As a youngster, Kaneland senior Carter Grabowski rarely gave his name a second thought.
How many kids do?
The more he accomplishes on the football field, however, the more the two-way starter for the Knights finds himself fielding inquiries about that surname.
“I’ve been asked a decent amount of times if my grandparent played football,” Grabowski said.
That included a reporter scheduled to speak with him about Kaneland — which comes in at No. 10 in the Beacon-News/Courier-News preseason rankings — before Monday’s first practice.
Grabowski has a strong Chicago connection thanks to its large Polish population. It grew in the mid-1980s, boosted by a proclamation from coach Mike Ditka as the Bears won the Super Bowl.
Ditka told the press his players weren’t “fair-haired Smiths, they were Grabowskis,” linking them to tough, blue-collar folks with a strong work ethic often used to characterize the city’s population.
Ditka’s point of reference was Jim Grabowski, a Chicago kid who starred at fullback in college for Illinois and then for five seasons in the mid-1960s with Ditka’s archrival Green Bay Packers.
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Carter Grabowski is not related to the former NFL star, but he does have a strong work ethic that Ditka and the Chicago area admires.
Last season, Carter started at running back and safety as the young Knights (5-4) made the postseason with six sophomore starters playing a schedule featuring six playoff teams
“He’s a pretty good athlete,” Kaneland coach Mike Thorgesen said of Carter, who played right field for the baseball team. “I think he grew up a baseball kid but really likes football now, too.”
It’s become his favorite sport, according to Grabowski, who led the Knights in rushing with 140 carries for 631 yards and five touchdowns. He also caught 18 passes for 179 yards and one TD.
On defense, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Grabowski was third on the team with 61 tackles and returned one of his two interceptions for a TD. He also returned a kickoff 90 yards for another TD.
“Last year is last year, but we definitely surpassed expectations,” said Thorgesen, who recalled three straight regular-season losses to conference rivals Morris (8-5), Sycamore (11-1) and Rochelle (10-2).
The Knights also lost 14-10 last season to Class 1A state champion Belleville Althoff (14-0), which sent three players to Division I programs at Oregon, Missouri and Boston College.
“You could argue the best of all the teams we saw were in our conference,” Thorgesen said. “We had a tough time. The ceiling is raised this year for sure, but that doesn’t win you games.
“We’ve still gotta do the work. Those other teams may improve, too.”
Grabowski will have much the same role but hopes for more yards rushing, even though he will be spelled some by junior Jackson Little, who also starts at linebacker.
“I’ll play some receiver but mainly running back,” Grabowski said. “The majority of my snaps I think will be on defense. We grew up a lot last year but basically our whole team is coming back.
“We’re gonna be strong. We have a lot more weapons on offense, too.”
It starts with senior transfer Jalen Carter, a strong dual-threat quarterback who played his sophomore year at Aurora Christian and changed positions last season at Wheaton St. Francis.
“He’s an athlete back there, as mobile as we’ve had in a long time,” Thorgesen said of Jalen. “But he’s still a pure quarterback. He can make the passes, make the reads. He’s right at home.”
Grabowski thinks the passing game will be improved and looks to do more.
“I think I’m pretty versatile and can spread out and even in empty (backfield), for instance, be relied upon to catch the ball,” he said.
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It will likely be his last hurrah, athletically, though.
“It’s not at the top of my list,” he said of playing a college sport. “We’ll see.”
Quick hits
Team: Kaneland.
2024 record: 5-5.
Offensive leaders: Jake Buckley, senior, offensive line; Carter Grabowski, senior, running back; Brady Brown, senior, wide receiver; Jack Parker, senior, offensive line.
Defensive leaders: Rogan O’Neil, junior, linebacker; Jackson Slifka, junior, linebacker, Brady Alstott, senior, defensive back; Jackson Little, junior, linebacker.
X-factor: Jalen Carter, senior, quarterback.