Fighting the Illini: Mendenhall brothers remain bitter

By Terry Bannon | Chicago Tribune reporter

10:24 PM CDT, July 20, 2008

A year ago at this time, Rashard and Walter Mendenhall were living in Champaign, preparing for what would become a memorable season for the Illinois football program.

Now Rashard is preparing for his first NFL training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Walter is trying to jump-start his career at Illinois State.

The brothers from Niles West saw their Illinois careers end with a Rose Bowl berth, but the afterglow of the surprising success has not lasted.

The Big Ten's most valuable player a year ago, Rashard Mendenhall remains unhappy with how coach Ron Zook treated him, he says, though he declines to give specifics. "It's just how things were run overall," he said. "I'm not mad. There's no hard feelings. That's just how it was."

And after initially being told he was not welcome back in Champaign for his senior season, Walter has transferred to Illinois State in hopes of getting more playing time in his final year of eligibility.

"I'm happy to be here," Walter said from ISU, where he is enrolled in summer school. "It's good to be at a place where you're wanted. My goals are to be the starting running back and run over 1,000 yards and hopefully get to the NFL."

Walter once hoped to succeed his brother as the Illini's starting running back. But he was behind younger players on the depth chart even last season.

Then last winter, after Rashard had announced his decision to leave school a year early, Zook told Walter he would not be given a scholarship for a fifth season. Scholarships are renewable annually, and it's not unusual for non-starters to fail to get a fifth year of aid.

"We didn't foresee Walter being in the plans," Zook said. "All we were trying to do was be honest."

After spring practice went on without him, Walter went to the Illinois football office to pick up his and his brother's Rose Bowl rings and got a message to see Zook.

Zook said he told him, "Look, if you want to come back, you're more than welcome to come back."

Was Walter shocked?

"Yes and no," he said. "Yes, because I was asked to leave, and no, because I deserved to be on the team. I feel I had the talent to contribute to the team."

He said he turned down Zook's offer to return. "I couldn't just trust my last year," he said. "I just couldn't do it. I had to look at other possibilities."

Walter said he thought about leaving after the 2006 season, possibly transferring to ISU. Zook said he went into a meeting with the Mendenhalls having heard rumors they might transfer to Cincinnati.

"Rashard wasn't going anywhere," said their mother, Sibyl Mendenhall.

Said Zook: "They asked that Walter be given an opportunity. I promised the opportunity, and he was given the opportunity."

Walter was beaten out of the primary backup jobs by Daniel Dufrene and Troy Pollard last season and carried only four times for 57 yards, all in a blowout win at Minnesota.

Still, he says he doesn't regret going to Illinois.

"I wouldn't have done it differently, even though it was a very trying time and things didn't go exactly as I would have liked," he said. "I wouldn't trade it for the world. During those times I learned a lot about myself and had a lot of life experiences that will benefit me."

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