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Jun. 13—CHAMPAIGN — So, Dane Eisenmenger has achieved his dream, signing to play quarterback at Illinois.
Now what?
The reality of his situation: A hectic 48 hours since news broke that the Unity star would play for his hometown team.
"I had a lot going on (Friday). It was kind of overwhelming," Eisenmenger said.
For one thing, he had to enroll and sign up for classes. And find housing. Student stuff that everyone has to deal with whether they know Bret Bielema.
How is Eisenmenger's week going?
"It's been awesome, everybody reaching out from the community," he said.
The quarterback is getting to know the staff and his new teammates. A college roster is much bigger than a high school version.
"I'm really excited to get started next week," Eisenmenger said.
He goes from being a hero in high school (check out his state title game performance) to near the bottom of the quarterback depth chart. Eisenmenger is starting over, but with many loved ones nearby.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Eisenmenger is the first Unity quarterback who will play for the Illini, and the Unity senior and Philo native joins an Illinois quarterback room for the 2026 season that includes East Carolina transfer Katin Houser, redshirt freshman Carson Boyd, redshirt freshman Jershaun Newton and freshman Michael Clayton II.
"Getting to learn the playbook is the biggest thing right now," he said. "All the guys in the room right now, they've been there for at least a semester. So, they know the playbook real well. I'm trying to get everything down there. Once that happens, I can start getting my reps and see what happens from there."
He isn't looking too far ahead. Not dreaming just yet about getting on the field in a Big Ten game.
"I haven't had much time to think about it, but obviously that's the goal," Eisenmenger said. "Hopefully win 11, 12 games, keep everybody happy with me and not lose any friends along the way."
Mr. Popularity
On a sleepy Friday, Eisenmenger had his first Zoom call with local media members. There were nine by my count, a big number for an almost-summer chat.
Because he played at an area high school, interest has spiked. Especially in the C-U vicinity.
The questions touched a wide range of topics, centered mostly on his familiarity with the Illinois program. From "How many games did you go to growing up?" and "What will it be like to play with Kaden Feagin?" to "How did you react to the Illinois offer?"
Illini offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. and quarterbacks coach Art Sitkowski were also topics for Eisenmenger.
"They've been great to me so far," he said. "I'm really excited to keep working with them. Art's been working with me a lot, trying to get me acclimated to the offense. It's definitely a lot more than I'm used to, so it's going to take some time."
He will have plenty of time for football at Illinois. That will be a change from Unity, where he played three sports filling every season from football in the summer/fall to boys' basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring.
"I'm getting back in the groove of throwing the football," Eisenmenger said. "I kind of took the last two-ish weeks off in the weight room. I'm not really sure what the college conditioning looks like. I guess we'll find out (Saturday)."
Remembering his roots
On Thursday, Eisenmenger attended Unity's youth football camp. Just as he had for years.
Needless to say, the new Illinois signee was a big hit.
"Seeing all my buddies doing the camp and, of course, seeing all the kids is really exciting," he said. "I'm just glad I could bring a smile to their day and make their day better."
Eisenmenger enjoys interacting with the public. It was different when he was younger.
"I was more of a nervous kid," he said. "I loved all the high school guys when I was a kid for sure."
Tony Reetz, Eisenmenger's coach, is thrilled his player is going to the Big Ten ... finally.
"It's been, 'Where are this kid's offers? Why hasn't anybody come knocking,'" Reetz said Thursday during 'SportsTalk' on WDWS of Eisenmenger, The News-Gazette All-Area football Player of the Year for the 2025 season, who was previously signed with Division II Central Missouri before gaining his release to sign with Bielema's Illini.
"Better late than never," Reetz continued. "I'll bet on Dane, and I'll buy stock in him right now."
Reetz told his quarterback to expect a crowd at the youth camp. More than 90 players signed up.
"I guess we can call it his first public appearance as an Illinois quarterback," Reetz said. "Joking, I told him, 'Hey, if you're going to come out, you are more than welcome, but you better be ready to sign autographs and take pictures.'"
He was.
"Sure enough, there were kids lining up to have their Unity football shirts signed by Dane and take pictures with them," Reetz said. "He was gracious enough to do all that."
Eisenmenger is the latest in a long line of local players to suit up for Illinois, a list that includes Champaign Central's J Leman and Centennial's Mikel Leshoure. One more who needs to be mentioned is Arcola's Terry Miller, who became a standout linebacker at Illinois.
"I'm just hoping I can be the next guy to come in and help make an impact and represent the small schools in central Illinois," Eisenmenger said.
