Victor Dawson (5) was named to the preseason Walter Payton Award Watch List Tuesday. He returns as the feature back in Illinois State’s offense this season. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Dan Verdun
Illinois State’s run to within a whisper of a national championship has thrust head coach Brock Spack’s Redbirds squarely back into the limelight.
“We’ve done it before,” Spack said in reference to Illinois State’s national runner-up finish in January 2015.
On Tuesday, ISU was picked to finish second to South Dakota State in the Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason poll.
Meanwhile, Lindy’s College Football Preview magazine hit the market earlier this summer with Illinois State ranked No. 2 in its preseason national FCS poll.
“This particular group coming in now had 17 games, which is an NFL season. We were on the road four times in the playoffs,” Spack said during the MVFC media day Tuesday in Sioux Falls, S.D. “We started in March for spring practice. We didn’t have to coach the young guys (on) how to practice. They’d been doing it for so long. The younger guys have a little better feel for it.”
That better feel stems from extra practices as ISU ran off four straight road playoff victories to reach the January FCS title game in Nashville. While the Redbirds lost, 35-34, in overtime to Montana State in the title game, ISU is among the top picks to make a return trip to Music City this season.
With success comes raised expectations. That’s a concept that isn’t foreign to Spack, who was the defensive coordinator at Purdue during its Joe Tiller/Drew Brees glory days.
“Bowl games are a little different. They’re important obviously, particularly New Year’s Day games, but the experience of the whole thing is really important,” Spack explained. “A championship game is just a little more intense in that every play matters. . . . With the championship game, you have one or two weeks to get ready. With the bowl game, you have basically five weeks to get ready.”
Spack – the longest-tenured MVFC head coach – said the FCS playoffs allow for a team to build momentum “by keeping sharp by playing.”
Illinois State was represented by a pair of seniors who appear on preseason watch lists for national awards: linebacker Tye Niekamp for the Buck Buchanan Award and running back Victor Dawson for the Walter Payton Award.
Niekamp is coming off a season in which he earned MVFC Defensive Player of the Year honors and was named a consensus first-team All-American. The Normal Community High School graduate reflected on his career that includes 36 starting assignments.
“Obviously, physically I’ve gotten a lot stronger and faster. My first year I played at like 220 (pounds). I’m up to 240 now. That’s been really helpful, but just the experience I’ve gained,” he said, referencing his freshman year that “was a little bit of a culture shock.”
Dawson – a MVFC All-Newcomer Team selection a year ago after transferring from FBS Cincinnati – will enter fall camp as the feature back.
“It’s nice,” he said. “It shows that my work from last year really paid off. But with that, there’s a lot of eyes on me. Defenses are probably going to do more scouting on me. I’ve got to be prepared for that, but that opens up more for other guys.”
Dawson led the Redbirds and ranked third in MVFC rushing with 1,377 yards. He rushed for over 100 yards in six games, including four straight in the playoffs.
While both players realize this could be their final year playing football and strive to enjoy it, they also have a larger goal in mind.
“We want to go back to the national championship. We want to win it,” Niekamp said.
News and notes: Niekamp led the FCS in total tackles with 160 last season, which ranks fifth on the ISU single-season list. . . . Illinois State announced last week that it will host the University of St. Francis, an NAIA program based in Joliet, Aug. 29 for its season opener. . . . The Redbirds will then face three other state schools – Western Illinois, FBS Northern Illinois and Eastern Illinois – to round out their non-conference schedule. . . . ISU opens MVFC play at Northern Iowa Sept. 26.
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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