Illinois' Leman keeps translating vision into reality
His graduate degree in human resource education already in hand before one last college game, Illinois senior middle linebacker J Leman just wants to impress one coach for a chance at the NFL. That's all Leman had coming out of high school -- one coach that wanted to give him a try.
"Every level I've always been, there have always been somebody who loved me or hated me,'' Leman said. "There were guys who said, 'He can't do this or that.' Other guys said, 'He can do this or that. We love him for this.' I just need one team to give me a shot.''
Projections suggest 6-foot-3, 243-pound Leman will go in the last rounds of the NFL draft or be left as an undrafted free agent. His college career ends in the Rose Bowl, where Illinois (9-3) meets Southern Cal (10-2) on Jan. 1 (3:30 p.m., ABC).
While the past 12 months fell in place for the Illini, Leman saw his season come together just as he envisioned. He also had help through his Christian faith. He prays and reads the Bible daily, and Leman built a vision for his future after counseling from his father, Happy, a Champaign minister.
"Even though he made a lot of All-American teams, he's not that highly thought of in the draft,'' Happy Leman said. "It frustrates him a little. He's realized part of his vision in life is to not worry about what other people think and just go out there and do his best.
"We live and die on vision. We talk a lot about vision and a need to have a focus on where we're going. You don't get anywhere if you don't plan to get there. That's a huge issue. I'm constantly talking about thinking what you want to do and going out and accomplishing it.''
But J Leman would be the first to admit that the season came together, from an ankle that finally healed last spring after surgery to a string of victories capped by the upset at No. 1 Ohio State. After Illinois was the only major college program to offer a scholarship, the former Champaign Central star's big move came when Leman slid from outside linebacker to the middle before his junior season.
While linebackers coach Dan Disch lobbied to keep Leman at outside linebacker, coach Ron Zook felt Leman was better inside where he could lead the defense. The end result from the debate changed Leman's life, though Disch wasn't about to give details on the decision-making.
"When we write our books, I was in the camp where we wanted him inside,'' Disch said, with a wry laugh. "Coach Zook asked who are the three best guys? J was certainly one of them. I go to my grave with that argument. Did he ever play outside here?''
Said Leman: "Coach Zook said that coach Disch must live in a round house because you can never back him into a corner. Coach Disch been a big part of my development.''
Recruiting isn't an exact science, Zook said, and his staff didn't know what it had in Leman, who isn't the biggest or fastest linebacker.
"The first impression of him and a lot of guys was that we have to upgrade,'' Disch said. "We have to get some better players. J proves you wrong; you can't get him off the field.''
The NFL still questions Leman's ability to cover open space, Disch said. In other words, league scouts are concerned about Leman's speed.
Leman had 152 tackles to lead the Big Ten and rank third nationally as a junior, when he was a first-team all-Big Ten pick by the media and a second-team selection from the coaches. This season, he had 124 tackles, earned first-team all-Big Ten by the coaches and media and received first-team All-America by the Football Writers Association of America and second-team from the Associated Press.
In the middle of the season during a prayer, Leman said, he was told that Illinois would go to the Rose Bowl.
"Sometimes people say you hear what you wnat to hear,'' Leman said. "I wrote it down. I said, 'God, I trust you.' We won the next game, but then that dream died when we lost two games in a row. I really didn't see a hope for the Rose Bowl. With four games left, we already had two Big Ten losses.
"It's almost like it died and resurrected again.''
Like his father, Leman has a vision.
John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com. For more coverage, read Illini Talk blog at www.sj-r.com <http://www.sj-r.com> and www.pjstar.com <http://www.pjstar.com> .