Indiana University Athletics
RANDLE EL READY TO CARRY THE LOAD
9/14/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
It's not an anxious movement. An eager one, yes. Anxious, no. Watch him carefully and you might think he has someplace else to be. More than likely he probably does.
The movement is kind of a little bounce. Depending on who he's talking to, or where he has to go, it sometimes turns into a skip. Or even a gallop. The kid just can't stand still. He runs everywhere. Then again, he's got an awful lot to do. But you get the feeling things are different for him. You get the feeling that because he moves so fast the world revolves just a little bit slower for him.
Just try looking for him. Do you think you've got a feel for where he might be? You don't. You think you just saw him in the weight room. Nope, he's gone. The locker room. No, not there either. Assembly Hall. Uh uh. Just try to get a handle on him. You tell yourself he shouldn't be so difficult to locate because you realize what type of presence this kid has. How can this kid be so hard to find? You know when he's in the room. Not because he's loud or obnoxious. He is not. He is just one of those people who, without saying a word, can convince you he is special. He's the kind of person that, no matter how well you know him, makes you feel better just because he's standing there and you are right there with him.
There he goes again. Hopping. You're talking to him and he is listening intently. You know he hears you because he never forgets a word that you say. But he just keeps hopping and as soon as you're done talking....he's gone. If this was a nervous twitch (it's not) it would be understandable. You see, Antwaan Randle El has the weight of the Indiana University football program on his shoulders. Sure, IU fans are beginning to place the cinder blocks on his shoulders but he doesn't feel it and it certainly doesn't slow him down. He almost challenges you. He says come on in and put your bricks and blocks on his back because he knows he can carry them. He knows he's done it before. He's prepared to do it again.
Remember, he hasn't taken a snap in a game at the college level. The Harvard MBA is the new CEO of your company and he hasn't even been in a board room yet. What they forgot to tell you was this Ivy League whiz kid is going to work for a business across the street in his "spare" time and that the expectations of that company's boss are legendary. You ask yourself, is this realistic? Then you find out what this kid has been through and you start to believe. You're scared to let yourself get too excited because you've heard the stories before. High school phenoms are a dime a dozen these days. You want to know what makes this kid different. Why should put your hopes in this kid? Listen to his story and you might have a better idea.
Antwaan Randle El grew up in Chicago. Riverdale, Illinois, to be a little more specific. Five minutes from the city. He didn't live in the ghetto but he most certainly wasn't living in Mission Viejo either. Antwaan is the first to admit that there are meaner streets than those in Riverdale. But he isn't afraid to tell you that he had a friend gunned down in his neighborhood. Right across the street. Antwaan knew that when the street lamps began to flicker the fun and games were over. He'll also tell you, along with IU junior cornerback and brother, Curtis, that their parents didn't give them an opportunity to get in trouble.
"My upbringing was great," said Antwaan. "We went to church a lot. I had the right things instilled in me from my mom and dad. I just knew what was right from wrong and I knew what it meant to be courteous. I could learn that just from watching my parents."
Antwaan's first love was baseball. He can play that game a little bit, too. The high school centerfielder was a 14th round selection of the Chicago Cubs following his senior year in high school. Baseball was calling his name. He had his hand on the receiver. His mom, Jackie, slapped it.
"Baseball was my favorite sport for a long time," said the 5-10, 177-pounder. "Then it was football. I'm starting to miss baseball. I don't know where I stand right now. I'd love to play baseball but I'd have to drop football or basketball and I'm not too keen on that idea. It seems like baseball will always be there.
"I knew I was going to be drafted in baseball but I didn't know I was going to be drafted so high. Because the teams knew that I was probably going to go to college, I thought I would have been drafted much later. I was a little surprised. I wanted to go (play baseball). My mom encouraged me not to. My dad told me it was up to me. My parents got talking and my dad agreed with my mom that I should go to college but then he whispered to me, 'It's still up to you.' My mom really wanted me to go to college. I needed to go where she wanted me to go. I wasn't in any position to make my own decision without getting any consent from them."
