Heisman Hunt: Fresh-meat

Last time I checked in from the dorms in the six-pack at the University of Illinois, I was just named the starter for the Fighting Illini football team. From walk on to all-star- basically the next Rudy except I was not offsides. It was quite the summer, but those dog days have passed and my freshman season has been equally as exciting.

I won’t bore you with the book talk, but let me just say that I am also a stud in the classroom. Most people think student athletes just go to workouts and practice during the week, but it’s so much more than that. And I am excelling in that area.

Speaking of areas I have been excelling in, my huddle presence- if I can talk myself up a little bit- has been great. The boys and I have had to learn how to fight together, especially in our first two games.

Hosting Rutgers and San Jose State gave myself the opportunity to get a taste of the pace of play for big time college games. Were there growing pains so to say? For sure.

But both victories were a breeze, thanks in large part to HB30.  I don’t want to hype him up too much, but he should see be in New york later this Year, striving for that Heisman. A leader on the field and in the locker room, it’s no surprise to me that he has racked up over 100 yards both games.

This set up a running back match up between HB30 and Marshawn Lynch, who I think has a bright future in the NFL. And I have tried to stay humble through this whole experience, but I’ll admit that night in California led to some poor decisions.

I forced a couple of throws. I changed the offensive gameplan from run to pass. I made us lose our first game of the year, on national TV.  It makes it worse that it was a team that offered me a full ride, and I turned them down to stay home. To build up a program that had never been seen before.

But, as the poster in my door says, “You have to fall sometimes to prove you can get back up.” No better chance to do that than in the film room and against Big Ten Football teams.

Sure enough, we took on Michigan State at home to kick off B1G schedule and I have never been more ready to play a game. Kick off could have been scheduled 2:30 Monday afternoon, and I would have taken the field. I would have said earlier, but I had some exams earlier in the day, and I can’t skip those. Student comes before athlete.

It took a while to get going, but the ground game got going. Once the linebackers crept up, I dropped back and tore apart the safeties. We back in the win column, keeping our undefeated record at home, which I would argue is the most important thing in a rebuilding franchise.

But, you want to be a road warrior as well. Being 0-1 on the road in my career was hanging over my head as we prepared for a game against #7 Iowa.

While I would like to break down exactly what happened, I think my friends at the Daily Illini put it perfectly.

OSKEE WOW-WOW: Illinois wins big on the Road

Ron Zook came to Illinois this past winter promising to bring Illinois football back to a level where it could compete with some of the best teams in the Big Ten. While many believed him, no one thought it would take just a few months for those words to be true.

Illinois traveled to Iowa for its second game against a ranked opponent in three weeks. This one faired a little better than the first one. Ok, a lot better.

Freshman Kyle Milnamow, who threw four interceptions against Cal back in Week Three, threw four over 400 yards against a top 5 defense. While a few of those yards came in garbage time, a few deep strikes in the second half helped the Illini pull away in the third quarter.

Responsible for two touchdowns through the air, two on the ground, and even one 2-point conversion in the first half, Milnamow seems ready for the spotlight.

"This was exactly what this locker room needed," Milnamow said. " The receivers played well all night and helped set us up for some great scoring opportunities. And what more can I say about HB 30? He just continues to break long runs that opens things up for me."

While it took a couple of quarters for the running game to open up, HB 30 broke a couple of big runs late and has been placed in the top 5 in Heisman Candidates this past week.

"I was surprised it took this long for the recognition," Zook said. "He leads the nation in rushing touchdowns as well as rushing yards. He has made us look better each week."

That wasn't the only national recognition Illinois would recieve this week. Milnamow received his first Big Ten player of the week honors, as well as national offensive player of the week honors after his performance in Des Moines.

"After Cal, Coach Zook sat me down and gave me the confidence I needed to get back on track," said Milnamow. "Then, we have that big win at night against MSU, and I just felt we were coming in to a better situation than week 3.

"Overall though, (the national player of the week) award deserves to go to my O-line for the protection they gave me all game, my receivers for making some big catches late and, of course, HB 30 who had over 150 yards rushing AGAIN."

An easier test awaits the illini this week as the host Indiana at home this Saturday. The team though is still thirsty, finding motivation in the lack of respect from the latest rankings.

"Numbers are just numbers, but we felt we should be nationally recognized," Milnamow said. "But we know we still have a tall mountain to climb and ready to prove that we won't let the fans down this week."