On paper, it would be hard for the environment of Anthony Chung’s most recent college football game to differ anymore from his last high school game at Homestead. He has swapped 1,200 game spectators for an audience of 30.1 million people.
However, even though Chung’s most recent gameday involved wearing a jersey with the word ‘Hoosiers’ embroidered on the sleeve and ‘College Football National Championship’ patched onto the front, he still utilizes the lessons he learned when his team’s group of spectators was smaller and his jersey was just red and white.
Anthony Chung graduated from Homestead in 2023 after playing four seasons of football for the Highlanders and winning North Shore Conference Defensive Back of the Year as a senior.
Chung walked on to the Indiana University football team in 2023 and red-shirted his freshman year. Though he didn’t appear in a single game the following season either, during Indiana’s 2025-2026 season, he appeared in all 16 games.
The jump from zero to 16 is no easy feat due to the limited opportunities walk-ons get. The playing time change was a consciously constructed one that was shaped by Chung’s tireless work ethic.
“You really have to make the most out of your opportunities and that is what I did,” Chung Said.
Chung is not the only one who worked to better his in-game success: his entire team did. In the 2023-2024 season, Indiana had three wins; however, when Curt Cignetti joined Indiana’s coaching staff as the head coach for the 2024-2025 season, Indiana’s three wins became 11.
The addition of Cignetti resulted in Chung having three coaches in three years. Cignetti and Indiana’s coaching staff recognized Chung’s dedication and diligence and rewarded him with more than just playing time following their National Championship.
“I met with Coach Cignetti last week when he awarded me [a] scholarship and he said he likes to award hard work and that my hard work does not go unnoticed. So that’s just gonna stick with me forever because hard work really really gets you far in life,” Chung recalled.
Chung’s commitment to football, however, was something that he developed far before he arrived in Bloomington.
“He [Chung] showed tremendous perseverance even through times of adversity,” Drake Zortman, Homestead Football Head Coach, said
While playing at Homestead, Chung served as exemplar and current players in Homestead’s program remember looking up to him, such as Sam Berezovski, who was a freshman defensive back while Chung was a senior defensive back.
“He was the definition of a leader and was always there to help the younger players. He left me motivated to leave a legacy on underclassmen the same way he did,” Berezovski said.
Even though Chung is the first player from Homestead to ever win an NCAA Division 1 National Championship, Zortman’s coaching strategy did not differ for Chung.
“We like to develop a relationship and help every kid on a team grow into their best possible version of themselves. Anthony’s story is just that,” Zortman said.
Chung’s time being a part of the football, basketball, and baseball teams at Homestead were not just opportunities to further his athleticism. The teams provided a place for Chung to learn how to exercise valuable traits like persistence and commitment.
“What I learned the most, I would say, is just the perseverance that goes along with sports and the ups and downs. It’s all a mental game at the end of the day. The way you talk to yourself, the way you build your mindset up is how you propel yourself forward,” Chung said.
Chung’s success has led him to a trophy, a scholarship and more opportunities. His success has also given Homestead a person to learn from and an immense amount of pride.
“I got a scholarship. I won a national championship, just two things that I never thought [were] possible when I was growing up in high school,” Chung said.
