Sept. 3, 2004

by Ben Taylor, UI Sports Information

Five years ago, Mark Kornfeld was torn. He had for so long wanted to go to Illinois to play quarterback. But Illini coach Ron Turner had decided not to add a quarterback to his recruiting class. So Kornfeld agreed to run the offense at Iowa State. A few days after Illinois thumped Virginia 63-21 in the MicronPC.com Bowl, Kornfeld spoke again with Turner, who had changed his mind. Quarterback/tight end Walter Young was going to be moved exclusively to tight end, creating the need for another signal-caller. Kornfeld now had a tough decision to make. Should he honor his commitment to the Cyclones, or should he go with his heart to play for the school whose chief St. Louis recruiter was almost a sixth member of the Kornfeld household? Kornfeld chose Illinois, and four years later led the team in receptions for first downs. Wait a second. Kornfeld was supposed to be the one throwing for first downs, not making the catches. That changed his junior year when Illini quarterback Jon Beutjer joined the team. Kornfeld went to see Turner about switching positions to increase his playing time, thinking first of trying a safety position. "I was sick and tired of standing on the sidelines," Kornfeld said. "I went to Coach Turner and I brought up the idea that maybe I would play free safety or strong safety. Then he said `Why don't we try you at receiver?' and my mouth about hit the floor. "That was something I had never even thought of. Now here I am after last year where I ended up with a pretty good season. It was something that never in a million years would I think I'd be standing here doing interviews this year about my receiving year last year." And what a year it was for Kornfeld in 2003. He finished second on the team in receptions with 44 and receiving yards (527). And 31 of those receptions (70 percent) resulted in first downs, making him one of the best possession receivers in the Big Ten. Kornfeld had at least five receptions in five games, including a season-best seven catches against California. But why would a quarterback from a solid program such as St. Louis University High change his commitment to attend Illinois after agreeing to play for Iowa State? Mostly, it was Kornfeld's comfort level with the Fighting Illini program. Illinois assistant coach Greg McMahon is the team's long-time St. Louis-area recruiting coordinator, and had developed a strong relationship with Kornfeld's father, Gary, who coached Mark at SLUH. In fact, Gary had sent such notable players as receiver Jason Dulick, who played for the Illini from 1992-95. Because of this connection, McMahon often spoke with Gary Kornfeld, and developed a relationship with Mark, who was often at his father's side as a young boy. "It's almost like Coach McMahon's been recruiting me since I could walk," Mark said. "He's always talked to me and I've always seen him coming to games and coming to the school recruiting guys when I was just a little kid tagging along with my old man. I've known him forever." That relationship was a huge factor in Kornfeld deciding to join the Illinois program as he said McMahon makes players "feel like if you come here that he's going to look after you like he's your dad." Kornfeld's experience as a quarterback was a key ingredient in his 2003 success at the receiver position. After learning Turner's complex offense as a quarterback for two years, Kornfeld knew where every offensive player was on any given play. That has given him the ability to find seams in defenses that other players might not be able to locate. "Generally when a receiver comes in as a freshman, they'll tell him to learn one receiver spot," Kornfeld said. "Whereas, when I came from quarterback to receiver, I knew what the `Z' (receiver) was doing, what the `X' was doing, and what the running backs and tight ends are doing also. Knowing what those guys are doing allowed me to get on the field." Being able to recognize and understand defensive coverages also has allowed Kornfeld to contribute in a special way. "I just kind of have a little more knowledge than some of the receivers have as far as knowing what coverages we're seeing," Kornfeld said. "A lot of times the quarterbacks are getting pre-snap reads on where the ball's going to go, and knowing what the reads are and what they're going to be looking helps me slide into a hole that they're looking for or a hole that will open up, and that's really helped us. "(Being a quarterback has) helped where teams are trying to show you one thing but they're actually playing a different coverage," Kornfeld said. "It's helped me to be able to tell what coverage the defense is actually playing." As Kornfeld and the Illini head into the 2004 season with higher expectations, the last-second quarterback recruit-turned-possession receiver is expected to utilize all his abilities to continue to incite the fan-favorite call of "First and 10 for the Illini!"