Illinois Football: Illini RB Mike Epstein will come back stronger than before

The moment Mike Epstein suited up for the Illinois football team, you could tell the kid was going to be special.

Epstein wasn’t the most highly rated recruit coming out of the prestigious St. Thomas Aquinas High School down in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 247Sports only had him as the No. 1063 player in the class of 2017. But once this kid came into the program, he started to really show why he could be the future at the running back position.

Illinois felt the impact from day one with Epstein. While the team wasn’t great, he still managed to rush for a 6.1 yards per carry average during his freshman campaign. Sadly, he couldn’t finish that season because of a foot injury. No worries, though, he was going to come back strong in 2018.

Epstein actually had a good year for the most part last season. He admittedly played while not fully healthy, but he still averaged 6.8 YPC. But, once again, that same foot injury in 2017 kept Epstein from finishing the 2018 campaign. He didn’t play a full season due to this injury.

2019 was supposed to be different. This was supposed to be his redemption year. Epstein had finally recovered from that foot issue and was ready to take the Big Ten by storm. Game one was going well for him. He had 8 carries for 45 yards, a 5.6 YPC average. The injury bug struck again, though. Epstein was seen being carted off the field with a towel over his head.

On Monday, during his weekly press conference, Lovie Smith announced that Epstein will miss the entire 2019 season with a knee injury. The worst fears of all Illini players and fans came true.

I think we have to look at this injury in two different spectrums. From a football perspective, this hurts. Illinois needs talented players like Epstein who can run the ball well. Having him as a backup makes this backfield so strong. Without him, it isn’t nearly as good. But, let’s be honest, football is the last thing on a lot of people’s minds right now.

People probably should be looking at this from a human perspective rather than a football one. Here we have a kid in Epstein who has worked his entire life trying to perfect his craft. But when he gets to the next level, there are circumstances outside of his control that is bringing him back down. As a human, I can’t imagine how that feels. I would imagine there are multiple emotions going through him which include sadness, anger and depression.

I just want Epstein to know, we are here for you. I don’t know how much that helps, but hopefully, he knows he’s not alone. The entire Illini Nation supports him in his quest to get back onto the field and live the dreams he has been working towards. This fight isn’t over. He will come back stronger than before.