Grand Connection for Wheaton Academy's Nathan Downey and Jim Rucks
Standout Quarterback of One of State's Top 4A Teams Captivated by Football at Young Age with Hall of Fame Coaching Grandfather at Hoffman Estates and Rolling Meadows
A rewind to Football Fridays for a very young Nathan Downey brings back memories of fun visits to see grandparents Jim and Cindy.
It was a chance to spend time with his cousins. It was also a chance to watch the movie of the week with his grandfather.
Football movies as Jim Rucks, who was then an assistant coach at Rolling Meadows after a 29-year career as a head coach at Hoffman Estates and Dwight, went through some final preparation for that night’s opponent.
“It was always game day and I was always watching film with grandpa, even if I didn’t understand what was going on,” Downey said. “When I was younger I didn’t really understand basic concepts or schemes, but even at a young age I started to pick it up.”
Fast forward to Football Fridays and Downey is now a senior and starting quarterback for Wheaton Academy. Jim and Cindy Rucks are having a blast watching grandson Nathan and his teammates put on a show for an 8-1 team that won the Chicagoland Christian Conference title, was ranked second in last week’s Class 4A state poll behind Breese Central and is looking to make a long run in the Class 4A playoffs.
The Warriors won their eighth consecutive game 48-0 Friday over Marian Central Catholic in Woodstock. Downey has completed 66 percent of his passes this season (89-for-135) for 1,392 yards with 18 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions going into their playoff opener against Sandwich next weekend.
“He’s always been very interested in football for a long time,” Jim said the Saturday morning after a trip to Kankakee to watch Wheaton Academy beat Bishop McNamara 41-0. “He would diagram stuff and we’d watch film occasionally. He loved coming to practice at Meadows. It was great. The kid loves football.”
Football Runs Deep in Family
Nathan Downey’s love affair with football is understandable considering the family’s football and sports background.
Jim Rucks was a three-sport high school star in football, basketball and baseball at Waukegan and he accomplished a rare college feat by playing all three sports at Illinois in the early 1970s. Rucks and his dad Wally, who coached him in football and basketball at Waukegan, are members of the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Downey’s father Jeff was an offensive lineman at Conant for coach Dave Pendergast in the early 1990s. Jim Rucks joked about accepting Jeff into the family with his daughter Melissa even though they were on opposite sides of the Mayor’s Cup rivalry when it was arguably its most competitive and intense.
And Wheaton Academy head coach Jim Johanik said he appreciated how the family handled Nathan biding his time as the backup last year for an 11-2 team that reached the 4A semifinals. He has enjoyed getting to know Rucks since Downey transferred in from South Elgin after his sophomore year.
“A tip of the hat to Nathan’s family as well, Jim, and his parents and his mom, who grew up in a family of football,” Johanik said. “The other thing that warms the heart of a coach, the year Nathan basically sat on the bench last year and waited for this year’s opportunity, I couldn’t have gotten a more supportive individual and family. His parents said we’re so happy he’s here and he’s not starting. Usually you don’t hear that often.”
Downey started a couple of varsity games as a South Elgin sophomore because of an injury. When he came to Wheaton Academy, Johanik said the starting quarterback job was open but he opted to go with Brett Kasper, a dual passing/running threat who earned all-state honors. Kasper is now a wide receiver at Illinois State and his uncle Kevin Kasper is a Hinsdale South product who starred at Iowa and played 39 games in the NFL from 2001-06.
“I know it was challenging and disappointing for Nathan,” Johanik said. “But it also spoke of his maturity and waiting, not just waiting, but putting his personal focus on getting better.”
Kasper threw for 1,556 yards and 21 TDs and ran for 680 and 13 TDs. Downey was solid in his limited opportunities at 14-for-20 passing for 132 yards with a touchdown and interception.
“He accepted his role last year and understood it,” said Rucks, who led Hoffman to four MSL South titles in his 26 years in charge. “Like anybody he was disappointed he didn’t get to play more but he was very supportive of everything they did.”
Conversely, Downey had a strong support system to prepare him for the starting role this season. Johanik is now 40-9 since taking over as head coach in the COVID-shortened spring season of 2021. His assistants include Mike Swider, who was one of the most successful coaches in Division III history at Wheaton College, and his son Justin (defensive coordinator).
