It has been four years since an Indiana Hoosiers football team stepped foot into Camp Randall stadium. The last time, Oct. 6, 2001, could very well be one of the most embarrassing losses in the history of Wisconsin football. That day, then-IU senior quarterback Antwaan Randle El orchestrated a 63-32 Badger bashing.
This Saturday, there will be another Randle El on the field. Only instead of donning the crimson and cream of IU, this Randle El-Antwaan's little brother, sophomore wide receiver Marcus-will wear the cardinal and white of the Wisconsin Badgers.
Coming to Wisconsin-instead of going to play for the Hoosiers-is part of Marcus' attempt to leave his own mark on college football.
\A lot of people [thought I would go to IU.] That was the assumption from my sophomore year,"" Randle El said. ""But I'm the type of person-and no disrespect to my brother, and I love my brother-but I just felt like I had to do my own thing. I don't want to ... try and take the credit for what he did. I want to step away and have people ask about me.""
If Randle El can make the same kind of impact his brother did in the 2001 Indiana victory in Madison-14 carries for 102 yards rushing to go along with 182 passing yards-you can be quite certain a lot of people will be talking about him.
Despite a hamstring injury that may keep him from leaving any kind of mark on Saturday's game, Randle El is looking forward to welcoming his brother's old team back to Camp Randall.
""This weekend is kind of like a homecoming and probably to them it's like a homecoming because, you know, I didn't go there,"" Randle El said. ""I just take it as a respect thing. I respect Indiana. I respect that my brother went there. At the same time, they're turning their program around ... so I just take it as going out and playing and having a good game. Hopefully I'll be healthy enough to play.""
The injury in question, suffered in Wisconsin's 65-0 win over Temple, kept Randle El from making the trip to North Carolina. He is optimistic about his chances to play Saturday but does not want to rush it. While the game against his brother's old school does take on some added significance, he doesn't want to risk his future on it.
""I really don't know how long the injury will take [to heal], and I'm the type of guy who says to coach 'Oh I'm OK.'"" Randle El said. ""I want to play through it, but they tell me to be smart. I don't want to get out there and mess it up and come the ninth game of the season, I'm still sitting out.""
Before going down with the hamstring injury, Randle El looked ready to feature in the Badger offense. A successful training camp left him third on the receiving depth chart behind seniors Brandon Williams and Jonathon Orr. UW receivers coach Henry Mason thinks the injury might have set Randle El back a bit, but he also thinks it is only a matter of time before Randle El becomes one of Wisconsin's go-to guys.
""He came up with a hamstring injury and he's still not 100 percent, so that's slowed him a little bit,"" Mason said. ""He's our fourth or fifth guy right now, but the bottom line is, a year from now he'll be one of the top two or three. So we've got to make sure that we get him on the field and get him the turns and attempts that we need.""
Considering his relatively limited amount of touches thus far, one might think the prospect of being a No. 1 receiver might be unsettling for Randle El, but that could not be further from the truth.
""My role going into next year is to be that guy. To be that guy who's going to make plays and be that guy to step up,"" Randle El said.
And if his confidence in himself isn't enough, Randle El also has the support of his quarterback, junior John Stocco.
""I have seen a lot of improvement in his pass-catching skills, you can see that in practice,"" Stocco said. ""We're going to need him sometime, so I hope he's not getting too frustrated. He's just got to keep continuing to get better and things will take care of themselves.""
Randle El said frustration hasn't set in yet, and for the moment, he is fine biding his time behind the likes of the more seasoned Williams and Orr. In the meantime, his position coach has a message for anyone eager to compare the Randle El brothers.
""[Antwaan] is done and [Marcus] has two-and-a-half years to go,"" Mason said. ""Let's evaluate him when he walks out the door. I don't think it's fair to compare those two right now. The only thing they've got in common right now is a last name.""
