Touchdown Times: November 9, 2012

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Touchdown TIMES A publication of The Daily Illini | Friday, November 9, 2012

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Friday, November 9, 2012

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EYE ON THE ENEMY: Minnesota wide receiver

The final stretch

Gray and the Golden Gophers are looking to leave Champaign with their second consecutive win at Memorial Stadium. Minnesota ends the season with games against tough Legends Division opponents — on the road at Nebraska and at home against Michigan State.

MarQueis Gray

BY MAX TANE ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

After starting 10 games last season, and the beginning of this season at quarterback, Gray returned to his original position of wide receiver. The senior has been a jack of all trades this year, amassing 320 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to go along with his receiving numbers.

Over the hump

At 5-4, Minnesota remains one game away from bowl eligibility. Gray looks to lead the Golden Gophers to their sixth win and their first bowl game since 2009, which would be the first under second-year head coach Jerry Kill.

Change needed

The move to put Gray back at wide receiver was telling in Minnesota’s stats and results on the scoreboard. The Golden Gophers dropped three straight after winning their first four games of the season. Minnesota ranks 91st nationally in points (23.9) and 94th in passing yards.

Preying on the weak

Minnesota’s lone conference win was 44-28 against Purdue, which is the other winless team in Big Ten play along with Illinois. The Golden Gophers have taken three of the last four meetings against Illinois, including a 27-7 win in Minneapolis last season to complete Illinois’ six-game collapse to end the 2011 regular season.

TOM OLMSCHEID THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATTENTION

Michigan’s Thomas Gordon and Raymon Taylor abring down Minnesota wide receiver MarQueis Gray after he caught a pass Saturday in Minneapolis. Gray started at quarterback in six games this season.

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Friday, November 9, 2012

Dad’s Day, pride motivate football players BY JAMAL COLLIER STAFF WRITER

Now the pressure is off. At times during the 2012 season, the Illini tried to do too much, and it ended up costing them yards on penalties or muffed punt returns and shanked punts. It doesn’t matter what the Illinois football team does Saturday against Minnesota, or during the rest of the season — it cannot make a bowl game. And Illinois head coach Tim Beckman believes that makes the game all the more important. “Well every game is a bowl game for us now,” Beckman said. He said he had no problems motivating the Illini and his team’s morale has stayed the same. The Illini must now find something to play for during the rest of the season. This week it may be easy — it’s Dad’s Day. The fathers of the football players will be honored as usual during the game, and seniors will be able to go out on the field with their fathers. Illinois is also honoring veterans; the players will wear camouflage T-shirts during warm-ups. “This game is not just about (the Illini),” Beckman said. “It’s about two very important parts of our lives.” The Illini may play for pride, but

the program still hasn’t won a Big Ten game in more than a year. A strong finish for Illinois can help build for the future and give the players returning next year some positives headed into offseason. “The main goal of getting to a bowl game isn’t there,” quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase said. “So what’s your next step? In my mind that’s just to get better. That’s going to help us in moving forward as a team, and that’s what going to help us as a program moving forward.” Illinois may play for the seniors, some of whom could be playing in their last high-level football games these next three weeks. “I want these seniors to win in the worst way,” Beckman said. “They need to experience it, they need to experience what’s it like to win in the Big Ten.” Beckman is facing a familiar opponent in Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill, who, like Beckman, got his start in the Mid-American Conference. Beckman called the Golden Gophers a classic “Jerry Kill football team,” a scrappy team that fights just like Beckman says their head coach does everyday of his life. Kill has battled with diseases and seizures throughout his time as a head coach. Illinois also has the challenge of stop-

ping wide receiver MarQueis Gray, Minnesota’s explosive playmaker that they like to move around the field. Beckman said the 6-foot-4, 245-pound wide receiver could create matchup problems for the Illini, and it will be important for Illinois to identify early where he is on the field. Losing to woeful 2-9 Minnesota was the final game of the Illini’s six-game losing streak and arguably the low point last year. Gray had a huge game against the Illini last season, with 167 yards rushing and two touchdowns. He also threw for another score. “It’s another tough challenge,” defensive back Ashante Williams said. “He’s a guy that they want to get the ball in his hands in the open field and can make guys miss and create big plays for the offenses.” Beckman said his team is still working and practicing as hard as it always has for the chance to get better during the final quarter of the season. He says the team has become like a family after being together all year. “It’s definitely not a fun year by any means or any stretch of the imagination,” Beckman said. “But it’s definitely been a learning year.”

