Daniel Sobkowicz rates fishing as “probably my favorite hobby … I mean, other than football.”
“It’s what I do a lot,” the Illinois State senior said. “It just helps to reset your mind. You go out there and have fresh air and catch a couple of fish or whatever.”
When the weather cooperates, Sobkowicz and fellow Redbird receiver Eddie Kasper find a nearby lake, typically Lake Evergreen, and put lines in the water. Sobkowicz considers it “good for my mental health, just being able to put football aside sometimes and focus on something else.”
Often the fish are biting, but occasionally, he said, “You don’t catch anything.”
That’s where fishing and football differ for Sobkowicz. On the field, he catches everything.
His consistent brilliance has played a huge role in Illinois State’s run to Monday night’s FCS National Championship game in Nashville.
Sobkowicz has seven touchdown catches in playoff wins over No. 1 North Dakota State (3), No. 8 UC Davis (2) and No. 12 Villanova (2). He has 18 TD receptions for the season and 40 in his career, best in ISU history. His 257 career catches also are a Redbird record, and with 3,507 career receiving yards, he is 58 shy of Tyrone Walker’s school record.
Unseeded ISU has won four road playoff games in all to earn its place in Monday’s 6:30 p.m. game against No. 2 Montana State, with Sobkowicz thriving against defenses geared to stop him.
How does he do it?
“He’s a very good route runner. He’s a really good athlete,” ISU coach Brock Spack said of the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder. “He’s sudden, quick, can bend his knees and get in and out of cuts and change directions. He’s got really good ball skills.
“We also have other guys who have proven to be pretty good players that I think you have to honor. If you cut them loose, they can get behind you. But he’s a really good player, one of the best we’ve ever had here obviously.”
Former walk-on
Sobkowicz arrived at ISU as a preferred walk-on. He chose the Redbirds over Northern Illinois, his only other walk-on opportunity, in part because his brother, Max, was on the Redbird team at the time.
The Rolling Meadows High School graduate was encouraged by hearing this from his brother: “He was a walk-on as well and he just told me that they (the coaches) give everyone a fair shot at playing. They were not taking those guys away from certain plays because they’re walk-ons.”
Sobkowicz redshirted in 2021, using the year to get bigger, faster and acclimated to college football. The next fall, he started all 11 games, leading the team with 377 receiving yards and three touchdown catches.
He was a second-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference pick the next two seasons before emerging as an FCS All-American this year. His 78 receptions, 1,089 yards and 18 TDs have come in 14 games because he missed two with a shoulder injury.
Asked how Sobkowicz ascended to new heights this year, ISU receivers coach Mickey Turner said, “He’s still got a very humble approach.”
“So the way he works in the offseason, the way he treats his body, the way he pays attention to the playbook, it’s like he’s still a young guy trying to get better,” Turner added. “Some guys get to that level and think, ‘OK, I’ve got it made.’ The ones who keep excelling are the ones who keep that hunger.”
Portal options
Keeping Sobkowicz in a Redbird uniform was a priority after last season, when he caught 80 passes for 1,108 yards and nine touchdowns.
A stream of schools sought to lure him into the NCAA transfer portal, offering him “a lot of money,” Spack said.
Sobkowicz considered the options.
“It’s a tough situation because you want to go to a bigger school, maybe that gets more looks, playing at the next level and maybe having a new system, a lot better facilities,” he said. “At the end of the day, I think it was just me wanting to be with my teammates. We knew that we were able to have a really good team the next year with a lot of guys back on offense and defense.
“I think that was the big thing for me. I wanted to play for a championship as well. I think that’s kind of paying off now.”
Spack’s sales pitch was that by coming back, Sobkowicz would be a “featured guy” and could “set all kinds of records here, which he has.”
Also, “these are his friends,” the ISU coach said.
“He’s a loyal kid,” Spack added. “I think he understands that his payday is coming down the road. He will make more money this way than the other way. I applaud him for what he did and appreciate it. I know his teammates do too.”
Sobkowicz said he’ll “never regret” deciding to stay.
“You only get to do this once and I mean, the money can always come … a bigger facility, a bigger school or whatever, that’s only temporary usually,” he said.
“Having a place like home with your guys and people you went to college with and grew up with basically being a redshirt and working in the offseason with those guys and being able to do this the last season with them too, I think that’s something you can’t give up. That’s one of the biggest things I’ve just really enjoyed and I take pride in.”
‘Mixed playbook’
Sobkowicz heads a receiving corps that includes 61 catches by Dylan Lord, 43 from Luke Mailander and 33 from Kasper. Their production and game-planning by the coaches have helped free up Sobkowicz.
“They (coaches) do a great job of trying to get me certain plays or new plays that work for other guys as well,” Sobkowicz said. “I’m not always the first option, but end up being the second option that comes open.
“Just having a mixed playbook is really huge. All credit goes to them. A lot of people don’t understand how much work they put in for that.”
Another factor is the connection with senior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse. The two have been together five years, with Sobkowicz saying “all the throwing sessions we put in and all the time we've put in, it's kind of paying off now.”
Their hope is to go out as national champions. Preparation for the championship game has been good, Sobkowicz said, with the Redbirds “keeping each other locked in, holding each other accountable.”
“You’re with your guys playing in late December and January, there’s nothing like it,” he added. “It’s a lot of fun and not a lot of people get to do it.
“We’ve taken this really seriously. We know the job’s definitely not finished yet. We still have another game to play. We know we will not regret anything we did if we put everything into what we’re doing. If we do that, we’ll be all right.”
There are footballs to catch, a title to win.
The fish will have to wait.
