Brothers Brett (left) and Eddie Kasper have received plenty of guidance during their football careers from “Uncle Kevin,” as in legendary University of Iowa wide receiver Kevin Kasper. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Barry Bottino
Birthdays for 5-year-old boys usually involve a splash pad, trampolines, bounce houses, cupcakes and pizza, or perhaps all of those combined.
Illinois State sophomore wide receiver Eddie Kasper had a slightly different experience. His was spent at an NFL exhibition game in Detroit, where his uncle, Kevin, was a wide receiver for the Lions.
“I saw (Kevin) when he was with the Lions, who were playing the Cincinnati Bengals,” Kasper recalled. “I got to go up to the player’s lounge. That was when (Hall of Fame wide receiver) Calvin Johnson was a rookie. I met Calvin Johnson. He made my cousin (Kyler) and I race. That’s my Kevin moment.”
When the Redbirds open the 2024 season Saturday at FBS Iowa, (11 a.m., Big Ten Network) Eddie Kasper, his younger brother, Brett, a freshman ISU receiver, and the entire Kasper clan will have another “Kevin moment” when Illinois State visits Kinnick Stadium, where Kevin went from a barely recruited walk-on to a Hawkeye legend.
“If you would’ve told me three years ago, ‘You get to play Iowa in Week 1 with your little brother, I would’ve said, yeah, whatever,’” Eddie Kasper said. “It’s pretty cool if you step back and look at it.”
Family affair
Despite being an unknown commodity when he arrived in Iowa City, Kevin Kasper left the University of Iowa as the school record holder for catches in a game, season and career. He spent time with eight NFL teams and was on the Super Bowl XXXIX champion New England Patriots roster.
“He had these highlight tapes,” Brett Kasper said. “Two from Iowa and one from the NFL. I remember watching them all the time. Watching those, I always wanted to play football growing up. I thought, ‘Why could that not be me?’ It gave me that little bit of hope.”
Illinois State head coach Brock Spack was Purdue’s defensive coordinator when Kasper was running wild for the Hawkeyes.
“In the (defensive) game plan, he was a big part of it because he was a dangerous player,” Spack said. “I remember him very well.”
But before he wound up at Iowa, Kevin Kasper’s college football prospects were dim.
“A bunch of (Division III schools) said no to him out of high school,” Eddie Kasper said.
While the Kasper brothers were both preferred walk-ons at Illinois State, their uncle “was a walk-on walk-on,” Eddie Kasper said. “They called him the day before fall camp and said, ‘Some guy just dropped out. Can you show up tomorrow?’”
Catching on
Brett Kasper spent the majority of his high school career as a quarterback.
“Pretty much my whole life, I was throwing the ball to (Eddie),” he said. “My dream was to be a quarterback. I started to realize with how I’m built (at 5-foot-10, 165 pounds), I’m a little better as a receiver.” So he played receiver in a 7-on-7 program to hone his skills.
Eddie Kasper, meanwhile, arrived at Illinois State having only had a football in his hands “50 times … in a live situation.”
After catching 48 passes last season, his comfort level has risen. “I can walk out there and know what’s going on with the defense most of the time. I really didn’t understand coverages.”
What has helped the brothers is time spent – and text messages shared – with their uncle, who lives with his family in suburban Phoenix.
“When COVID hit, we went down to Arizona and it was our first time running routes at a high level,” Brett Kasper said. “He showed us the game inside the game. You’re not just out there running routes. There’s actually technique to all those routes. He’s been very helpful.”
The group – including Eddie, Brett, Kevin, cousins Kyler (a sophomore WR at FBS Oregon) and Braylon (a high school sophomore already being recruited by Iowa and others) – also exchanges texts with videos and feedback.
“Most of it is just sending quick a quick video and asking, ‘How’s this look?’” Eddie Kasper said. “When I was a freshman, I would send him probably five, 10 videos a week. He would reply with ‘don’t do this’ or ‘nice.’ Simple stuff. Uncle Kevin loves to check in on us. He’s always talking to my dad.”
