Oct. 10, 2002

by Sarah Cobin, Athletic Public Relations

According to Fighting Illini offensive lineman Tony Pashos, he has two different personalities. He is an intense competitor on the field, but if he had more free time, the 6-6, 320-pound Lockport native would spend it visiting with his family, learning about his Greek heritage and helping others.

Motivated by last year's September 11 tragedy, Pashos proved his willingness to help others in giving back to the community by volunteering at Carle Hospital's pediatrics ward for two to three hours every Monday last fall.

"I just felt like I should be doing a lot more," he said. "I wanted to get back to what's really important in life and the things that help me see how special the position is that I'm at in my life right now. There were some people at the hospital that had it rough and that just made me that much more grateful and made me want to come out and work that much harder last year."

At the hospital, Pashos was responsible for doing anything that would cheer up the patients. "They were all children, so if they wanted to play video games, I was there to play video games," Pashos said. "If they wanted to hear stories, I was there to tell them stories. We did anything they wanted to do. I even had my nails painted by a little girl there, so they were painted for a week or two."

As a leader and a captain of the Illini football team, he is also responsible for helping his own teammates. "When you're fortunate enough to have played as many games as I have, you have experience that you want to share with other players because you know what they're going through," the senior said. "Throughout my career I've made mistakes so I can help them before they make the same ones."

Pashos has made himself successful as well by learning from his own experiences. As a result of his work, he has been named a preseason first-team All-American by Athlon and a preseason second-team All-American by The Sporting News and Lindy's. In addition, Pashos received preseason first-team All-Big Ten honors from all three publications.

Another statistic that illustrates his strong work ethic and dedication to excellence is his streak of games started. After redshirting the 1998 season, Pashos has gone on to start every game of his playing career. In fact, he ranks third nationally among active offensive linemen with 37 career starts. His philosophy on remaining in the starting lineup is relatively simple.

"To stay healthy, you've got to be smart too," Pashos said. "If you've got bumps and bruises, you've got to take care of them early and take care of you body. Your body is what you're working with, so I'm in the training room throughout the whole year getting ice on things and asking what I should do."

Staying healthy isn't the only thing that has kept Pashos in the lineup. He gives most of the credit for his success to the hard work he has put in throughout his career.

"I'm probably not the most athletic guy we have or the fastest, but you can make up for a lot of those things by the effort you put into your career and what you do around here. After coming here, I realized that the effort I put in was able to get me on that field and play in all those games. Not anything more than that," he said. "The effort, the heart and the desire to be out there winning games is what can make the dreams of younger guys and future players come true."

Although Pashos' football career at Illinois is in its last year, he still has a bright future ahead of him. The 2001 Academic All-District selection has already received a degree in history and he eventually wants to attend law school and possibly give football a shot at the next level. For right now, though, his thoughts are on this season.

"I love college football to death. It's a once in a lifetime chance, and I know that. That's why I enjoy playing. There's no extra motivation about it. I realize my time's running out here, and I know that I'm going to appreciate it even more in the long run."