By Douglas Hamm, Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON, May 14, 2002 -- Athletes. Playmakers. Winners. Leaders.
Those are the traits Illinois Wesleyan football coach Norm Eash
targets in potential recruits, and the 15-year veteran believes he
has fired a bull's eye with this year's class.
"All these kids are Illinois Wesleyan type of kids," Eash said. "They
excel in the classroom, they excel on the playing field. They have high
standards, and that's probably one of the reasons they come to
Wesleyan ...
"They come here wanting to win. They understand our goal is to win
a national championship."
Eash and his staff have selected a group that will join a 7-2 squad
which tied for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin title
for the second straight year. The newcomers will be greeted by 14
returning starters -- eight on offense and six on defense.
"I think it's a class that's going to give immediate help to the returning
players we have, and I think we have a great foundation for next
year," Eash said. "We tried to get the right fit."
The recruiting crop is dominated by defensive players, with 10
secondary players, eight linemen and six linebackers. The group also
includes two quarterbacks, two running backs, one fullback, four
offensive linemen, two wide receivers and one punter.
The lone special teams recruit, 6-foot-6, 200-pound punter Drew
Himes of Princeton, could be the jewel of the class. Eash said Himes
will join a short list of freshman starters during his tenure.
"We're real excited about Drew," Eash said. "We're in need of a
punter, and we went out and actively recruited him. He had offers to
walk on at some Division I schools. We think he can be an
All-American type of punter just because of the build of his body, the
leg swing and so forth."
The group also features a pair of all-staters: 5-11, 175-pound
quarterback-defensive back Jensen Jones of LaHarpe and 5-11,
185-pound defensive back Brant Baltikauski of Class 3A state
champion Spring Valley Hall. Eash said Jones will focus at defensive
back next season.
"They both are great athletes," Eash said. "Jensen is talented enough
that he could play a lot of positions, and that makes him a very
valuable asset to our football program."
Eash is also high on Baltikauski's Hall teammate, 6-1, 190-pound
linebacker Levi Derber, and the Edwardsville duo of 5-10, 180-pound
defensive back Adam Jones and 6-1, 215-pound defensive end Kevin
Maliszewski. Edwardsville was last season's Class 6A state
runner-up.
Other top defensive back recruits include Erich Sauer of Elgin Larkin,
Damon Banks of Walther Lutheran and Larry Masarsky of Niles
West.
The Titans' linebacking corps will be bolstered by Dave Choi of
Naperville North, Sean Lyon of Holy Cross, John Scrementi of
Homewood-Flossmoor and the lone Pantagraph area recruit, Dan
Pfeifer of Dwight.
Lyon was a two-time All-Catholic League selection, and Pfeifer was
an All-Interstate Eight Conference performer.
Adding depth on the defensive line will be 6-3, 270-pound Dan
Schmied of Farmington, 6-4, 240-pound Ben Webster of Kankakee
Bishop McNamara and 6-8, 245-pound Blake Schulenburg of
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin.
Tom Kudyba, a 6-1, 185-pound Elk Grove product, is the leading
quarterback recruit.
"We're excited about getting Tom," Eash said. "He has good size."
Incoming running back prospects Matt Ross of Chatham Glenwood
and Ryan Spellman of New Trier will be united with their older
brothers, senior running backs Chris Ross and John Spellman. Nick
Roto of Palatine is the lone fullback recruit.
"It is unique that Matt and Ryan both have brothers on the team that
play running back," Eash said. "They both can do it all -- catch and
run -- and that's what we look for in our offense."
The offensive line will be fortified by 6-5, 260-pound Chris Larsen of
Crystal Lake South, 6-2, 250-pound Dan Troutman of Richards and
6-1, 250-pound Ray Stack of Chicago St. Rita.
The top receiver is 5-11, 180-pound Bryson Brownlee of Evanston.
"Brownlee's a guy that can run a 4.4 (40-yard dash)," Eash said.
Eash listed athleticism as the number one priority in his recruiting.
"At Division III you try to find great athletes, and then you find a
position for them and get them on the field," Eash said. "You have to
look at the positions a little bit, but the most important thing is what
kind of athlete the kid is."
Success, talent prompt IWU to beef up 2002-03 schedule
By Douglas Hamm, Pantagraph staff
BLOOMINGTON, May 14, 2002 -- Coach Norm Eash and the Illinois Wesleyan
football team can't wait for the 2002 season to kick off.
There's at least 14 reasons why.
The Titans return 14 starters -- eight offensive and six defensive --
from last year's 7-2 squad which shared the College Conference of
Illinois and Wisconsin championship for the second straight year.
To that end, Eash has beefed up the Titans' nonconference schedule
with a pair of new teams, 1992 Division III national champion
Wisconsin-LaCrosse and the University of Chicago. Long-time rival
Washington (Mo.) completes the nonconference slate.
"I think our nonconference schedule is very, very competitive, and
I'm proud of that," Eash said. "We've always maintained the fact we
feel like a tough nonconference schedule prepares us for the CCIW.
"We know we have to play our best to go undefeated in our
nonconference schedule. With the number of players we have
returning, I think we needed a challenge. This team has set very high
goals. We want to win the CCIW outright and get back in the
playoffs."
The Titans will open the season Sept. 14 at Wisconsin-LaCrosse
before facing Washington at 6 p.m. Sept. 21 in the home opener at
IWU Stadium. It will be IWU's first night home game since 1971.
Last year's scheduled home-opening night game against Aurora was
canceled because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"Wisconsin-LaCrosse is a very quality program, and it's going to be a
tough game for us," Eash said. "It will be their second game, and
we'll be on the road.
"We've had a great series with Washington. We know we have to
play well to beat them. I've been trying for the past five or six years
to
get Chicago on the schedule."
The CCIW slate includes home games against North Park, North
Central, Wheaton and Elmhurst. The Titans will hit the road to face
league foes Augustana, Carthage and Millikin.