Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Joel Sambursky the Salukis' "Mane Man" At Quarterback
10/02/2003 | 12:00:00 | Football
Oct. 2, 2003
By Seth Whitehead
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Joel Sambursky has got things all figured out. Most people would love to be a rock star or a college quarterback. Sambursky manages to pull off both. Sort of.
Away from the football field, Sambursky has the rock-n-roll look down pat with his wavy, shoulder-length mane. He looks like he's single-handedly trying to bring back the "grunge" look of the early 1990s.
As far as playing an instrument goes, he's working on it.
"I do play guitar," Sambursky said. "Well, I'm learning."
But he might want to stick with this football thing for now.
Though Sambursky doesn't have the classic clean-cut appearance of the average gridiron player, he has far more in common with Jim Hart than Jimmy Page.
The Liberty, Mo., product went from being "the guy with the hair" during his first year on campus to being the 2002 Gateway Conference Freshman of the Year after redshirting. Sambursky passed for 1,308 yards, nine touchdowns and just five interceptions on 55 percent passing, in addition to running for more than 500 yards.
He's putting up similar numbers this year, helping the No. 11 Salukis to a 4-0 record thus far, SIU's best start since 1991. His career completion percentage is 56.8 percent, the best in school history, and he's closing in on the school's top 10 in career passing yards.
But since fans don't often see him with his helmet off, they rarely recognize him out on the street. And when they do, they are a little taken aback.
"When I first came here," Sambursky said before pausing for a reflective laugh. "Nobody really had a clue (he was a football player) at all because I don't look much like a football player. Now, I think people are starting to recognize me, and they still don't believe I play football, but that's okay."
The "guy with the hair" also had another nickname when he first got to SIU.
"Coach (Jerry) Kill's daughters and my daughters right away named him "Sunshine" from "Remember the Titans," said SIU quarterbacks coach Pat Poore, "because he's got the long hair, is kind of a good-looking guy and is happy-go-lucky. So it kind of stuck with him."
But soon enough, Sambursky's play started to overshadow his novelty hair.
First, he won a battle with roommate Stanley Bryant for the starting quarterback job last year and quickly established himself as an up-and-coming star.
His breakout game came in SIU's thrilling 54-52 win over nationally-ranked Western Illinois on Oct. 5. With SIU trailing 52-48 with just over a minute remaining, Sambursky led a miraculous 85-yard march down field, capped by a game-winning touchdown pass to Brandon Robinson on the final play of the game.
"I don't think you could write a better movie," Sambursky said of that finish. "It was just unbelievable. When I threw that pass to B-Rob, I got hit. I don't think I've ever been hit so hard in my life. I got hit so hard I ended up on the track.
"And I didn't even know he'd caught it. I didn't see anything. I just heard everybody go nuts. I didn't feel anything. I could have gotten run over by a truck and been fine because I had so much adrenaline. It was just the most unbelievable feeling in the world. I'll never forget it."
That drive may best define Sambursky's combination of competitiveness and confidence. He's got plenty of both.
"In the profession, you call it moxy," Poore said. "It's not arrogance, but there is a cockiness there. He believes in himself. And he should. He's worked his tail end off to get where he's gotten."
Sambursky acknowledges the Western Illinois win may have been a turning point for SIU football, putting to rest a defeatist mentality that had poisoned the program in recent years.
"We're still building off that game," Sambursky said. "I remember sitting in my accounting class and the teacher made a sarcastic remark like, 'So are the Salukis going to win this week?' And everybody laughed. I remember from that moment, I was like, 'That's it. We've got to win this game.'"
But with all the competitiveness and confidence Sambursky possesses, he also realizes he has to check his ego a little bit this season with SIU's loaded backfield of Robinson, Muhammad Abdulqaadir and Tom Koutsos.
Sambursky's probably not going to put up gaudy passing numbers this year, although he's coming off a game versus St. Joseph's where he completed 16-of-19 passes for 218 yards and three touchdowns. It's not that he isn't capable of putting up those kind of numbers every week, it's just that the gameplan may be more geared to a ground attack that is averaging about seven yards-per-carry.
"If there's anybody who wants to throw the ball a lot it's me," Sambursky said. "But I would rather throw the ball 12 times and win than throw the ball 40 times for 400 yards and lose."
Poore thinks opponents probably underestimate Sambursky and SIU's receivers.
"I know there's probably a perception that (running) is what we're best at," Poore said. "But we throw the ball really well. I mean, we're throwing the ball against our defense (in practice), which is pretty salty against the pass and run.
"We've got two great running backs, but if they put nine guys in the box, he's got to make it go through the air."
"We definitely feel good about the passing game," Sambursky said. "It's something we've put a lot of work in and will continue to put work into."
And as Sambursky is quick to point out, he has made some noise with his legs as well. Sambursky put on about 15-20 pounds over the summer, trying to balance bulk and speed to be more effective running the option. And so far, he's SIU's third-leading rusher.
He's also improved throwing downfield this year, hooking up with up-and-coming receiver Brent Little on several deep passes.
But for now, Sambursky will probably continue to be known more for his long hair than long passes. And that's fine with coach Kill and company as long as the Salukis continue their winning ways.
"Coach actually told me to keep it," Sambursky said of his hair. "He'll never admit to this, but my freshman year we were in his office (just before the summer) and he said, 'Joel, go home for a month, hit the weights, have some time off then come back here. And don't cut your hair - because I like it and I think the guys like it.
"But," Sambursky adds, "I think one day I'm just going to come out with it shaved."
