Josh McCray #6 of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrates after winning the Most Valuable Player of the 2024 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl against the South Carolina Gamecocks (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
In 1920, "Papa Bear" George Halas took control of the then-Decatur Staleys, who would eventually become the Chicago Bears, one of the NFL's charter franchises. Halas was very keen on the colors of his alma mater, the University of Illinois, and their Fighting Illini sports teams. Thus, he ensured the Bears adopted Illinois' navy blue and bright orange as their official team colors. The Illinois-Bears connection has run deep and been pervasive ever since, with the Kreutz family being the strongest current connection.
Over his thirteen-year career, all with the Chicago Bears, Olin Kreutz earned six Pro Bowl berths and one First-Team All-Pro award. The stellar center was named to the top 100 Chicago Bears of all-time and the NFL All-2000s team lists. He also captained the Monsters of the Midway from 2007 to 2011.
Center Josh Kreutz is a current Illini captain and one of the team's top offensive linemen. His brother James Kreutz plays linebacker and stands out as one of the key contributors on defense.
"To have my family come to most of the games, and they're here today—that's really special to me," Josh Kreutz said in an exclusive interview with RG after the Fighting Illini upset the #15 South Carolina Gamecocks, 21-17, in the Citrus Bowl.
The younger Kreutz is a vocal leader, just like his dad was, and those leadership skills were on full display in the Citrus Bowl, a game that the entire college football world has been talking about all week.
"I just try to be myself most of the time, and if that's who I am, that's how it comes out," he stated confidently.
Tensions Boil Over
Leadership was required when a tension-filled exchange occurred between the two head coaches, Illinois' Bret Bielema and South Carolina's Shane Beamer, and an on-field brawl nearly erupted between the two teams.
Late in the third quarter, Beamer became apoplectic after Bielema made the "T-bar" signal toward South Carolina's sideline while checking on one of his injured players, defensive back Jaheim Clarke.
Beamer was so utterly incensed by the gesture that he had to be restrained by his assistant coaches. Otherwise, he would have angrily charged straight toward Bielema.
Both teams then immediately geared up for what could have been a potential confrontation. The Kreutz brothers took a leadership role among the players on the Illini sideline.
"Who says bowl games don't mean anything, right?" Josh Kreutz explained. "But I mean, I saw him going out there, so I strapped on my helmet, right? I had to back up the head coach. I think a lot of our guys strapped up their helmets—ready to back up our head coach."
Josh Kreutz is listed as 6-2, 290 lbs. James Kreutz is 6-2, 225.
Illini wide receiver Hank Beatty (5'11', 185) knew the right place to be while this potentially explosive incident was unfolding.
"If you're by the Kreutz brothers in a situation like that, then you're probably alright," Beatty said postgame.
The tension between the two teams began with a kickoff that occurred moments before this altercation. South Carolina made the T-bar signal, used to convey a touchback, while fielding a kickoff, but then proceeded to lateral the ball, leading to a 25-yard return by Nyck Harbor.
Bielema said he first learned about the T-bar signal while coaching in the NFL (where he was a defensive line coach with the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick), as a way of limiting potential injury on kickoff returns.
Bielema told the media that there was nothing illegal about what South Carolina did on this play, but he also questioned their ethics in employing this tactic. Beamer thought that Bielema's making the T-bar signal while he was on the field was a direct taunt at him, which the Illini coach explained to the media; in the most non-apologetic way possible.
Bielema said he didn't direct the gesture at Beamer, who he said is a "good person," but instead toward "their whole damn sideline."
Beamer, who many South Carolina media members believed was angrier than they have ever seen him, told his side of the story.
"You have to ask him why he (Bielema) didn't take it up with the officials and why he felt the need to come over here," the Carolina coach commented.
"While his player was on the ground and look at me and say something to me and do that motion at me like I was full of you know-what-to do it. That's what I have an issue with. I'm a competitive guy. When somebody says that to me, I'm going to respond, because I thought that was bush league, just to be completely honest."
The feud between the two coaches then spilled over to social media, and many South Carolina fans (who entered the Citrus Bowl in a surly state due to their belief that the Gamecocks deserved a College Football Playoff berth instead of this game) are still just as salty about this incident as they are about the result of the game.
How to handle conflict is an important skill to learn in life, and Josh Kreutz discussed some of the things that he learned from his dad, who was one of the best centers to ever play the game of football.
"How to practice, how to train," the Loyola Academy graduate said before continuing on. "How to watch all those things that they seem like little things, but they teach you how to be the best player you can be.
"I learned all those things from him, and just even how to be a man; and I learned a lot of stuff from my mom as well."
Following In His Father’s Footsteps
Kreutz has designs on following in his father's footsteps and playing in the NFL. Given his elite lineage, and the fact that he's made the All-Big Ten Honorable Mention team (no small feat, given that it's the league with the highest concentration of top tier offensive linemen) the past two seasons, Kreutz's draft stock is clearly on the rise.
Pro Football Focus graded him in the top ten of offensive linemen, nationally, twice this past season (PFF's #10 OL in the win at Rutgers on 11/23/24, #4 C in the win at Nebraska on 9/20/24). But Kreutz knows that there is more work that he needs to do, in order to rack up more dominant single game performances like these.
We asked him what he's going to work on, this offseason, in order to optimize his final season in Champaign and get himself to the next level.
"Just building on this season, going back watching the film, looking to get better for myself and as our unit. Obviously, I just want to keep playing good at these games (New Year's bowl games like the Citrus Bowl) and see where that leads me."
Like his team, Kreutz has defied the prognosticators, and exceeded expectations. The Illini were predicted to finish 13th in the 18 team Big Ten in 2024, but here they were, with 10 wins for just the fifth time in school history and their first ever win over a SEC opponent.
As a recruit, Kreutz received only a modest 3-star rating, but here is he, outperforming five star guys. He discussed what it takes to realize your full potential, and with it surpass the expectations of others.
A key element in pulling off the Citrus Bowl upset victory was the triumphant return of the "barge" package, something that almost all offensive linemen love, because it basically guarantees them the chance to get a big forward push in run blocking.
While you can pass out of the barge, everybody knows that you're going to run, because you're lined up with what is essentially nine offensive linemen, and just the quarterback and one running back.
There are no wide receivers included in the group of 11 who line up in barge packages. Illinois first used this very unique formation in their 20-18 record-setting nine overtime win at #7 Penn State in 2021.
Illinois brought it back, for the first time since that history-making game three seasons ago, in the Citrus Bowl and it resulted in the game-winning touchdown.
"You obviously saw the return of the barge formation," Kreutz said. "I think every lineman loves that. When you hear barge, you keep breaking out the big formations that gives us a lot of confidence to keep running the ball."
Asked why he loves the barge package so much, Kreutz explained:
"Just get as many of those guys on there as possible. It gives a little bit of juice when all those guys come in, especially when it's working right, and I think that helped. Just pushing that down the field and getting us a few more yards and a touchdown like that, it means a lot to us."
Citrus Bowl MVP Josh McCray (13 carries, 114 yards, 8.8 YPC, 2 TDs) said he loves having nine offensive linemen out on the field when he's running the ball. And Coach Bielema pointed out an interesting quirk for opposing defenses when, they are tasked with defending the barge.
"It's funny, they had a corner that when they're lined up like that, we don't have any wide outs, so a corner is out there, he's like, I don't even know how to line up," he pointed out.
"He doesn't really like lining up on big people. Usually, little people don't like lining up on big people in those moments, so that was kind of a fun one for us."
Paul M. Banks
