Everett, Norris both happy with paths they chose

<p>Almost five years ago, Gavin Everett and Max Norris arrived at Western Illinois University together.</p><p>Close friends since third grade, the former Center Grove football players were roommates in Henninger Hall and, once again, teammates. Both looked forward to autumn afternoons on the gridiron as part of the Leathernecks.</p><p>Five months later, Everett, a defensive tackle whose lone other college football offer came from NAIA power Marian University, left to attend Indiana University. He was determined to major in management, walk onto the Hoosiers’ football team and prove worthy of repetitions at the Division I level.</p><p>Meanwhile, Norris, a tailback, was enjoying life in Macomb, Illinois, located a little less than 300 miles west of home. Over time, such separation could have lessened the bond between Everett and Norris, but neither player was going to let that happen.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>“I wasn’t mad. He’s my brother, so he made his decision and I was supportive,” said Norris, who like Everett has a sister but no male siblings. “I wanted him to prosper. He earned a scholarship (at IU), and to play as much as he has is amazing.</p><p>“Really, I can’t remember ever being mad at Gavin. We click. It literally feels like he’s a brother.”</p><p>The two remain best friends, each benefiting from the decision he made. About to enter their redshirt senior seasons, Everett and Norris talk or text no less than every other day, subjects ranging from football to family to mutual friendships.</p><p>In 2015, Norris was redshirted. He played two games the following year and evolved into a dependable offensive weapon for the Leathernecks the past two seasons.</p><p>Everett didn’t play his first year, sat out the 2016 season due to NCAA transfer rules and walked on to coach Tom Allen’s squad the following spring.</p><p>Both now start for their respective schools.</p><p>At 6-foot-3, 263 pounds, Everett is approximately 40 pounds heavier than he was as a rangy end who spent much of his Trojans career disrupting the flow of opposing backfields. He started all 11 games for the Hoosiers last season, finishing with 41 tackles and three pass breakups, and he graduated from IU in May.</p><p>The streamlined Norris, who at 201 pounds is 35 lighter than when he arrived at WIU, needs two yards to reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark for his college career. The Leathernecks are an FCS (formerly Division I-AA) program in the same Summit League that includes the likes of Purdue Fort Wayne and two schools apiece in North Dakota and South Dakota.</p><p>Norris is scheduled to graduate in December with a degree in communications.</p><p>Their football parting was a long time ago, but the Everett-Norris friendship was never in jeopardy.</p><p>&quot;Max was supportive of it,&quot; Everett said. &quot;He was sad to see me go, but said I had to do what was best for me. I hated to leave him and the other guys on the team, but I never worried about Max being mad at me.</p><p>“I’m very happy the way things turned out. I never had any doubts about myself.”</p><p>Or, as it turns out, about his brother.</p>