Downey called the Swiders “both geniuses. Offensive coordinator Steve Thonn has extensive experience as a head coach and assistant in the Arena Football League. Quarterbacks coach Jim Rexilius Jr.’s dad Jim Sr., won two state titles at Wheaton North.
“I can really trust them and know what they’re telling me to do is the right thing,” Downey said.
“They do a really, really good job of coaching their kids,” said Rucks, who stepped away from coaching after the 2021 COVID-shortened spring season. “I’m very impressed with how a small school like that gets the quality of coaches they have. That makes for a really great experience for the kids, which I don’t think kids always understand.”
It didn’t hurt Downey to have the understanding of being immersed in the game from a young age. Not only was he watching film with his grandfather, he was going to practices and summer camps at Meadows and serving as a ballboy during games. He could also pick the brain of successful head coach Matt Mishler, who was a starting quarterback for Rucks when Hoffman won its third consecutive MSL South title in 1994. Mishler has also come to see Downey play this season.
“He had to learn the playbook and learn the system and conform to the culture of that school and program,” Johanik said of Downey. “With the coaching staff we have, you’ve got these characters and culture and a set of expectations with old-school coaches who are involved here. To Nathan’s credit he learned the system and conformed to the culture.”
Wheaton Academy tweaked its offense a bit to accentuate Downey’s skills as a passer. He’s not afraid to deliver the ball on target even when defensive linemen are bearing down on him.
“He’ll stand in the pocket and take a hit and he throws the ball well with pressure,” Rucks said.
“He’ll take a shot - much to the chagrin of his O-line coach, which is me,” Johanik said with a laugh. “I played offensive line all my life and you respect a quarterback if you make an error that results in a D-lineman in the QB’s chin when he throws the ball, who has the ability to stand in the pocket and take a hit and deliver the ball. That instantly garners respect from an offensive line.”
But it’s not something that happens often for a team whose only loss was 19-17 in the season opener to Houston Second Baptist School, one of the top programs in Texas. The Warriors beat St. Charles East 28-17 in Week 2 and since then they have outscored their opponents 311-29.
In one of the Warriors’ 4 shutouts in their last 5 games - a 41-0 win over Aurora Christian in Week 8 - Downey’s younger brother Aaron sang a stirring rendition of the National Anthem before their final regular-season home game.
“We have a lot of people who have come together,” Nathan Downey said. “The first couple of games started off slow, but we needed to build team chemistry and work together as a team and less as individuals.”
Understanding the Importance of Leadership
Downey, who talks with his grandfather once or twice a week before games, understands he has a big part in developing that chemistry because of the position he plays.
“Especially this year, he said there’s always eyes on you,” Downey said. “He would always talk about what coaches saw from a coaches perspective. As a quarterback you’ve got to be a leader.”
Said Johanik: “It all has to come together even in terms of intangibles with leadership. The good ones rally together a team and are able to draw everybody together. Nathan has developed and grown into that. His leadership and maturity has grown year-on-year far greater than his raw talent.”
And the conversations with grandpa Jim aren’t just about football.
“He’s always on me about academics and being a quarterback is just so much more than your play on the field,” said Downey, who said he’s also delivering there with A’s and B’s.
“When we talk I just try to tell him to make sure he has fun,” Rucks said. “To realize how important it is to give your best effort on the field and in the classroom. I think it’s important to not talk all about football. He’s a good kid who works at it and does a good job in school.”
Downey hopes he gets a chance to succeed on and off the field at a higher level starting next year. He went to some college summer camps and said he’s talked to some D-I and D-II schools who wanted to see how he did this year.
“Nathan will be a blessing to a program somewhere,” Johanik said.
Downey said he has some interest in coaching as well. But right now the goal is to go one step further than last year when Wheaton Academy lost 31-30 in double overtime to St. Laurence in the state semifinals.
And how much fun would it be to talk football with his grandfather during Thanksgiving week and then have his grandparents and family watch him play on the final Friday night of the high school season at Illinois State University.
“I always wanted to play football after going to my grandpa’s games,” Downey said. “Every single Friday night I was at a high school football game. It’s a pretty cool way to grow up.”
