Now a senior, Batavia's Quinn Urwiler finds redshirt season at Northern Illinois to be ‘blessing in disguise.'
His college football career hasn't played out the way he imagined when he was a two-way standout for Batavia, but veteran Northern Illinois linebacker Quinn Urwiler wouldn't trade a thing.
'It's been a very crazy ride,' said Urwiler, who was the Beacon-News Football Player of the Year in 2018 and 2019. 'My class is the last that had the extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic.'
Urwiler, a redshirt senior, had his freshman season at North Dakota in the fall 2020 delayed by the pandemic then pushed back to spring 2021 and shortened to seven games.
A quick turnaround was followed by a full season that fall before Urwiler transferred to NIU, which he had considered while playing in high school for the powerhouse Bulldogs.
Urwiler contributed mainly on special teams in DeKalb in 2022 and briefly in 2023 before deciding to redshirt. Last season, he also figured more prominently in the linebacker rotation.
'It's funny, you know, in high school, I was the guy,' said Urwiler, who also starred at running back. 'Then you come to college and everybody was 'the guy' in high school.
'It was humbling, but I was ready for it. Give me a challenge, I'm going to overcome it and come out a winner. My road took longer, but I'm here and I'm going to make sure my name gets known.'
With the Huskies (8-5) returning only five starters from a team that posted a landmark 16-14 win at No. 5 Notre Dame and 28-20 double overtime win against Fresno State in the Idaho Potato Bowl, seventh-year coach Thomas Hammock is glad to have Urwiler back.
'When he first stepped into the team meeting room, Quinn said, 'I'm going to be the hardest working, most physical guy every single day and that's what he's done,' Hammock said. 'He's been tremendous.
'He's going to be the man in the middle for us. He's gonna call the defense and be the guy we're going to rely heavily on to be the type of playmaker we need at the second level.'
Hammock has added 14 transfers, but he has 26 players like Urwiler who have had redshirt seasons and time to develop.
'I got the backup role last year and it was fun,' Urwiler said. 'We rotated quite often, so I got to play in every single game. Obviously, my main goal is always to start.
'As a backup, you never know how many snaps you'll get, but you have to make sure you know the playbook inside and out, and if your number gets called, you have to execute at a high level so there's no drop-off between the ones and twos.'
That's what the 6-foot, 226-pound Urwiler, who has his degree in general studies and is taking post-graduate kinesiology classes, did last season.
Urwiler matched his uniform number with 32 tackles in limited play and stepped up big late in the bowl game with two key stops.
'They threw me in that series where it really mattered,' Urwiler said. 'It was kind of funny, checking my phone afterward. I got a couple DMs on Twitter from random NIU fans saying, 'Thank you for saving the game.' That was kind of cool.'
Urwiler also wishes the NFL would back off rule changes that have been made in an attempt to make special teams safer.
'I think they're a great part of the game,' Urwiler said. 'It's just where you get to let loose and basically go one-on-one with somebody. May the fittest man win, I guess you could say.'
Hammock remembers he wasn't pleased when Urwiler asked to redshirt.
'He was a special teams captain and major contributor but wanted a bigger role on defense,' Hammock said. 'I was a little upset, but I'm glad he did.
'It gave us an extra year to have him as a leader — a blessing in disguise. He's gonna play his best football as a senior.'
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