Collin Brunstein had more than 2,000 receiving yards last season for Illinois College, including 15 catches for 152 yards and two TDs in a first-round playoff game at Wartburg. Photo by Caleb Williams, d3photography.com, for Illinois College athletics

By Joe Sager
D3sports.com

Illinois College was a newcomer to the NCAA Division III playoff scene this past November.

The Blueboys hope to become regulars, though.

The team participated in the postseason tournament for the second time in program history last fall. It was a short stay as then-No. 3 Wartburg won the first-round game 49-14.

However, with many returning players this fall, the game provided Illinois College with plenty of positives on which to build.

“The experience was great. I never got to experience anything like that in high school. Getting experience in that playoff feeling and atmosphere – it’s something I won’t forget and I know the rest of the guys won’t forget,” senior wide receiver Collin Brunstein said. “It opened our eyes and it showed us what we need to work on. We worked on a lot of stuff in the spring and fall. I think we took a big step from last year. We’re still growing, though. I am pretty happy with where we are right now and what we’re becoming as an offense.”

The Blueboys were quite an offense last fall. The team set Midwest Conference records for total yards (6,147 – 558.8 yards per game) and points (522 – 47.5 points per game). The group hopes to improve upon that success.

“I think we were all able to identify the gaps after that playoff game,” IC coach Ray DeFrisco said. “Wartburg is a powerhouse. They are big and fast and strong and well-coached and I think it was a valuable experience for us to be able to go toe to toe with them.”

The squad’s offense welcomed back senior quarterback Destin Chance as well as top targets William Campbell and Brunstein, a D3football.com All-American who led the nation at all levels with 91 catches for 2,200 yards and 31 touchdowns. It was bolstered by the additions of transfer receivers Baylor Borden and Trey Birdsong, who set Cornell College program records for all-purpose yards (1,829) and receiving touchdowns (13).

“We have the same offense, but different weapons,” Brunstein said.

Chance finished second in NCAA Division III with 4,013 passing yards and first in passing yards per game a year ago. He could surpass that total throwing to Brunstein (197.4) and Birdsong (182.9), who ranked 1-2 among the country’s all-purpose yardage leaders.

“It’s a quarterback game. The quarterback makes such a difference in all levels of football,” DeFrisco said. “He’s not only been able to grow as a person and have his experience grow on and off the field, but his football mind has elevated. He sees the game at a high speed and he’s able to process things very quickly. He has a very good understanding of where to go with the football.

“Collin is unbelievable. He is a legitimate difference-maker. He opens up a lot of what we can do. Add in Trey Birdsong and that’s a deadly combination. We have Will Campbell and Baylor Border, too. They can do some special things as well.”

The offense was on display in Saturday’s 46-21 win against Millikin. Chance passed for 341 yards and seven touchdowns in a 46-21 win. Birdsong had eight catches for 118 yards, while Brunstein added eight catches for 83. Campbell (3-78) and Borden (3-55) played key parts, as did running back Tanner Spencer, who rushed for 180 yards.

“That’s the glory of this offense — we can throw the ball over the top or run it right up the middle,” Brunstein said. “We have a lot of weapons, offensively. I think it’s hard for other teams to scheme it. If you scheme just to stop one person, how are you going to guard the other guys?”

While putting up video game-like numbers is nice, the Blueboys know they must be sound in all phases of the game in order to defend their conference title and get back to the playoffs.

“Last year, that playoff game set a landmark of where we need to get to and where need to be. It showed us where we needed to improve and how much more work we needed to put in during the offseason,” Chance said. “It was, for sure, nice to get a win on Saturday. There’s a lot of stuff we need to work out, though. We didn’t play to our standard. It was a good learning experience to see where we are as a team.”

Illinois College faces a big test this week when it visits Lake Forest. The Blueboys suffered a 37-6 loss to the Foresters a year ago.  

“It’s a big opponent and a must-win situation for us. We would love to get them back from last year,” Brunstein said. “It’s going to be a dogfight, for sure. It’s going to be a battle. But, I don’t think Lake Forest is going to be able to defend all of our weapons.

“I love a challenge and I think it’ll be a battle and it’ll test both our offense and defense pretty well.”