Jamal can be reached at collie10@ dailyillini.com and @JamalCollier.

DARYL QUITALIG THE DAILY ILLINI

Illinois’ Tim Beckman listens to his headset against Michigan at Michigan Stadium on Oct. 13.

Friday, November 9, 2012

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Friday, November 9, 2012

Dad’s dedication drives Young BY SEAN HAMMOND STAFF WRITER

Starting running back’s father doesn’t miss a game

It

i s 4:30 on a Friday morning in the fall and Cartrell Young’s alarm clock is going off. By the time he leaves his Houston-area home, the sun has not yet risen. For the next eight hours, he drives his lumber truck to and from construction sites where new homes are being built. On a normal evening, his workday ends around 4 or 5 p.m. But Fridays in the fall are not normal for Young. On these Fridays, Young heads home a little early. But it is a short stay because as soon as he and his wife Kimberly are home, they get right back into the car. For the next 15-plus hours, Cartrell and Kimberly drive north up to Interstate 57 through four states, passing Little Rock, Ark., and Memphis, Tenn., on their way to Champaign. They arrive sometime around 8 a.m. on Saturday. Cartrell is weary and exhausted, but there is no time to rest because kickoff is in a few hours and the Illinois starting running back needs his biggest fan. *** Donovonn Young didn’t want to go to school so far from home. It took Cartrell to persuade him to attend Illinois, the only BCS conference school to extend him a scholarship offer. “I told him I wouldn’t miss a game,” Cartrell said. “So we took a visit, and he decided he’d go.” And Cartrell hasn’t missed a game. He hasn’t missed a game since his son was 5 years old. The ride from Houston the Champaign is a regular occurrence during football season, and for a man who already spends 40 hours per week in a truck, it can be taxing. “It gets grueling,” Cartrell said. “After you’ve worked all day, you have to get back in the car and drive all night. By the end of the season, me and my wife are worn out.” Kimberly, Donovonn’s stepmother, attends every game with Cartrell. The Young’s drive cross-country to every game with just a few exceptions. Last season, when Illinois played in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Francisco — a drive of some 30 hours from Houston — the two elected to fly. This year, the Youngs have enjoyed the luxury of an airplane twice, on trips to Tempe, Ariz., and Columbus, Ohio. But for Cartrell and Kimberly, it is rare for them not to be in the car on a Friday night during football season. Cartrell says he shares driving duties with Kimberly during the night, but for the most part, he is the one carrying the load. And no matter what campus he finds himself on in the morning, Cartrell can always be spotted wearing his white Illinois jersey

with the No. 5 and “Young” lettered across the back, as well as a Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl patch on the chest. When asked about his father’s jersey, Donovonn is just as curious as the next person. “I don’t know where he got it from,” he said. “I never sat down and asked him because every time I see him it’s always short, ‘Hi’ and ‘Bye’ types of things, so I don’t really worry about material things, but it’s a really nice jersey.” Cartrell — who will concede that he had the jersey custom made with the name and number from Gameday Spirit — never stays after the game for very long. And despite this Saturday’s matchup against Minnesota, highlighting Dad’s Weekend in Champaign, his plan is the same. After watching Donovonn play, he and Kimberly will meet up with him and hang out or maybe grab a bite to eat. But then it is right back into the car for another 15-plus hours because the lumber truck beckons Monday morning. *** These days, the father wears the son’s jersey. But not long ago, it was the other way around. When he was in high school, Cartrell, now 46, played running back for Katy High School in Katy, Texas, and was tutored by running backs coach Gary Joseph. Years later, when Donovonn moved in with Cartrell prior to his junior year in high school, Cartrell suggested that he transfer to Katy. Donovonn did transfer from Humble High School in nearby Humble, Texas, and he quickly became a star under a head coach who had never moved past Katy in Gary Joseph. As a tribute, Donovonn wore the No. 22 on his back, like his father did so many years before. At Katy, Donovonn regularly played in front of crowds of 11,000 people or more. In his final high school game, Katy lost its regional final matchup to Pearland High School in front of more than 41,000 people at Rice Stadium, a crowd that would rival an Illini home game. Despite the attention, Donovonn only received three major scholarship offers: Illinois, North Texas and McNeese State. The lack of national recognition was largely attributed to a broken foot he suffered in his junior year, scaring away recruiters. The injury didn’t slow Donovonn down for long, though, because as a senior, he ran for 2,332 yards, 36 touchdowns and averaged 9 yards per carry while helping Katy to a 13-1 season. “Donovonn has always been a hard worker from the day he picked up a football,” Cartrell says. “He wanted to play football when he

