Wentland, who said there's still some work to be done before riding off into the sunset.

"I've got some business left to take care of here," Wentland said. "And I could tell that Steve is hoping to keep that dream alive. ... He's going to get a lot out of this — and so will we."

“Steve brings a ton of versatility to our team," Kings head coach John Booker said on the team's website. "We look forward to seeing him have an impact in multiple phases of the game for us this season."

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Freeport's Steve McShane set to play pro football in Germany