Gettin' Willie With It

(Promoted by PJS):

HutchLeader Note: Here is my story on Gophers senior defensive end and captain Willie VanDeSteeg - he is from the Silver Lake area (five miles east of Hutchinson) - enjoy:

Wherever Willie VanDeSteeg has played football, success has followed him. Whether it was youth football or high school football at Glencoe-Silver Lake, he was a part of a winning team.

Even his first two seasons as an active member of the University of Minnesota team, the team managed winning seasons and trips to bowl games.

So when the Gophers squad went 1-11 last year, it was a different feeling for VanDeSteeg, who was in his first year as a captain.

“It is pretty much was the first year I wasn’t on a winning team or one that wasn’t successful. But that may have been a good thing for me personally. It only made me a stronger person and a stronger football player,” he said. “Adversity is something that everyone needs to go through in their life. You can bounce back and get on a roll again.”

Things were only worse when VanDeSteeg suffered a broken bone in his wrist prior to the season opener. 

After recording a sophomore team-record 10 sacks and earning All-Big Ten second team honors, he collected only 29 tackles and one sack wearing a cast on his hand.

“When you’re going against a 315-320 pound offensive lineman at the top level of college football, and you only have one good hand — yeah, it was tough,” VanDeSteeg said. “You want to be healthy so you can make an impact.”

Not having one of its best players making plays hurt the defense, which ranked last in allowed yards. The Gophers managed only one win and the talk around town from the media and from the fans was only negative.

In the locker room, though, the team stuck together.

“We stayed as positive as we could. It’s hard when you lose. It really gets tough at times,” VanDeSteeg said. “We had four senior captains that helped us out tremendously. They kept everyone’s heads up and told the rest of us that we had to learn from the season.”

Ready for the Big Ten

With the addition of a number of talented junior college and true freshman recruits, the Gophers figured to rebound from the disastrous 2007 season. But not many put the Gophers on four wins in the non-conference schedule, even with the likes of Montana State, Bowling Green and Florida Atlantic.

Through four weeks, a perfect record is exactly what the Gophers have heading into the first week of the Big Ten Conference schedule. The opponent — Ohio State University.

The Buckeyes were predicted to top the conference standings with 20 starters back from a season ago. However, an injury to starting running back Chris Wells hampered their non-conference start.

Ohio State was blasted by No. 1 University of Southern California, while narrowly defeating lowly Ohio University and Troy.

“The big thing is we can’t beat ourselves this week. This weekend is going to be an eye-opener to some of these young guys. But, this is why you play in the Big Ten — playing in front of 100,000 people in stadiums like Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan,” VanDeSteeg said.

Last year at this time, no one would’ve given Minnesota a chance to win this Saturday. That was last year, and this is this year. The Gophers may be a 17 1/2 point-underdog, but nobody is buying an easy win for the Buckeyes.

“We always say a win is a win. No matter how we do it, that’s our goal for Ohio State,” VanDeSteeg said.

Ending career on winning note

There is no more next year for VanDeSteeg. This is his final year as a Gopher. The same can be said for 11 of his teammates, including reserve quarterback Tony Mortensen of Hutchinson.

No excuses. This had to be the year for the senior defensive end.

The season started with wins over Northern Illinois, Bowling Green State University and Montana State.

At times it has been pretty, at times it hasn’t. Still, the the team has been winning. For VanDeSteeg, his biggest numbers came in a 35-23 win over Montana State.

He led the defense with 10 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks, also blocking both a field goal and an extra point.

“A lot of things fell my way, I had a good game, but it was a full defensive effort and I give the credit to all the guys. Good coverage helps you get pressure on the quarterback,” he said.

“He was inspired and really got after it on defense,” Gophers head coach Tim Brewster said. “He was an inspiration for the guys on defense.”

The coach went on to point out that the two-year captain made a point to the team after the game that this year is for last year’s seniors too.

“We are going out there, playing football and trying to deal with the present game. You try and forget about last year, but it’s always in the back of your mind the feeling that you had after that loss and use that as motivation for playing today,” VanDeSteeg said. “It feels great as a senior and makes you feel bad for the guys who went out last year.”

Last weekend, Minnesota played perhaps its most complete game in at least two seasons in a 37-3 win over Florida Atlantic — a team that scored 42 points a season ago on the Gophers defense.

FAU head coach Howard Schnellenberger saw a different team this year.

“They’re a pretty good football team and they outplayed us in every aspect of the game. We were outplayed by a team that was on a mission to reestablish themselves as a big time football team. Minnesota is certainly going in the right direction,” he said.

“This program is going in the right direction. We have three more wins than we did a year ago. And with all these young guys playing and the new stadium helping with recruiting, I don’t see this program going anywhere but up,” VanDeSteeg said.

Van DeSteeg is also heading in the right direction — upward in the career rankings at the university. 

His statistics for the season include a team-high six tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, 17 tackles, one forced fumble and recovery and one blocked kick and extra point.

For his career, his 12 1/2 sacks and 31 1/2 tackles for loss rank him eighth in both categories.

Still, to Willie, statistics are one thing and wins are another.

“At the beginning of the year, I stood up in front of the team and told them how much of an honor it was to be their captain. I said, ‘These are the fastest four years of your life. I only have 12, maybe 13 games left. Play these games like its your last too,’” Van DeSteeg said.

“Be the best football player you can be every time you step out on the field as a Gopher.”