Continue reading...
Now what?
The reality of his situation: A hectic 48 hours since news broke that the Unity star would play for his hometown team.
"I had a lot going on (Friday). It was kind of overwhelming," Eisenmenger said.
For one thing, he had to enroll and sign up for classes. And find housing. Student stuff that everyone has to deal with whether they know Bret Bielema.
How is Eisenmenger's week going?
"It's been awesome, everybody reaching out from the community," he said.
The quarterback is getting to know the staff and his new teammates. A college roster is much bigger than a high school version.
"I'm really excited to get started next week," Eisenmenger said.
He goes from being a hero in high school (check out his state title game performance) to near the bottom of the quarterback depth chart. Eisenmenger is starting over, but with many loved ones nearby.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Eisenmenger is the first Unity quarterback who will play for the Illini, and the Unity senior and Philo native joins an Illinois quarterback room for the 2026 season that includes East Carolina transfer Katin Houser, redshirt freshman Carson Boyd, redshirt freshman Jershaun Newton and freshman Michael Clayton II.
"Getting to learn the playbook is the biggest thing right now," he said. "All the guys in the room right now, they've been there for at least a semester. So, they know the playbook real well. I'm trying to get everything down there. Once that happens, I can start getting my reps and see what happens from there."
He isn't looking too far ahead. Not dreaming just yet about getting on the field in a Big Ten game.
"I haven't had much time to think about it, but obviously that's the goal," Eisenmenger said. "Hopefully win 11, 12 games, keep everybody happy with me and not lose any friends along the way."
Mr. Popularity
On a sleepy Friday, Eisenmenger had his first Zoom call with local media members. There were nine by my count, a big number for an almost-summer chat.
Because he played at an area high school, interest has spiked. Especially in the C-U vicinity.
The questions touched a wide range of topics, centered mostly on his familiarity with the Illinois program. From "How many games did you go to growing up?" and "What will it be like to play with Kaden Feagin?" to "How did you react to the Illinois offer?"
Illini offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. and quarterbacks coach Art Sitkowski were also topics for Eisenmenger.
"They've been great to me so far," he said. "I'm really excited to keep working with them. Art's been working with me a lot, trying to get me acclimated to the offense. It's definitely a lot more than I'm used to, so it's going to take some time."
He will have plenty of time for football at Illinois. That will be a change from Unity, where he played three sports filling every season from football in the summer/fall to boys' basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring.
"I'm getting back in the groove of throwing the football," Eisenmenger said. "I kind of took the last two-ish weeks off in the weight room. I'm not really sure what the college conditioning looks like. I guess we'll find out (Saturday)."
Remembering his roots
On Thursday, Eisenmenger attended Unity's youth football camp. Just as he had for years.
Needless to say, the new Illinois signee was a big hit.
"Seeing all my buddies doing the camp and, of course, seeing all the kids is really exciting," he said. "I'm just glad I could bring a smile to their day and make their day better."
Eisenmenger enjoys interacting with the public. It was different when he was younger.
"I was more of a nervous kid," he said. "I loved all the high school guys when I was a kid for sure."
Tony Reetz, Eisenmenger's coach, is thrilled his player is going to the Big Ten ... finally.
"It's been, 'Where are this kid's offers? Why hasn't anybody come knocking,'" Reetz said Thursday during 'SportsTalk' on WDWS of Eisenmenger, The News-Gazette All-Area football Player of the Year for the 2025 season, who was previously signed with Division II Central Missouri before gaining his release to sign with Bielema's Illini.
"Better late than never," Reetz continued. "I'll bet on Dane, and I'll buy stock in him right now."
Reetz told his quarterback to expect a crowd at the youth camp. More than 90 players signed up.
"I guess we can call it his first public appearance as an Illinois quarterback," Reetz said. "Joking, I told him, 'Hey, if you're going to come out, you are more than welcome, but you better be ready to sign autographs and take pictures.'"
He was.
"Sure enough, there were kids lining up to have their Unity football shirts signed by Dane and take pictures with them," Reetz said. "He was gracious enough to do all that."
Eisenmenger is the latest in a long line of local players to suit up for Illinois, a list that includes Champaign Central's J Leman and Centennial's Mikel Leshoure. One more who needs to be mentioned is Arcola's Terry Miller, who became a standout linebacker at Illinois.
"I'm just hoping I can be the next guy to come in and help make an impact and represent the small schools in central Illinois," Eisenmenger said.
Continue reading...
