Former Notre Dame walk-on Chase Ketterer gives back to New Prairie football youth

NEW CARLISLE — Chase Ketterer found inspiration from a former high school teammate to run his own mini football camp Sunday.

Ketterer, a 2020 New Prairie High School and 2024 Notre Dame graduate, organized a three-hour camp on the final day of June to teach young kids the basics of the various positions he’s played in football: quarterback, running back, wide receiver and defensive back. This came six weeks after 2022 New Prairie alumnus and current University of Illinois offensive lineman Hunter Whitenack hosted a linemen camp at the high school.

“I just wanted to give back to the people of New Prairie and New Carlisle,” Ketterer said. “Growing up, I would’ve loved to come to a camp like this. … I saw Hunter Whitenack do it, too, and I was like, ‘He did it for linemen, why don’t I do one for skill position guys?’”

Ketterer was a standout player for the Cougars from 2017-19, including leading New Prairie to a sectional championship his senior season. The team’s starting quarterback his final two years, Ketterer totaled 1,494 passing yards, 5,494 rushing yards and 99 total touchdowns (82 rushing, 17 passing) for his career in the run-heavy Cougar offense.

Ketterer then had a storybook ending to his college football career this past December during the Fighting Irish’s drubbing of Oregon State in the Sun Bowl. The walk-on running back who had seen limited action in his first three-plus seasons rushed for a six-yard touchdown to score his team’s final points in the 40-8 victory.

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Since that magical moment Dec. 29, 2023, Ketterer finished his studies and landed his first job. He’ll be serving a year-long internship with the College Football Playoff in Dallas, using his finance degree to learn how one of sports’ biggest operations runs.

“I spent about two-and-a-half months on that application right after the season,” Ketterer said. “I got the job, which is a huge blessing and honor. Really excited about that. … I’ll be doing some accounting and finance for licensing and merchandise for them down there, which is a great opportunity. It’s the best ‘first step’ I could’ve gotten.”

Before moving to Dallas next week, however, Ketterer has been helping New Prairie football players. He worked with some of the high school quarterbacks over the last two months before hosting his camp for kids Sunday. It was a family affair, as Chase was helped by his father, Chris, and brothers Zack and Luke with drills while mother, Erica, helped organize the event as well.

“Just seeing the kids get hyped when something happens,” said Ketterer was the most rewarding part of the day. “These kids are hilarious. When they make plays, some are saying ‘too small’ or doing all of these celebrations. Just watching the kids have fun – at the end of the day, football is all about fun. When you get older, you get caught up in all the politics and specificity of it. But really, it all just comes down to football and having fun, which you never see that more than when you’re with little kids.”