Marist’s Luke Becker has the brawn. And he has the brains.
When asked what it’s like to be an offensive lineman, the senior left guard offered up some wisdom and talked about the physical part of the game.
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“It’s probably the only position where you hit somebody every single play,” he said. “It can be taxing physically. You have to use your strength to your advantage.
“You have to go out there and be a dog.”
If anyone thinks the life of a lineman doesn’t also involve some brain power, they are barking up the wrong tree. Becker, who’s in the running for valedictorian, knows that.
And so does Marist coach Ron Dawczyk.
“The position he plays requires so much stuff to think about,” Dawczyk said. “Luke brings the ability to read and react quickly. For the offensive linemen, we might run the same play five different ways based on how the defense lines up.
“He’s great in terms of his academic intelligence, but he also brings natural instincts and football smarts to the field.”
Becker is a returning starter, and there are not a lot of those on this year’s team for the RedHawks, who are No. 4 in Daily Southtown’s preseason rankings.
There are three returning players on offense and three on defense.
But Marist has proven to be a program that reloads rather than rebuilds, so Becker isn’t worried about it, even with Glenbard West, Brother Rice and defending Class 8A champion Loyola on the schedule to begin the season.
“Every year, there are strong people coming up in the ranks, and I think we have a good team this year,” Becker said. “We don’t have a lot of starters back, but I think we’ll still be good.”
The 6-foot-3, 275-pound Becker, who lives in Mokena, was also a member of another successful team at Marist — the math team.
Coached by Owen Glennon, Marist finished first in the regional. The RedHawks took sixth in the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics state meet and first among Catholic schools.
Glennon, who’s in his 48th year of teaching at Marist, admires Becker’s ability to balance the workload between academics and athletics.
“He’s a gentle giant,” Glennon said of Becker. “He’s very respectful and a really sharp kid. He is in (AP Calculus BC), which is a class with the brightest of students.
“It’s a tough thing to balance football with the math team, but he does it and never complains. He puts in the time and is very successful.”
Becker doesn’t quite have his future mapped out quite yet, but he has some preliminary big dreams in mapping out his long-range plans.
“Right now, I’m looking into being a doctor,” Becker said. “That could always change, but that’s where I’m leaning. Maybe an orthopedic surgeon.”
Dawczak is hoping Becker’s play on the field and continued academic success can lead to a chance to play and study at an Ivy League school.
“He’s a model for our football team,” Dawczyk said of Becker. “The message I try to give our players is to try to be the best they can be in all facets of their life.
“Not just football. We want them to excel in the classroom.”
If Becker does get to be valedictorian, he would be the second football player in three years to earn that honor at Marist. Brian Winstead, now a student at Illinois, was valedictorian in 2022.
Becker said he’s not going to obsess over it.
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“I’m just going to try to do my best in the classroom, and if it comes, it comes,” he said. “I just want to do my best in the classroom and on the football field.”
Team: Marist.
2022 Record: 7-4.
Offensive leaders: Marc Coy, senior, running back; Luke Becker, senior, offensive lineman; Jacob Pacheco, senior, offensive lineman; Owen Winters senior, quarterback.
Defensive leaders: Duke White, senior, linebacker; Darrell Jackson-Mitchell, senior, defensive back; Brad Fitzgibbon, junior, defensive lineman; Kamil Kokot, senior, defensive back.
X-factor: Davon Watson, senior, defensive lineman.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.