Two years ago, Martin O’Donnell ranked among the top football recruits in the country. He earned Parade All-American honors and was named top offensive lineman in the United States. As a high school senior, O’Donnell was named West Suburban Gold conference Player of the Year and was chosen as all-state for the second year.

Yet two years later, the offensive lineman expected to spend most of his first season of NCAA eligibility warming the bench as a backup to senior offensive guard Bryan Koch. But when Koch tore his ACL and MCL in the Illini’s season opener against Florida A&M;, O’Donnell was prepared to step back into the spotlight.

“He came in wide-eyed and ready to get out there,” senior and fellow offensive lineman Duke Preston said. “Instead of looking like he didn’t know what was going on, he was ready, and that was a big plus.”

O’Donnell logged a lot more experience Saturday, when he assumed Koch’s starting role.

“He was a little shaky early, but as the game went on he settled down and played really well,” head coach Ron Turner said. “Early he saw some things and maybe didn’t trust his technique quite as well as he should have; maybe he was trying to do too much. But he settled down and played really well after the first 10-15 minutes.”

O’Donnell was not as happy with his play but admits that he still has room to grow.

“I was pretty disappointed with the way I played, but I’ve just got to learn from it and come back next week,” O’Donnell said. “It’s just a learning experience. I need to learn and get better from it.”

Preston said O’Donnell has been putting in the effort necessary to bring his skill up to first-string since Camp Rantoul, and the work has paid off.

“Being a redshirt freshman, it can be a little bit overwhelming, and he’s doing a good job handling it,” Preston said. “I think he’s really put a lot of time in – put in the work up till now – to be ready when his time came and his number got called.”

O’Donnell agreed the game is more challenging when played with the first string.

“It’s definitely just a whole different level of focus,” O’Donnell said. “It’s a lot more intense.”

Recruiting classmate JJ Simmons has been a complement to O’Donnell on the offensive line, as the two have been working out their kinks together.

“They both on that left side gave up some breakdowns early in the game, and as the game went on got a little better,” Turner said after Saturday’s loss to UCLA. “They made a couple mistakes towards the end as far as communication, which is going to happen. They’ll continue to get better … you’ve got two inexperienced players, but overall I think they’ve done a good job.”

Illinois’ offense lost a key leader when Koch was injured, but senior offensive lineman Bucky Babcock said O’Donnell has worked to fill his predecessor’s cleats.

“(Koch) was a great leader for our offensive line, and obviously a great player and that was a really tough loss for us,” Babcock said. “But Martin stepped in there and he did a great job.”

Preston said O’Donnell’s quick thinking and knowledge of the game help him put his best game on the field.

“He’s really smart and really aggressive, so that’s the biggest thing,” Preston said. “You can be the best technical, smart, strong football player in the world, but if you don’t understand our offense, you don’t understand what you’re doing, you can’t allow yourself to play fast and play the way you’re capable of. I think his ability to grasp the offense and know what he’s doing and know his assignments has let him take that natural ability to the next level.”