Why don’t we have Zeke Markshausens?

Who’s Zeke Markshausen?  Northwestern’s senior wide receiver last year.  1 catch for 6 yards in his first 3 years.  And then 91 catches for 858 yards as a senior.

91 catches for Zeke Markshausen, and 38 catches for Arrelious Benn.  I want to cry.

Joey Elliot – over 3,000 passing yards in his only season as Purdue’s starter.  O’Brien Schofield – 5 sacks over his first three years at Wisconsin… and then 12 as a senior.  Dan Kafka, Northwestern’s “running quarterback” – 7th in the country in passing in his only year as a starter.  Josh Hull – 116 tackles for Penn State as a senior (to lead the team – more than Lee or Bowman).

Where’s our senior breakout stars?  Why don’t I get one?  I deserve one, right?

(Quick aside:  That’s how I feel much of the time as an Illini football fan.  My fandom is defined by petulance. “Why don’t I get a Champs Sports Bowl?  Where’s my Davey O’Brien Award finalist?”  All the other kids get to go down to the park and play, and I have to practice the piano.  Someday, kids.  Someday.)

(And if by chance one of you has Biff Tannen’s sports almanac and you know that Illinois football never gets over the hump, please don’t e-mail me and tell me.  I don’t think I could handle it.  Never. Give up. Hope.)

Anyway, there was a common theme to our two BCS-bowl teams in 2001 and 2007:  Senior leaders.  Kurt Kittner and J Leman.  Luke Butkus and Kevin Mitchell.  Brandon Moore and Martin O’Donnell.  Sure, there were talented underclassmen on both squads that pushed us over the top, but if you look back at the last decade and look for the two teams led by the most seniors, it’s definitely 2001 and 2007. (2009 would probably rank third, but we must never discuss 2009 again.)

Most of the top programs have this common thread.  Senior leaders.  Much like yours and my high school, there’s a hierarchy, and the underclassmen can’t wait until it’s their turn at the top.  The lackadaisical kids snap it together because there’s only one year left, and the true leaders emerge.  Any college coach will tell you that he’ll only go as far as his seniors lead him.

So how do we get there?  What do we need to do so we’ll have a steady rotation of senior leaders like Wisconsin (gulp) and Iowa (gag)?  How do we build that culture?

Honest?  I don’t really know.  I guess it starts by example – some redshirt freshman sees Kevin Mitchell and J Leman willing the defense to a complete shut-down of Penn State in the 4th quarter and decides that’s going to be him some day.  And you can put the seniors in charge of many things at Camp Rantoul, from the workout room to the practice field, and hope that their leadership carries over to the field.

But I think it all starts with recruiting.  It’s finding and identifying a few natural-born leaders with every class and getting them to sign.  And then you have to identify the quiet leaders on the scout team and begin to develop them towards upper-classmen leadership.  But most of all, you have to keep your classes together.

Our 2007 recruiting class: Darrell Ballew, Arrelious Benn, Josh Brent, Nate Bussey, Jack Cornell, Daniel Dufrene, Brian Gamble, Phil Haig, Darius Hodge, Mark Jackson, Steve Matas, D’Angelo McCray, Anthony Morris, Troy Pollard, Darius Purcell, Erique Robertson, Ian Thomas, Miami Thomas, Craig Wilson, Martez Wilson.

(The lesson here: Only those players with last names at the beginning and the end of the alphabet stand a chance at succeeding at college football.  Sorry, Darius Millines – I had such hope for you.)

The real lesson here, of course, is that those teams that keep their classes together consistently possess senior leadership in spades.  Easier said than done, I know – many of the grades/off-the-field issues that lead to player dismissal are completely beyond the control of the coach.  So yeah, it’s a little luck.

But here’s the key:  by my observation, those teams with great senior leadership year-to-year have less grade/off-the-field issues.  It’s a culture.  It’s contagious.  It’s what produces the Zeke Markshausens and the O’Brien Schofields.  It’s my turn.  It’s my time to shine.  I’ll run with it as far as I can and then I’ll pass it on to you.

And since this is The 19 Point Plan For Fixing Illini Football, that culture is hereby demanded.  The current seniors are now on the clock.  If you hear your name, please stand up (and remain standing):  Jarred Fayson, Eddie McGee, Chris James, Randall Hunt, Ryan Palmer, Anterio Jackson, Josh Brent, Clay Nurse, Nate Bussey, Aaron Gress, Antonio Gully, Travon Bellamy, Anthony Santella.  Those that are standing are your leaders.  Those that are standing will find a way to get us to a .500 record.  You can be the first in a long line of senior leaders who demand more from this program.

OK, everyone can sit down, except for Mr. James and Mr. Bellamy.

Chris, Travon: You’re my candidates for the Markshausen-Schofield award.  The name of this award will be changed to the James-Bellamy Award after your put-it-all-together senior seasons.  Set an example for the generations behind you, gentlemen.  This is your time.

Senior leadership.  Hereby demanded.