With a name like Bucky Babcock, one would naturally assume that the University of Illinois offensive tackle would have decided to attend Wisconsin. While he acknowledges the fact that playing for UW was once on his mind, he is enjoying a great career as an Illinois Fighting Illini and has no complaints about not becoming a Badger.

“I grew up as a Wisconsin fan, so that had some influence on me as a kid, but I didn’t receive the attention from them that I thought I would, and I had the opportunity to stay in-state and play for a great school here at the University of Illinois,” Babcock said. “It’s something I don’t really look back on or regret too much.”

As an offensive lineman, Babcock is left with the burden of dirty work and no spotlight. Throughout his years at Illinois, he has come to cope with the reality of playing without the admiration or stardom of a quarterback or wide receiver.

Nevertheless, Babcock has developed into a powerful force on the line and is considered by many as the Illini’s top pro prospect despite the fact that he is only a junior. New York Giants guard Dave Diehl and Baltimore Ravens tackle Tony Pashos, both 2002 NFL draftees, showed him the ropes on the offensive line over the past three years, and he is very grateful for their help.

“Obviously, there’s a lot I can learn from them, as they’re in the NFL now. As a redshirt freshman I played in between Pashos and Luke Butkus, and they helped me out a lot,” Babcock said. “They taught me so much on the field and showed me how I should act off the field.”

However, Babcock also takes great pride in his teammates’ accomplishments. He lists winning the state championship as a senior in high school and assisting the Illini in their 2001 Big Ten championship season as two of his greatest accomplishments. Also high on Babcock’s list is being a part of the offensive line that blocked for running back Antoineo Harris in 2002. Harris broke the Illinois single-season rushing record last season with 1,330 yards, topping Robert Holcombe’s 1996 record of 1,281 yards.

“That was a great accomplishment. It is one of things that I put up there as something special in my career,” Babcock said. “Antoineo was a great player and such a good guy that it just made it that much better to help him break the record.”

This season, Babcock may have another chance to help a teammate reach a milestone. Running back Ibrahim Halsey is on pace to smash the Illinois freshman single-season rushing mark. The record currently stands at 842 yards, set by Buddy Young in 1994. Through four games this season, “E.B” has been an integral part of the Illini offense with 339 yards on the ground. In spite of this, assisting Halsey in breaking the record is not on Babcock’s mind.

“That’s not something we are really looking for. We are just going out there and doing our job — blocking for E.B.,” Babcock said. “But if E.B. were to break it, that would be great, because he’s a good guy. We all like him, and that would be another nice accomplishment for us all.”

Babcock has garnered some awards of his own, as well. This season, he was a preseason Second Team All-Big Ten selection by Athlon. While he feels flattered by this honor, he admits that he still has some aspects of his game to improve upon.

“That was a great honor, but there are still some things I have to work on,” Babcock said. “This year I’m moving from guard to tackle, and there are some little things that I have to remember to do, like keeping my head in the game, little mental things.”

Illinois has gotten off to a frustrating start this year. The Illini head into the Big Ten season with a 1-3 record, but they have been within at least a touchdown in each of those losses.

“It’s been very tough. We’ve played hard and have been competitive in all our games, but at the end of the day our record still says that we have three losses no matter how close we’ve been,” Babcock said.

Despite the discouraging start, Illinois’ Bucky still has high expectations for his team as they kick off the Big Ten season against Wisconsin this weekend.

“I think we’ll be great. We just have to come out and play our game and not make the mistakes we’ve been making.”