Back in Iowa
Though Kevin will likely be in Oregon for the Ducks’ game Saturday against Idaho, the Kasper clan will have lots of representation in Iowa City.
“Our parents are excited,” Eddie Kasper said. “They’ll be out there tailgating. It’s going to be cool.
“It means the most to our grandpa. He’s the most excited human being on planet Earth. Every single one of his friends probably knows by now.”
And the family expects Kevin to check in with the Redbirds via his cellphone.
“I have a good feeling he will,” Eddie Kasper said.
This week’s opponent
When you talk Iowa, you have to talk defense. The Hawkeyes return eight starters on the defensive side of the ball, where Iowa has allowed fewer than 20 points a game for eight seasons in a row, the longest streak in the nation. They are one of five programs to have a top-10 nationally ranked defense in FBS for three consecutive years. … Middle linebacker Jay Higgins had 171 total tackles last season, while weakside LB Nick Jackson posted 110. Both players have been named to the Butkus Award (best LB), and the Bronko Nagurski and Chuck Bednarik award (best defensive player nationally) watch lists. … The Hawkeyes announced this week they will start former Michigan QB Cade McNamara under center. McNamara missed most of last season with a knee injury after starting the first five games for the Hawkeyes. … Iowa assistant coach Seth Wallace will serve as the acting head coach Saturday as head coach Kirk Ferentz and wide receivers coach Jon Budmayr, a Woodstock native, will serve a one-game suspension imposed by the school for a past recruiting violation. … Iowa is ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press preseason poll. … The Hawkeyes have a new offensive coordinator in Tim Lester, a Chicago area native who has head coaching experience at Elmhurst College and Western Michigan. He spent last season with the Green Bay Packers as a senior analyst.
Kickoff: 11 a.m..; TV: Big Ten Network; Radio: WJBC.com
Key matchup to watch
Illinois State run game vs. Iowa front seven: The Redbirds, ranked No. 19 in the preseason Stats Perform FCS poll, are no stranger to running the football well. With Northern Illinois transfer Mason King leading the way last fall, ISU averaged a school-record 5.8 yards per carry, according to the ISU media guide. King earned first-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors and league newcomer of the year by piling up 980 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Hawkeyes, however, have nine fifth- or sixth-year seniors returning on defense. Last season, opponents rushed for 3.1 yards a carry against Iowa and only seven TDs in 14 games.
What’s at stake?
A victory Saturday would give Illinois State its first win against a Big Ten team since a 9-7 triumph at Northwestern in 2016.
Quick hits
Spack said he’s especially interested in watching how his front seven on defense performs against Iowa, which has a powerhouse rushing attack. “This first game, we’ll be tested. Can we slow down their running game?” Spack said. “That will be the true tell of this game.” Spack’s team returns eight of its top nine tacklers from last season and nine starters. Up front, the 16th-year Redbird coach highlighted sophomore defensive tackle Jake Anderson, senior nose tackle Jake Siegel and ends Nick Kessler, a junior, and Steven Curtis, a sophomore, as “guys I’ll have my eye on. Our front seven will be really stressed.” … ISU also returns decorated linebackers Amir Abdullah and Tye Niekamp. In addition, veterans Jalan Gaines (Jack) and Lavoise-Deonte McCoy (weakside) also return in the linebacker corps and will take on key roles against the Iowa ground game. … You want to talk experience? Look no further than the Illinois State secondary. Starting cornerbacks Mark Cannon Jr. and Nigel White, strong safety Keondre Jackson and free safety Dillon Gearhart have combined for 104 games played at ISU and 64 starts. … This is only the second time ISU and Iowa have met on the field. In 2015, Iowa won its home opener, 31-14, against the Redbirds after piling up a 17-0 halftime lead and a 24-0 advantage after three quarters.
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.
Find us on social media!
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PSPigskin
Facebook: Prairie State Pigskin
Instagram: Prairiestatepigskin
Prairie State Pigskin 
Leave a comment