was 3 years old, and by the time he was 5, he almost knew more about football than I did.” Donovonn committed to former Illini head coach Ron Zook and received a significant amount of hype coming into his freshman season in 2011. In his first year, he ran for 451 yards and six touchdowns, playing behind two senior running backs in Jason Ford and Troy Pollard. But one year and one head coach later, Donovonn has not been handed the ball as consistently as he would have liked. On Oct. 2, three days after carrying the ball just six times in a 35-7 loss to Penn State, Donovonn let his thoughts be heard. “As a playmaker, you want the ball in your hands,’’ he told the media. “You can’t run the ball when you don’t have the ball.” There have been times when Donovonn has carried the ball a lot (21 carries and 124 yards against Indiana on Oct. 27) and times when he hasn’t (four carries for 5 yards against Wisconsin on Oct. 6). To see his son not get the touches he wants is what pains Cartrell the most. “It makes it hard for me to drive that far and see them not use my son like he should be used,” Cartrell said. “I mean, last year I could understand it, he was a freshman. But this year he’s the starting running back, and he’s getting the ball five or six times a game.” Cartrell declined to talk about Tim Beckman and the new Illinois coaching staff. Even though Donovonn has received more carries in recent weeks, it is hard for him to be content when his team has lost six straight games and seven of nine overall. “You can’t be too satisfied because we’re not winning,” Donovonn said. “We came into this thing together, and we’ll leave it together.” Together — like Cartrell and Kimberly will be when they leave Champaign after Saturday’s game: on the road for another long drive home. No matter what time Donovonn falls asleep Saturday night, Cartrell and Kimberly will still be behind the wheel, heading back down I-57 in the dark. For Donovonn, that type of dedication from his family is unrivaled. “It’s good to know when I go to sleep at night that I’m loved,” he said. And he certainly is.

“Donovonn has always been a hard worker from the day he picked up a football. He wanted to play football when he was 3 years old, and by the time he was 5, he almost knew more about football than I did.” CARTRELL YOUNG, Donovonn Young’s father

Sean can be reached at sphammo2@dailyillini.com and @sean_hammond.

DARYL QUITALIG THE DAILY ILLINI

Friday, November 9, 2012

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PLAYERS TO WATCH After being involved in a scary play that put his health in jeopardy at Wisconsin on Oct. 6, the senior has finally gotten his feet back underneath him. He will be critical for the Illini in both the pass defense and the kick return game. Against Ohio State last week, Hawthorne provided a spark on special teams, returning six kicks for 158 yards, including a 45-yarder.

TERRY

HAWTHORNE

DARYL QUITALIG THE DAILY ILLINI

PHILIP

NELSON

TOM OLMSCHEID THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Since being named the starting quarterback as a true freshman on Oct. 20 against Wisconsin, Nelson has passed for 537 yards and six touchdowns, leading the Golden Gophers to a 1-2 record during that stretch. With former quarterback and now versatile wide receiver MarQueis Gray as his primary weapon and a weak Illinois pass defense, Nelson has another stage to continue his progression in his young career.

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Friday, November 9, 2012

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GO FIGHTING ILLINI! Stop by Before or After the Game! Enjoy a Sundae, Thick Shake, Snowstorm or Waffle Cone

SEAN HAMMOND

SPORTS WRITER

JAMAL COLLIER

CHAD THORNBURG

SPORTS WRITER

SPORTS WRITER

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MAX TANE

JEFF KIRSHMAN

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR/ HOST OF ILLINI DRIVE

SPORTS EDITOR

OUR PICKS Tane (36-18) Minnesota at Illinois

Wisconsin at Indiana

Northwestern at Michigan

Hammond (39-15)

DAN WELIN

FOOTBALL COLUMNIST

PORTRAIT BY DARYL QUITALIG THE DAILY ILLINI

Collier (32-22)

Kirshman (39-15)

