In the good year, the in-between year and the lean year there has been one constant for Illinois’ football team: the presence of Patrick “Bucky” Babcock on the offensive line.
When the Illini opened the 2001 season with a 44-17 victory at California, he was the redshirt freshman starter at right guard.
In the interim, the 6-foot-4-inch, 305-pound strongman from Stillman Valley has moved to right tackle, but he has remained a starter for every regular-season game.
The only time Babcock didn’t start was in the Illini’s only postseason appearance of his collegiate career.
He didn’t play in the 47-34 Sugar Bowl loss to Louisiana State on Jan. 1, 2002, because of a dislocated left wrist he suffered in a car crash in his hometown during Thanksgiving vacation.
That was the good year in which the Illini won the Big Ten title, finished with a 10-2 overall record and were ranked 12th in the final Associated Press poll.
Next came the in-between year. Although the Illini set a school total-offense record with 5,356 yards for an average of 446.3 per game, the records that counted the most, 4-4 in the conference and 5-7 overall, left a lot to be desired.
Last year was the lean year. Coach Ron Turner’s team was 0-8 in the Big Ten and 1-11 overall, with the only conquest coming at the expense of Division I-AA Illinois State.
“Being part of a Big Ten championship team was a dream come true,” Babcock said.
“When a team doesn’t win it’s a nightmare. Last season was pretty much unbearable at the time. We’ve kind of put that on the back burner. We don’t think about it anymore.”
Babcock is looking ahead to Saturday’s first game against Florida A&M at Memorial Stadium with mixed emotions.
“It’s a good feeling and it’s saddening me a little bit, knowing I’ve gone to training camp for the last time,” he reflected. “These last five years have been really good. . . . To be able to stay here for the rest of my life would be a good thing, but I know that’s not going to be the case.”
Turner believes his team has the talent to get where Babcock wants to go, and he regards the big tackle as one of its leaders.
“He had to come back from the wrist injury two years ago (after a prolonged recovery period) and he changed positions last year, which I think also affected him,” Turner said. “Being a tackle you’re on the edge a little more. You don’t always have people on both sides of you (to help provide blocking).
“By the end of last season he was playing really well. Now, he’s healthy, he has adjusted and he’s playing really good football.”
Until the past two seasons winning was second nature to Babcock.
In high school, Stillman Valley won the Class 3A championship his senior year after reaching the semifinals the previous two seasons; he was a state champion wrestler; and he was the state runner-up in the shot put his junior year.
But, like almost all offensive lineman, Babcock has stayed out of the limelight during his collegiate career.
“I’ll play whatever position is best for our team,” he said. “It really doesn’t matter if I play guard or tackle. At both you block for the quarterback, and I’ve blocked for some great quarterbacks here–Kurt [Kittner] my freshman year and Jon [Beutjer] and all the others.
“Jon is doing a lot better now than he ever has. All the work he put in is starting to pay off. He’s getting back in the pocket, making reads quickly and getting rid of the ball quickly. He’s ready to show the way, to get us where we want to go.”
For a quarterback, leadership comes with the position; for an offensive lineman, it’s an intangible attribute.
“I’m not going to be real loud and vocal and jump up and down,” Babcock said. “That’s not the kind of guy I am. I don’t try to be somebody I’m not. I try to be myself every day and lead by example.”
Babcock’s anchoring presence in the Illini’s starting lineup speaks volumes.
