Sometimes you have to sacrifice for the greater good.
Anyone who has ever graduated high school can tell you there’s a different vibe to when you’re a senior and all that comes with it.
For Mike Dudek, the decision to graduate last December from Neuqua Valley and forego his last semester of high school and the opportunity to spend a little more time and create some final, lasting memories with his classmates was one with extreme purpose and thought.
For Dudek, a two-time All-Upstate Eight Valley selection, the opportunity to showcase the abilities that made him arguably the best wide receiver in Neuqua Valley history at Illinois as early as possible was too good to pass up.
“It was really hard. When my (wide receiver) coach (Mike Bellamy) approached me with it a week after I committed, my first thought was like, ‘No way. I’m not giving up my second semester,’” he said. “But then I really sat down with my parents and talked about it. We weighed the pros and cons and there (weren’t) really any cons.
“I mean, I felt like I got all I wanted to get out of high school at the time. So coming early, I just wanted to get the opportunity to get a head start, which I really looked at as an advantage for myself. You know, to get in here early, work with the quarterbacks, you know, all the morning workouts and build the team camaraderie.
“But, yeah, I mean, there were times where it sucked. You know, I’m sure anyone would agree when your friends are all hanging out and you’re stuck having 5 a.m. workouts when your friends are slacking off, enjoying the rest of their senior year.
“So, I mean, there were times that it was tough. But, you know, I’m glad I did it and I’d do it again and definitely recommend it to anyone who’s going to do it.”
His production through Illinois’ first eight games of the season speaks to the benefit of that tough decision.
Through Illinois first eight games of the season, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Dudek had hauled in 42 receptions for a team-high 639 yards—both team highs—and three touchdowns.
Flashing the speed while showcasing ball skills that made him very unique and dangerous at the high school level despite his slender frame, he wasted little time making an impact with Oklahoma State transfer Wes Lunt throwing him the rock.
Becoming the first Illinois freshman since 2003 to record a TD reception in each of his first two games, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors after catching four passes for 55 yards and a TD in the Fighting Illini’s 42-34 triumph over Western Kentucky on Sept. 6.
Four weeks later, he raised the bar even higher.
Courtesy of his eight-catch, 200-yard afternoon in an eventual 38-27 home loss to Purdue on Oct. 4, Dudek became the fourth player in program history to record a 200-yard receiving effort, joining the likes of A.J. Jenkins, Steve Hull and David Williams.
In the midst of rewriting Neuqua Valley’s record books over the course of two varsity seasons in 2012 and 2013, to the tune of racking up 3,950 all-purpose yards and 42 touchdowns, while being unanimously named as the Upstate Eight Valley Offensive Player of the Year in 2013, the fact Neuqua Valley enjoyed the best two seasons in program history with his help isn’t a coincidence.
For anyone fortunate enough to see him terrorize opposing defenses for the Wildcats, the fact he’s translating that success into the Big Ten shouldn’t be any surprise.
It isn’t to him.
“I always think I’m going to do good, wherever (level) I’m going to play at. You know, I work hard. I ask my teammates for help, they give me help,” Dudek said. “So, right now, I’m pretty excited at this good start that I’ve had.”
Perhaps concluding his recruiting process earlier than expected when he committed to Tim Beckman and Illinois in April 2013, about a month after receiving the scholarship offer from Beckman, he spurned interest from Michigan State, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt.
But he did it with supreme confidence in what Beckman, who’s just 10-22 overall and 2-18 in the Big Ten at Illinois following a 28-24 home win over Minnesota on Oct. 25, is building at the state’s flagship school.
As Beckman continues to try and turn the Illinois program around, a program that hasn’t won more than seven games since winning nine games in 2007 en route to losing the 2008 Rose Bowl to Southern California, he’s relying on some of his underclassmen to provide a jolt.
Dudek’s certainly making the most of his early opportunity to shine and thrive.
“I’m not going to settle,” he said. “I’m going to keep trying to do better, push my teammates to get better and then we got to start winning. You can only do so much, but if you’re losing—I mean, it doesn’t really do much for the team. So as soon as we get the Ws, I’ll start being happy.”