Thornburg (31-23)

Welin (36-18)

28-13

28-21

31-17

14-13

28-17

31-14

33-30

31-21

42-41

27-13

24-21

42-28

38-30

38-35

24-20

28-20

34-31

31-24

27-21

21-17

44-38

49-42

48-40

56-42

38-28

42-35

31-17

27-14

35-14

38-28

34-14

38-21

20-16

28-14

21-17

21-17

21-10

24-7

No. 13 Oregon State at No. 16 Stanford

33-28

24-21

27-20

30-21

West Virginia at Oklahoma State No. 15 Tech A&M at No. 1 Alabama No. 22 Mississippi State at No. 9 LSU

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MONDAYS at 6 PM

Friday, November 9, 2012

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Similarities can be found between 1st seasons of Minnesota’s Kill, Beckman DAN WELIN Football columnist

M

innesota head coach Jerry Kill used to coach in the Mid-American Conference. He served as the head coach at Northern Illinois for three seasons, compiling a 23-16 record and leading his team to three consecutive bowl games. Sound familiar? In his three seasons at Toledo, Illinois head coach Tim Beckman was 21-16 and led his team to two straight bowl games. When Minnesota fired Tim Brewster during the 2010 season, candidates such as Boise State’s Chris Petersen, Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen, current Michigan and then-San Diego State head coach Brady Hoke and former Oregon coach Mike Bellotti were mentioned. A new stadium and an underwhelming roster so bad, labeling it as a work in progress would be a compliment, didn’t interest any of the “shoot-for-the-sky� candidates. So now-retired Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi tabbed Kill in December 2010 with the job of turning the program around. Fast forward to December 2011. Illinois’ reported and speculated list of coaching candidates may not have included as many prominent names, but Chris

Petersen’s name was thrown around, as well as then-Houston. now-Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin’s. Interpretation: Money talks, but not even enough to take the Illinois job. Nevertheless, coaching the Illini wasn’t appealing to any of those aforementioned candidates, and Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas plucked the visor-clad man with a plan from Toledo. As a 3-9 record in Kill’s first season indicates, the slow start that was expected in Minneapolis was underway, though the Golden Gophers did beat the Illini 27-7 and finished the regular season with a 2-6 conference record, which was the same tally the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl champion Illinois Fighting Illini had. An 0-6 finish to the regular season will do that to you. See ya, Zooker. I mean come on, he won Coach of the Year in 2007 and brought talented players to Champaign. The NFL Draft speaks to that, but a 34-51 record overall? I digress. One year later, with career-long quarterback project MarQueis Gray starting at wide receiver and true freshman Philip Nelson running the offense, Kill’s Gophers are 5-4, with Saturday’s game against an Illinois team their best chance to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time since 2009. With an Illinois team that hasn’t won since Sept. 15 and Michigan State and Nebraska left on the schedule, the easiest path to win No. 6 needn’t further be validated.

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In Kill’s first season as Minnesota’s head coach, the Gophers didn’t have a six-game losing streak, but they did lose four in a row, drop a game to an FCS opponent at home and in convincing fashion too (37-24 to North Dakota State) and had their fair share of lopsided losses. They were blown out 58-0 at Michigan and manhandled by Wisconsin 42-13. The script the 2011 Golden Gophers wrote seems eerily similar to Illinois’ 2012 version. The strides Minnesota’s made in 2012 may not be possible for Beckman in 2013 partly because of the loss of seniors Terry Hawthorne, Michael Buchanan, Graham Pocic and Hugh Thornton, but an offseason of changes, a new recruiting class and junior college transfers can’t possibly make this team any worse. Let’s be clear. Jerry Kill hasn’t turned Minnesota into a team that’s substantially worth watching, but he already has improved by two victories from last year and hasn’t played Illinois yet. But his improvement with a similarly and mysteriously confusing lack of what I like to call “6-6� success is noticeable this season. With Election Day just over the horizon, what better chance to say Kill’s mild turnaround at Minnesota gives Beckman hope. Dan is a senior in Media. You can reach him at welin1@ dailyillini.com Follow him on Twitter @WELINand DEALIN.

ANDY KING THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill watches his team against Northwestern in Minneapolis on Oct. 13. Northwestern defeated Minnesota 21-13. Kill has Minnesota 5-4 after a 3-9 season last year.

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