More Than A Game: Football = Family & Friends

For nearly two decades, Knox College football has been much more than a game for the Paul brothers.

From the very beginning in the late 90s, when a buddy recommended Knox to Dustin Paul... to the finish in the fall of 2015, when Tyler Paul becomes the sixth brother in his family to enroll at Knox, suiting up for the Prairie Fire has been all about friends and families.

"It started when Ryan Cannady told me about a buddy of his, Dustin Paul, and said I should recruit him," recalls Andy Gibbons, associate head football coach, who's been at Knox since 1991. The Cannady and Paul families were friends and neighbors in Quincy, Illinois; Ryan is a 2000 Knox graduate and three-sport athlete who played linebacker during football season.

Gibbons followed up on the tip and recruited Dustin, starting a veritable parade of "tough, physical, hard-nosed players, always ready to play," as Gibbons describes the Paul brothers -- Dustin, who graduated in 2004 with a degree in economics; Chris, an environmental studies major who graduated in 2007; Brian, who graduated in 2013 with a degree in chemistry; Andrew, an economics major who graduated this past June; Jacob, who starts his junior year in the fall; and last but not least Tyler, who enters Knox this fall with the class of 2019.

"On the offensive line, Brian and Andrew were a good fit," Gibbons says. "It's a more cerebral position, a different mentality. Playing defensive line, Dustin, Chris, Jacob -- we'll see about Tyler -- they're all physical 'let's get after the ball' guys."

Personality-wise, the younger brothers have tended to be quieter, according to the Knox coaches. Gibbons reveals: "Dustin is a good story-teller."

Which Dustin confirms, relating one of the several occasions when Paul brothers have been on the field together in Knox's Knosher Bowl. "Yeah, there are times when Chris screwed up and I'd have to cover for him," Dustin says. "On one play, he didn't follow his assignment, and he spun right into my knee... Even though the (opposing) quarterback ended up throwing an interception, I'm limping off the field. I grabbed (Chris) by the facemask and said 'Don't ever do that again.'"

Seriously, Dustin says, "Chris was a much better player than I was, and it was special for me in my senior year, when he was a freshman, getting down in my stance and my brother was right next to me."

Having family close was important when tragedy hit the Paul brothers with the illness and death of their father Bruce Paul in 2011. "The coaching staff and faculty at Knox were more than gracious," Dustin says, as they made allowances for the brothers' schedules. "There were my dad's doctor's appointments that we all went to." The team chartered a bus for players to attend Bruce Paul's funeral in Quincy.

"It really reflects on our belief as a team, in the value of 'family'," says Tomeo. A lot of credit for the way the Paul brothers succeed, both on and off the field, goes to mother Cindy Paul, Tomeo says. "Raising the boys by herself, what she's done, in this almost impossible situation, she could package and sell it." Last fall, Tomeo recalls, "she was on campus with Tyler for an admission event, and she just took over the campus tour with several other families (accompanied by sons who were interested in football), telling them why they should come to Knox. Three of the students who were on the tour that day committed to Knox."

"My sons have gotten really good educations and they were able to play football," Cindy Paul says. "I encouraged Tyler to consider different colleges. He's been coming to Knox (to watch his brothers play) for 15 years. He knows the campus and the coaches and the field. He feels comfortable there."

As if six brothers from the same family isn't enough, this coming year will see Knox fielding a football team with three sets of brothers -- Andrew and Tyler Paul; Brock (linebacker) and Beau Gabel (defensive back); and twins Jordan (wide receiver) and Jared Zanger (defensive back).

While multiple brothers on the same college team is unusual, Tomeo says, it's more common in high school. And with Galesburg and Quincy in the same athletic conference, local high school football fans have likely seen the Paul brothers in action many times in the past twenty years -- both at Knox's Knosher Bowl and at GHS's Van Dyke Field.

Despite all that playing time, line positions don't generate much stats, and you won't find much about the Paul brothers in anybody's stat books. "The big play isn't what it's about for them," Gibbons says. "They haven't been stars. They're strong, physical linemen, with great character. All of them have been 'rocks' of our team."

Knox football players arrive on campus on Sunday, August, 16, and preseason practice begins Monday, August, 17. The first game is Saturday, September 5, against Eureka College.