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Auburn Gresham Walk-On Fulfills Dream of Playing Football for Illinois

By Justin Breen | November 27, 2014 6:57am
 Davontay Kwaaning, a Lindblom graduate, is getting playing time for the University of Illinois football team as a senior walk-on special teams player and cornerback.
Davontay Kwaaning
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CHICAGO — Davontay Kwaaning gives thanks every day.

The Auburn Gresham native and Lindblom graduate is thankful for following through on a promise he made to his best friends years ago: That one day he'd suit up for the University of Illinois football team.

That dream has come true as Kwaaning, an Illini senior walk-on defensive back and special teams player, has seen significant playing time heading into Illinois' 11 a.m. Saturday showdown at Northwestern, with the victor earning bowl eligibility.

"The kid has worked extremely hard," Illini defensive coordinator Tim Banks said. "He's bled and sweat for the University of Illinois."

Kwaaning, who toiled on the Illini practice squad for two years before making the active roster this season, says he thanks God before every practice and every game. He prays for the five childhood pals who have died from gun violence, and the three others who are currently in prison.

 Lindblom graduate and University of Illinois senior Davontay Kwaaning plays on special teams and at defensive back for the Illini, who face Northwestern on Saturday. The winner will become bowl eligible.
Lindblom graduate and University of Illinois senior Davontay Kwaaning plays on special teams and at defensive back for the Illini, who face Northwestern on Saturday. The winner will become bowl eligible.
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Mark Jones/Illinois Athleics

"I know so many people that I grew up with that are either dead or in jail.," Kwaaning said. "They’re not alive to even see or experience what I’m doing. It’s a humbling experience every time I’m out on the field in practice or in games.

"The ones who are incarcerated or have passed away, I know they’d be happy. I’m doing a lot of things that a lot of people aren’t able to do."

Keeping A Promise To His Friends

During Kwaaning's junior year at Lindblom, he said a teacher told him that no one from the school could ever play Division I football.

"Davontay has never forgotten that and uses that each day to remind him of how far he has come," said best friend, Cameron Fenton, an Ashburn native.

Kwaaning said the statement fueled his performance at the South Side high school. As a senior captain, he rushed for more than 1,000 yards, accumulated 1,200 receiving yards and tallied six interceptions, according to his coach Charles Frazier.

But no scholarship offers came, and Kwaaning decided to attend Illinois for academics with the opportunity to eventually walk on to the football team. Before high school graduation, he promised Fenton and fellow best friend Cody Bailey — all Lindblom football captains and current Illinois seniors — he'd be an Illini.

"He not only wanted to do well for himself, but he wanted to do well for us and Lindblom football," said Bailey, of Chatham.

As a freshman, Kwaaning missed the fall deadline to walk-on, but to stay in shape, he, Bailey and Fenton snuck into Memorial Stadium to run up its bleacher steps. He also lifted weights every day after working his shifts at a dining hall.

He was following the advice of Frazier, who told Kwaaning during high school that if he ever wanted to play college football, he'd need to "show up every day and give his all, and everything would fall into place," Frazier said.

In the spring, he walked on and made the practice squad as a receiver and remained in that position through his sophomore year. The low point was at the end of the season, when he pondered quitting.

"But Cam and Cody reminded me of the pact we had made, and they just supported me, so I stuck it out," Kwaaning said. "I realized this is what I wanted to do. I’d rather go through this and see it through than just quit."

He was switched to a safety as a junior, but still didn't get on the playing field.

"But that whole time, I just made sure I worked harder than anybody in the weight room, and I came in to watch extra game film, doing all the little things that would make me ready to play," said Kwaaning, who was moved to defensive back prior to this season.

Finally Hitting The Field

The promotion to varsity finally came during Illinois' second game this year against Western Kentucky, when Kwaaning participated on special teams and briefly in the secondary. In all, he's played in 10 games, including several crucial minutes in third-down nickel package situations in the Illini's 16-14 victory on Penn State last Saturday.

"For me it is very rewarding as well as an honor to watch a kid work so hard at his goals and dreams, with enough determination to not fail," said Frazier, of Englewood. "And to watch a kid fulfill his dreams in the manner that Davontay has been a very surreal experience."

Kwaaning, who is paying for college with student loans and with the help of his parents — Kenyatta Rule and Gerard Kwaaning — is on track to graduate in the spring with a bachelor's degree in recreation, sport and tourism. He's thrilled Fenton and Bailey will be earning their Illinois diplomas this school year as well, Fenton's in Kinesiology and Bailey's in civil engineering.

For now, Kwaaning knows his football work is far from complete. A triumph in Evanston would almost certainly clinch Illinois' first trip to a bowl game since 2011.

And it would be another chance for Kwaaning to demonstrate the power of will.

"I know I have this opportunity to set an example for the people younger than me, for the people looking up to me, for the people who are walk-ons on the team now, showing them that if you work hard, you're able to reap the rewards," Kwaaning said. "It's an example to my family also, to show my nieces and nephews, and, when I do have children, I'll be able to show them the things I went through and tell them how to get through those problems.

"Everything I do now, it’s not about me, it’s about people who have a similar story," he added. "I’m just trying to be that example for everyone else."

Illinois plays Northwestern at 11 a.m. Saturday at Ryan Field in Evanston. The game can be seen on ESPNU.

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