Illinois Quarterback John Paddock Named Big Ten Offensive Player Of Week
John Paddock, the toast of Champaign, is living every young Illini fan’s dream.
The sixth-year senior walk-on and Ball State transfer just tore through Indiana’s secondary by throwing for 507 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Fighting Illini to a 48-45 overtime win. Paddock walked the game off while improvising due to an Indiana blitz on a crucial third-and-6. Scrambling out of the pocket, Paddock found an open Isiah Williams who gracefully waltzed into the endzone, winning the game for the Illini.
This comes just one week after Paddock entered the Minnesota game for an injured Luke Altmeyer on a fourth-and 11 from their 15-yard line. The Illini had no timeouts and trailed by five with 1 minutes, 25 seconds remaining. Paddock found Williams, converting the fourth down, before marching down the field and delivering a 46-yard touchdown to Williams to secure an Illini victory, and likely keep bowl eligibility a possibility for the Illini.
Now, Paddock has been awarded Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for his 507-yard, four-touchdown performance against the Hoosiers, proving to be the reviving force to the Illini’s rollercoaster of a season. The great-grandson, grandson, and nephew of former Illini football players, Paddock has grown up a life-long fan. After two game-winning touchdown throws in consecutive weeks, he truly is living his dream and taking Illini Nation with him.
After the game Paddock said he wanted “hold nothing back,” and as a sixth-year walk-on, “I’ve got nothing to lose, let’s just have fun with it, and this school means so much to me.”
With Altmeyer now healthy, Paddock has certainly given head coach Brett Bielema a decision to make as the Illini head into Kinnick Stadium to face the 22nd ranked Iowa Hawkeyes this Saturday.
Sam King is a contributor for Illini Now. He can be reached at sjking258@gmail.com
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