The recruiting process wasn't easy. But, it certainly wasn't without options. Curtis was already at Indiana and Antwaan new he could be comfortable in Bloomington and was very intrigued by Cam Cameron and his new coaching staff. But he could have gone to UCLA to play basketball or to Nebraska to play football. Or to Ohio University. The one in Athens.
"I visited Ohio University and it was a nice place. Their coaches didn't nag me. But at the same time they talked to me without bugging me too much. They made me feel at home. It was different when I went to almost every other place. It was the same way here as it was at Ohio U. I just felt comfortable and I already knew some people.
"In football my recruiting was grueling. Everyone was really trying to get me. Colorado. Nebraska. Michigan. Everybody in the Big Ten. But it got to the point that I didn't want to be bothered with it anymore. I was trying to play ball and people just kept calling. It got to me after awhile. I just left it alone. I prayed about where I wanted to go and God led me here and I certainly don't have any complaints.
"In basketball I was recruited by just about everybody. At the end, I wanted to sign for football and play basketball. Then when Coach Knight came to some of my games I felt good about playing for him. He gave me the nod to have a chance to play here and that's been great, too."
Just about one year ago today Antwaan got the news. It wasn't of the positive variety. He would be forced to sit out the 1997 football and basketball seasons because he was a partial academic qualifier. He would be able to practice but would not be able to play in games. The new CEO was doing all the work and wouldn't even be getting a pay check. Of all places, he found out his fate on the practice field.
"At first I didn't know if I was going to be able to play or not. I found out during a practice. The rest of the practice went downhill from there. I would be down the whole day and then when practice would come around I knew I still had to shine. I felt like I did that, but it also felt like I was doing it for nothing. But some things I learned last year I can definitely use this year. I had come to Bloomington time after time during the summertime just to work out and to get prepared for the season. When I couldn't play it was a drastic change. I had never been unable to play before."
Games were the toughest. Having to watch IU struggle through a 2-9 season made it that much more difficult.
"Because I knew I could be out there helping the team in a lot of different ways it really hurt me. Sometimes I didn't want to even be bothered with the games. Watching the games was the hardest part. No, practicing all week and then having to watch the games was the toughest part.
"Curtis kept my spirits up. He let me know that I could help and that I was going to get my opportunity to show what I can do. Curtis would just constantly be there for me. He would call me from road games just to see how I was doing. I was never without help. I would get help from him and the coaches.
Now that he has endured the pain of sitting out the 1997 season, Randle El sees it as a blessing in disguise.
"It was actually a great situation for me. I know my grades would have been worse if I would have played in games just because of travel alone. My first six weeks (of the first semester) I wasn't on top of things like I should have been and like I was during the second semester. I messed up early on in my first semester and I tried to pull it up toward the end of the first semester and I just barely did. I was focused during the second semester and I did a little better."
"A little better" was a grade point average over 3.0.
In the 1998 Red-White Spring Game the CEO ran for three touchdowns and ran for another. He broke several long runs. He also broke his wrist. His right one. The one he throws with.
"It wasn't a freak accident or anything. It just happened. I didn't even know it was broken for almost two weeks. It was really swollen and sore and they did find a crack in the bone. The spring was the best time it could have happened because I had all summer to recover. I really have to push myself during my therapy."
He had the cast removed in early August. Legend has it that during summer workouts he threw passes left handed because he couldn't throw with his right arm. He knows he is going to be in a battle for the starting quarterback job this fall with incumbent starter Jay Rodgers and he certainly wasn't going to miss any summer conditioning opportunities.
"I'm going to focus myself on the quarterback position. If I have to play receiver that just comes to me naturally. I'm not saying I don't need to practice it but when I'm out there I can just hop in and play there and not be sloppy. I want to play quarterback because that's where I have played all of my life. Receiver wouldn't be a problem. I want to help the team out doing whatever needs to be done.
"Jay and a get along really well. We know that we are battling every time we go out there but we both have the same goal of winning football games. Team is the most important thing."
He's hopping again. It must be time for him to go somewhere. Just try
to find him. He's circling right. No, he's on the other side of the field.
The defense knows he's there but they just can't find him. But you can see
him now and you feel better because you know you're going to be there with
him as he carries all of your blocks and bricks proudly on his back.
Republished from Hoosier Scene, September 1998.
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