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Eastern Illinois Athletics was scheduled to hold its 2020 Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony this Saturday, November 6.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the ceremony has been moved to a later date in in 2021.   EIU will be featuring each of the 2020 Hall of Fame selections this week.

Listen to EIUPanthers Podcast Episode with Vincent Webb 

One of Vincent Webb's most memorable carries was his freshman year at Indiana State.   

In the second half of a game, the Panthers would lose 23-7 to the Sycamores, Webb got his chance to the take the field.  One of his first carries he broke open for an 80-yard touchdown.   What he remembers from the carry is seeing his father also racing down the far sideline cheering him on.   

"I came in during the 3rd quarter and we ran a 29 toss sweep.  I ran untouched for the score," said Webb.  "Scoring that first touchdown solidified for me that I could play at this level.  I also remember from that play (and I still have the tape), my dad is on the other sideline and he is running with me at the same time and we meet up in the end zone." 

Rumor has it that Webb's dad may have beat him to the goal line, but it did foreshadow a Hall of Fame career for the running back from Ladue High School in St. Louis. 

Webb would finish that game with 108 rushing yards, one of twenty 100-yard games he would have in his career.   He would add another milestone game later in the season with 206 yards against UT Martin, a game that was his first start in the backfield for the Panthers. 

"I started my first game that freshman season against UT Martin.  Andre Raymond had gotten hurt and the coaches told me to get prepared because I was going to start.  I just had that opportunity and ran with it.  I scored off a screen pass.  I remember all the carries, it was a career day for me." 

The start came during his redshirt freshman season as Webb was recruited to join a loaded Panthers roster in 2002 that made a third straight appearance in the FCS playoffs.  The team featured a plethora of talent that allowed Webb to sit back that first season and soak it all in. 

"I remember coming to the spring game in 2002 and had a chance to see Tony (Romo) and they kept saying he was the guy and was going to play in the NFL.  I remember seeing all those guys: J.R. Taylor, Andre Raymond, Nick Ricks and Fred Miller.  I just knew that when I got to campus I was going to be able to learn from them.  To be able to say I know Tony Romo, I don't just know of him.  We used to go over to his house and hang out.  I remember that rushing touchdown he had against Eastern Kentucky.  It's great, I'm in the same brotherhood as them." 

As a freshman resdshirting during the 2002 season, in addition to sitting back and watching the older players play, Webb also realized an opportunity might present itself.  So he set his mind towards the goal of working hard and making sure he was ready to seize any chance that might present itself. 

"One of my best summers for training was heading into that 2003 season because I knew that after all those guys graduated there were going to be opportunities.  When I came in, we brought in about three or four running backs.  Of course, we were losing a great back like J.R. (Taylor), so I knew I had to be prepared.  Andre Raymond was an All-American, all-purpose guy.  He ended up getting hurt early that year and gave me the opportunity to play." 

Webb led the Panthers in rushing that season with 593 yards, the first of four straight seasons he would lead EIU in rushing.  The next three years he rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each season culminating with 1,405 yards during his senior campaign. 

During each of his seasons, the Panthers featured a different offensive coordinator, but Webb noticed that the offensive philosophy remained somewhat constant during that time.  He learned first-hand why that was, when as a sophomore and junior,  his running back position coach was also the Panthers head coach – Bob Spoo. 

"Our philosophy stayed the same.  My sophomore and junior year Coach Spoo was my position coach, so with the head coach at that spot, you can see the philosophy.  We are going to run the football and play good defense.  My senior season Coach Spoo missed that year because of illness, so it did change a little in terms of scheme, but the core did stay the same." 

As a junior and senior he helped lead Eastern Illinois to back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference championships with FCS playoff berths each year.   During his senior year Webb became the second EIU player to earn OVC Offensive Player of the Year, joining Romo, a three-time winner of the award.  The former walk-on now looks back at those times with gratitude. 

"I just tried to make the most of my opportunity.  When you look back it, I had great players in front of me on the offensive line.  All-Americans every year, so they were creating those big holes.  It makes it easy, you just have to run the ball and you have lanes to run through.  Every game was not like that, but for the most part, I wanted to be consistent.  Working as hard as I did every summer, to be a senior and get that award; job well done.  You never want your hard work to go to waste, so it was the pinnacle of my life as a college football player." 

Webb's consistency landed him as one of five inductees into the Eastern Illinois Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2020.   Now working for the United States Post Office, the seventh ranked rusher in the history of the OVC remembers fondly the moment he received the call to be a member of this year's class. 

"I just finished work that day when I received the call.  EIU Athletic Director Tom Michael introduced himself and before he even got to it, he said this was the best phone call he gets to make.  I just knew and I stood up and I just ran around the house screaming.  A phone call I will never forget.  I stopped to put some notes in my phone – the time, date, my emotions from the phone call.  Then I went to my room and started crying.  I was so filled with emotion." 

Now a father of three boys, just starting to get to that age of playing football, Webb reminisces of the importance that his family played in his success as a college football player, and the value they instilled. 

"Believe in yourself.  That's one of the main things I think I did.  Surround yourself with a core group of people that believe in you, for me as a college football player – it was my parents.  Never give up.  You're going to have obstacles.  Find out 'What's Your Why?'  For me it was always a dream of mine to play college football to the best of my ability, so that was the goal that I always worked towards."