Marmion grad Koutsos joins SIU Hall of Fame

It's a strong statement to say Marmion graduate Tom Koutsos turned around the Southern Illinois University football program.

After all, coach Jerry Kill was there to kick off a string of seven straight playoff berths. But as Koutsos said, the Salukis were 3-8 before he arrived to run the ball in 1999 and 10-2 in 2003 when he helped them reach the playoffs for the first time in 20 years.

Koutsos, SIU's career rushing leader and second all-time in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, was inducted into the Saluki Hall of Fame on Jan. 8 in Carbondale.

"There are under 300 people in the entire SIU Hall of Fame, and to be one of them, and to be only 29, it was a huge honor for me," said Koutsos, known in his playing days as "Touchdown Tommy."

Koutsos returned home to Oswego after coaching running backs a year apiece at Nicholls State in Louisiana and at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College, and an unsatisfying sales job in Chicago. He is now an athletic trainer - he had to leave a phone interview to attend to the Benet Academy baseball team.

"I train athletes to be bigger, faster, stronger, stuff like that," he said.

Former Marmion coach Paul Murphy, now at Waubonsie Valley, had Koutsos on the varsity three seasons. (Murphy had the San Diego Chargers' Larry English one season at Marmion before leaving to coach at North Central College.)

"He has been the best high school football player that I have ever coached," Murphy said of Koutsos. Murphy noted Koutsos' speed and prized intangibles.

"He had great vision, great instincts and a desire to score every time he touched the ball," Murphy said.

At SIU, Koutsos ran for a school-record 52 touchdowns, among several records the 2000 honorable-mention All-American owns including rushing yardage (4,715), carries (988) and 100-yard games (22).

Last weekend Koutsos made the nostalgic trip to Carbondale for banquets on both Friday and Saturday, the Hall of Fame ceremony, and recognition at halftime of the men's basketball game.

His entourage included former Marmion assistant Chuck Biggins; the man who recruited Koutsos to SIU, Tommy Liggins; and his college fullback, Jack Wise. Koutsos was presented by SIU play-by-play announcer Mike Reis as well as athletic director Mario Moccia, in front of his parents, John and Nancy.

"It was a big deal for me to have my parents there so they could celebrate it with me," Koutsos said.

"To have a great career and to be part of the turnaround, it made it even more special for me, because when I go back they're just getting better and better and better and I was a part of that."

Koutsos describes himself as "old school." There is no expiration date on what he brought to the football field.

"I think people know my legacy as a guy who maybe was not the most talented, but who outworked everybody," he said. "There's one thing I think people know when they think of Tom Koutsos - I never took a play off."

Even through the phone, you believe him: "I have some carries left. I just have no eligibility."

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