Woodrow Wilson’s Nick Kargman signs with Western Michigan

For Nick Kargman, it was a little like sitting in the pocket, staying patient and waiting for the right moment to make the correct connection.

Kargman spent the football season setting passing records for Woodrow Wilson High School. He never seemed flustered about a relative shortage of college offers.

“I always thought I would wait until February,” Kargman said Wednesday in Woodrow Wilson’s media center. “I figured other schools would have signed the quarterbacks they wanted and I would be able to figure things out from there.”

Kargman changed his plans after visiting Western Michigan last weekend. Wednesday, Kargman signed his national letter of intent to attend the school in Kalamazoo, Mich., that is a member of the pass-happy Mid-American Conference.

“I watch those teams on TV every Tuesday and Wednesday night,” Kargman said. “They all throw the ball 30-40 times a game. That’s perfect for me.”

Woodrow Wilson coach Preston Brown said Western Michigan was “absolutely the perfect fit” for Kargman.

Brown noted that the MAC is known for its fast-paced offenses and for developing quarterbacks, many of whom have advanced to the NFL.

“They believe in Nick,” Brown said of the Western Michigan coaches. "They want to get him in there, grow and develop him, and get him off to the NFL. Those were their exact words."

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Kargman is the most prolific single-season passer in state history. Kargman passed for a state-record 3,963 yards in leading Woodrow Wilson to a 9-4 record and the South Jersey Group 3 championship.

Kargman also set a single-game state record with 539 passing yards in a victory over Cedar Creek and a South Jersey record with eight touchdown passes in a victory over Camden Catholic.

Kargman finished with 41 touchdown passes, the third-highest total in South Jersey history behind Timber Creek’s Devin Leary (48 in 2016) and Pennsauken’s Manny Cortez (43 in 2011).

During the football season, Kargman had offers from Rutgers and Jacksonville State. He added a Morgan State offer after the season.

He said he thought all along that he would skip the early signing period, which began Wednesday, and wait until the second signing period in February to finalize his decision.

But he changed his mind after visiting Western Michigan.

Kargman said he had an immediate connection with Western Michigan coach Tim Lester, who set several school records during his playing days for the Broncs in the late 1990s.

“He’s a record-setting quarterback, and we hit it off,” Kargman said. “It just felt like the perfect place.”