Linebacker Anthony Quinney (19) has 43 tackles this season for Western Illinois, including five tackles for loss. (Photo by GoLeathernecks.com)
By Barry Bottino
Like many high school football players, Anthony Quinney grew up with a big dream: Play at the NCAA Division I level.
Unlike other players, however, Quinney endured for more than two years after high school – and attended junior colleges in two different states – to get there.
“He’s got an incredible story of perseverance,” Western Illinois head coach Myers Hendrickson said. “I love working with Anthony. I knew he’d have a big senior year.”
After graduating from Baker High School in his hometown of Mobile, Ala., Quinney didn’t have many football options.
So, he worked. And, he waited.
“I took two-and-a-half years off,” said Quinney, a starting linebacker for the Leathernecks. “I made myself a promise that I was going to go Division I, no matter how long it took and whatever occurred to make that not happen, I was going to make it happen.”
For two-and-a-half years, Quinney said he worked at grocery stores and at a gym in Mobile.
“I have a lot of friends who played Division I, so they kept me focused,” Quinney said. “I just worked, stashed my money and did it.”
When the Leathernecks (0-10 overall, 0-7 Missouri Valley Football Conference) take the field Saturday in Macomb against No. 5 South Dakota (8-2, 6-1), it will mark the end of Quinney’s unique football path.
His first college opportunity came at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, Calif., where he played in six games as a strong safety in 2019. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020 led Quinney to leave California and look for a new program.
He landed in Kansas, where he joined Dodge City Community College and head coach Ricky Coon, who now serves as the defensive coordinator at Southeast Missouri.
“Anytime you take a player from another junior college, there’s always some risk there,” Coon said. “The thing that amazes me the most about him is just how good of a kid he is. You didn’t have to beg him to do things. He was all in.”
In 2021, his final season at Dodge City, Quinney led the team with 61 tackles at linebacker, including eight tackles for loss.
Coon said he gave WIU defensive coordinator Todd Drury an honest assessment of Quinney during the recruiting process.
“I told Coach Drury, ‘He’ll be your favorite player on the whole team.’ He’s just that guy who always has a smile on his face,” Coon said. “He’s a leader.”
The 24-year-old Quinney, who was chosen by teammates as a captain this fall, endured a season-ending shoulder injury last season. But that didn’t deter his personality. He often hyped up teammates at practices and games while he was sidelined.
“He’s a guy you want to be around. He’s got that outgoing, magnetic personality,” Coon said. “If he sees somebody who’s down, he going to pick him up.
“He also lives what he preaches. Anthony is one of those guys who’s in the front of the line. I bet he’s in the front of the line in the conditioning drills. I bet he’s in the front of the line in the football drills. I bet he’s in the front of the room in class. He leads from the front.”
This fall, Quinney has bounced back with 43 tackles, including five tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery.
“Football means the world to him,” Hendrickson said. “That’s why I love everything he’s put into this. He’s a big-time student of the game. He pours his heart and soul into it.”
What has Quinney appreciated most about his path?
“The focus and the grind that I had,” he said. “(My goal) didn’t change. If anything, I became more focused. Toward the end, right before I got the call from California, it was kind of fading off. I was losing hope. I kept believing in God, kept praying and it ended up happening.”
He also found just the right fit in Macomb, where he described his biggest rewards as “meeting all these people from everywhere, getting some different experiences and taking it all in.
“These coaches believed in me,” Quinney said. “(The players) elected me to this captain role. I really appreciate it, no matter the outcome of any game.”
This week’s opponent
Defense has been a calling card for the Coyotes, who have held six of their nine FCS opponents to seven points or less. … South Dakota, which is led by former WIU head coach Bob Neilson, has won six MVFC games for the first time in school history. A win would mean the opportunity for a top-eight FCS playoff seed for South Dakota. … The top Coyotes on defense are linebacker Brock Morgensen, who leads the conference with 97 tackles, and defensive lineman Brendan Webb, who has a team-best 8.5 sacks. … Offensively, quarterback Aidan Bouman has thrown for 10 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 68.5% of his passes. Running back Travis Theis (701 yards, five TDs) ranks fourth in the MVFC in yards per game (70.1). Wide receiver Carter Bell (38 catches, 658 yards, four TDs) has the fourth-highest yards per catch average (17.3) in the conference.
Kickoff: 1 p.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: Q981fm.com
Key matchup to watch
WIU offense vs. South Dakota defense: When it comes to allowing points, South Dakota is one of the stingiest teams in the nation. The Coyotes rank No. 5 in scoring defense nationally at 15.5 points a game. Western, meanwhile, has struggled to score consistently, averaging 13.2 points a game.
What’s at stake?
A win would allow Western to avoid back-to-back 0-11 seasons.
Quick hits
WIU quarterback Matt Morrissey needs 106 yards passing Saturday to reach the 2,000-yard plateau. … Wide receiver Jay Parker, who also returns punts for the Leathernecks, ranks seventh in the MVFC in all-purpose yards with 91.9 per game. … The 2023 season likely will end as the fifth in a row in which the Leathernecks do not have a leading rusher surpass 500 yards. This fall, WIU’s leaders are Ludovick Choquette (234), Seth Glatz (217), Dylan Van (100) and Torrance Farmer (94). Van had a career-best 16 carries last week at Indiana State. Choquette has not carried the ball in the past two weeks while Glatz has two carries over that span. … With Saturday’s game against No. 5 South Dakota, Western closes out the season with five ranked opponents in the final seven weeks. According to MasseyRatings.com, WIU ranks 21st nationally in strength of schedule.
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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