Former East St. Louis Flyer All American Terry “Black Kat” Hawthorne and his teammates have deemed the 2012 Big Ten football season as “Operation New Era,” featured and talked about all over Champaign, Illinois and throughout Illini country. Fans are excited about this football season like none in quite awhile.
The “Slick Rick” Majerus of Champaign, Ron Zook is finally gone. He was fired after last year’s lackluster season.
With all of his promises for big-time football, his talented teams always underachieved. And most of all, they were not fooled on the south side of Chicago by coaches who weren’t impressed with his slick talk. Not only was it prevalent in the city, but the suburban schools also.
There’s a different feel with Illini football fans and their new head coach Tim Beckman. Beckman seemed to let the boys play a little after he took over as interim head coach after Zook left. One of the guys coach Beckman let play is Terry Hawthorne.
Hawthorne was named Defensive Most Valuable Player of the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. His 39-yard interception return for a touchdown put a bow on the victory and the start of a new era at Illinois. Hawthorne had 60 tackles, a team high three interceptions, and tied for the Big Ten lead with a team high 11 pass defensive attempts.
Coming to Illinois as the nation’s top wide receiver, the USA Today All American was named to the pre-season All Big Ten Team. Terry looked real comfortable as a punt returner against UCLA, and will get a chance to play on both sides of the ball with the new coaching staff.
It seems coach Beckman and his staff will allow Hawthorne to play the way he did during his Flyers’ magical 2009 season, where East Side won the Class 7A Illinois state football championship.
What a great team, with Hawthorne, Moulton, Rogers, Ray, Appleton, and on and on and on…. But Hawthorne, was that guy every night, a young man that wouldn’t let his team lose at some of the biggest moments. He was one of the best players on either side of the ball. A throwback player that could of started on any Flyer team in any era.
Terry is doing quite well in the classroom also.
Good luck to you, Terry, coach Beckman and his staff, and the Illini football nation.
