June 17, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
Senior running back Walter Mendenhall officially became a member of the Illinois State football team Tuesday after attending his first registered summer-school class on campus.
Mendenhall joins the Redbirds after a three-year stint at Illinois. The Skokie, Ill., native received a bachelor's degree in sociology from Illinois in May 2008, and is currently pursuing a master's degree in history at Illinois State, where he will use his final season of eligibility.
"We're excited to have Walter join our football team," said head coach Denver Johnson. "He's a guy we have known about for a long time, and we have watched his career with interest. When he approached us about looking for a new and different opportunity, we were excited to visit with him. He's an outstanding young man, who is a great student and a gifted athlete, to boot."
The 6-foot, 225-pound tailback rushed for 57 yards on four carries last season with the Illini, but has spent the majority of his career as a special-teams player.
At Niles West High School, Mendenhall averaged 7.7 yards per carry as a senior, while rushing for 1,158 yards on 151 attempts for 14 touchdowns. He went on to receive all-region and all-area honors and was also named honorable mention all-state.
Mendenhall becomes the 10th player since 1993, when the NCAA rules changed to allow NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) transfers immediate eligibility at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level, to end their career at Illinois State after transferring from Illinois. He joins Marquis Mosely, Dwayne Smith, Quincy Washington, Jim Ferguson, Tim Thornton, Jesus Terrazas, James Stevenson and Conrad Adams.
