EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern coach Randy Walker welcomes an investigation into his training practices and preseason conditioning drills.
Even after Rashidi Wheeler's death, he still believes in what he does. So do his players.
"This was a tragedy, nothing more," linebacker Billy Silva said Thursday before the Wildcats left for training camp in Kenosha, Wis.
"I could be walking down the street and get hit by car and killed. I could die in a plane crash."
Wheeler, a chronic asthmatic, died Aug. 3 after collapsing during a preseason conditioning drill. The cause was bronchial asthma, but his death has raised a series of hard questions from his parents and the university.
While much of the focus has been on the Wheeler family's claim
that the university wasn't equipped to deal with such an emergency,
Walker's grueling workouts have drawn criticism, too. On the day
Wheeler died, he was doing a conditioning drill that called for 24
sprints, ranging from 40 yards to 100 yards, with short breaks in between.
Walker has agreed not to use the drill until the university review is done.
"It's been difficult not to respond," Walker said. "I have a
lot of confidence, I have a lot of belief in what I am and what I
do. But that's the right thing to do right now. Let's let the
review take its course, let's find out some answers and go from there."
The players defended Walker, saying those harsh conditioning drills helped them win a share of the Big Ten title last season. A year after going 3-9, the Wildcats were 8-4 and went to only the fourth bowl game in school history.
"Nothing's ever accomplished without hard work," Silva said.
"That first year, everyone thought, 'What's this coach trying to
do, kill us?' It was like the coaches vs. the players. But after
last season and we saw what it had done for us, we all understand."
Quarterback Zak Kustok agreed, saying he can remember several games the Wildcats won where the opponents were physically worn down.
"I don't want them to change anything that they've been doing. I think it's been successful for us," Kustok said. "I have complete trust in Coach Walker. I know he's going to do what's best for us and do what's in our best interest."
For now, that's getting back to football. After spending much of
the last two weeks mourning, the Wildcats are eager to exorcise
their grief through workouts, drills and games.
It may be a simplistic way of dealing with a tragedy, but it's what they know.
"I'm ready to get back to doing what I do, and that's football," said linebacker Kevin Bentley, one of Wheeler's best friends.
"Obviously I'm still going to grieve at times and think about
my buddy when I look beside me and he's not there physically,"
Bentley said. "But I know he's always going to be there with me
spiritually."
Northwestern also announced Thursday it is retiring Wheeler's No. 30 jersey, a first at the school. Players will wear patches on their jerseys in Wheeler's honor.
The players met with grief counselors after Wheeler's death, and many went to the campus memorial service for the senior safety. Some flew to California for his funeral Monday.
After spending some time with their families, they returned to campus one by one. On Wednesday night, they gathered for a team meeting.
At first, the room was quiet. But as the seniors began speaking,
Silva said the room erupted. Players were jumping around, laughing
and talking. Everyone was eager to get back on the football field.
"Nobody knows how to handle situations like this very well, but
the one thing we know how to do is play football," Kustok said. "We're going to use this as an inspiration because we know he's going to be with us."
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