Hartwell a terror at Western Illinois

     By W.G. Ramirez
     View staff writer
      As a senior in high school, pranks against freshmen come a dime a dozen.
      But in 1995, at Cheyenne, an isolated incident not only left one freshman dejected, but also dejected a senior.
      After helping shove a ninth-grader into a locker, then-senior Eddie Hartwell felt so bad when he heard the student was slightly injured, he turned himself in to the school's athletic administrator Pat Hayden and called the freshman's parents to apologize.
      "He came to us in tears, he was right up front and very upset that it happened," Hayden said. "He was always more concerned about everyone else than himself."
      Three years later, and now a third-year college student at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill., nothing has changed.
      Hartwell isn't shoving college freshmen around, but he is still the gentle giant he portrayed at Cheyenne for four years.
      That's off the field.
      On the gridiron, drop the "gentle" and nothing has changed either.
      Still terrorizing offensive players, the 6-foot-2, 230-pound bruising linebacker has become a key member of the Leathernecks' defensive unit.
      "Eddie is the type of guy who gives you everything you want as a student-athlete," said Western Illinois coach Randy Ball. "He is a guy who understands what it takes to be successful. His parents have done a tremendous job of raising him. He understands work ethic and it is a real tribute to his parents."
      Through the ninth week of the season, Hartwell was the team's second-leading tackler with 114.
      The 1995 Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year was also second with 58 solo tackles, had five tackles for a loss of yards, one sack and a pair of forced fumbles.
      Since graduating from Cheyenne, the road to happiness in the college ranks hasn't exactly been a smooth one for Hartwell, who originally played at the University of Wisconsin.
      A shoulder injury during his freshman season compelled Hartwell to petition for a medical redshirt, which he received. In his second season with the Badgers, he saw action in all 13 games, primarily on special teams.
      Minor surgery on his thigh limited his offseason training, and he felt his relationship with the coaching staff had been strained.
      "I felt they looked at me differently since the injury, but I still tried to stick it out over spring ball and felt I did pretty good," Hartwell said. "Statistically, I felt I had done a lot better than some of the other linebackers."
      But after meeting with one of his defensive coaches, Hartwell was told that if the Badgers had a game the next day, he wouldn't start.
      "From that point," he said, "I decided it was time to leave."
      Western Illinois had already been the recipient of several other Wisconsin-transfers, and the coaching staff was informed Hartwell was looking to relocate.
      "When Ed called, I asked (running backs coach) Curt (Strasheim), and he said `Coach, he is a great player,' " Ball said. "We found out he was No. 2 on (Wisconsin's) depth chart, which to us was very appealing."
      Strasheim joined the Leatherneck staff after coaching at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where he served as offensive coordinator for three seasons, and was familiar with the Badgers.
      "When he decided he wanted to transfer, he took a visit and made sure it was a good fit," Ball said. "When he came down, it was an immediate fit. He is a super young man, a great person and is a super football player."
      Hartwell said the visit did more than open his eyes to the small-town atmosphere of Macomb, with a population of 20,000.
      "I got a chance to meet the staff and the coaches up here and, truthfully, they reminded me of the coaching staff at Cheyenne," he said. "They were coaches on the field, and people off the field. It felt warming to come here and that was the main reason I came here."
      Said Cheyenne coach George Perry: "It's not big time, but it's big enough for him. He's a student and his bottom line is football is great, but education is better."
      The school's coaching staff is not the only thing that has made him feel at home, as many of the players have established relationships.
      Their closeness, Hartwell said, can be attributed to their national ranking of No. 2 in Division I-AA football.
      "It's just like Cheyenne," he said. "No matter who you were, everyone was a big family. We were just so tight. Business was business, but you could still go talk to the coaches if you needed and we could talk to each other ... that's exactly how this football team is."
      After graduating, which he is scheduled to do following his redshirt-junior season, Hartwell said he will spend his fifth year pursuing a double-major or will begin working toward his masters.
      Hartwell admitted he has aspirations of playing in the National Football League but he has long-term goals of returning to the valley as a high school counselor.
      "I want to play for the NFL ... it would be great," he said. "(But) I'd like to get back to a society filled with students and be someone they could look up to and rely on. I'd like to help student-athletes get where they want to go, on and off the field.
      "Even if I get that shot (in the NFL) and they decide I'm not good enough, I'd know I would have accomplished my dream. You can't ask for more that.