A former Knox College quarterback who still holds several records at the position at his alma mater has taken the next step in his coaching career.
Todd Monken '89, who was inducted into the Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998 after outstanding careers in both football and baseball at Knox, is the new head football coach at the University of Southern Mississippi. The job is Monken’s first as a head coach. He’s spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State University.
The Cowboys’ offense is averaging nearly 45 points per game as the team prepares to play Purdue in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on January 1. Monken, according to the Oklahoman newspaper, will not be on the Oklahoma State sidelines during the bowl game. He was introduced as the new Southern Miss head football coach at a press conference on December 11 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The Golden Eagles lost all 12 games in 2012, the worst season in school history.
Monken, who reportedly signed a four-year contract, is getting to work at Southern Miss immediately. He takes over for Ellis Johnson, who the school let go following the disappointing season. The Golden Eagles just one year ago won 12 games and the Conference USA championship, posted a victory in the Hawaii Bowl, and were ranked among the nation’s top 25 teams.
Monken hopes to bring the offensive success he had at Oklahoma State this season to Southern Mississippi. The Cowboys average 44.7 points per game (#4 in the nation), 548.9 total yards (#5), and 333.4 passing yards (#7).
Offensive prowess is in Monken's blood. The Wheaton, Illinois native was an All Midwest Conference First-Team South Division selection at quarterback his senior season at Knox College in 1988 and was also named to the Pizza Hut Division III All-America Football Team that year. The 1988 squad, coached by Randy Oberembt, a 2002 Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, finished fourth in NCAA Division III in passing offense with an average of 275.3 yards per game.
Monken's sensational senior season included record-breaking numbers of 218 pass completions, 358 attempts, 2400 yards, 23 touchdowns and a 60.9 percent completion percentage. He led the nation in yards, completions, and attempts while finishing second in touchdown passes.
More than 20 years after Monken guided Knox on the gridiron, his name is still attached to several all-time passing marks. Monken owns or shares nine Knox College records as a quarterback and remains among the top 10 leaders in several categories in Midwest Conference history.
Monken’s Knox football records are pass attempts in a game (64 against Illinois College in 1988), completions in a game (41 against Cornell College in 1988), most touchdown passes in a game (5 against Beloit College in 1988 -- shares with five others, including junior quarterback Drew Diaz), touchdown passes in a season (23 in 1988), most games over 300 yards passing in a season (4 in 1988, a record he shares with Bob Monroe who also had 4 in both 1985 and 1986), highest completion percentage in a game (30-of-36 passing for 83.3% against Beloit College in 1988), highest completion percentage in a season (60.9% in 1988), highest completion percentage in a career (57.8% 1986-88), and best passer efficiency rating in a career (130.37 1986-88).
Monken's 41 pass completions in 1988 against Cornell ranks in a tie for #2 all-time in Midwest Conference history in that category. The 462-yard passing game he had against Cornell is #8 in MWC history. Monken also ranks among the all-time top 10 in the conference for pass attempts in a game (tied for #5 with 64 against Illinois College in 1988, tied for #7 with 62 against Cornell College in 1988), completion percentage in a game (tied for #7 with 83.3% against Beloit College in 1988) and completion percentage in a career (#8, 57.8% between 1986-88).
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