his senior year by a metro newspaper. Holecek had his NFL jersey number 52 retired by his alma mater in 2000. Other retired Marian jerseys include Mike Prior and high school and one-season NFL teammate Rodney Harrison (San Diego Chargers). Illinois career After graduation from Marian Catholic High School (Illinois), John played for the Illinois Fighting Illini football team from 1990 to 1994. Holecek was the Illini's co-Defensive Player of the Year in his red-shirt freshman season. Holecek made the All-Big in 1993 and 1994 teams, and was also a team captain. Holecek suffered multiple ACL injuries during his Illinois career, dampening prior Butkus Award consideration. Holecek was part of the linebacker foursome that gave Illinois the nickname "Linebacker U" in the 1990s. The Foursome also featured All-American and first-round, second and third overall draft picks, Simeon Rice and Kevin Hardy, as well as, Butkus award winner Dana Howard. Illinois led the nation in total defense for most of Holecek's senior season. Illinois participated in college bowl games each of Holecek's seasons. Holecek is fifth on the Illinois career tackles list with 436 (above another Chicago area Illinois linebacker great Dick Butkus) and was twice named honorable mention All-America. Holecek graduated as a finance major (on the Dean's list) with some credits towards his master's degree. Holecek's arm-wrestling match with his childhood hero, legendary Walter Payton, was stated to be one of his greatest college football-related moments. Lou Tepper, former Illinois coach and author of "Complete Linebacking" described John's aggressive linebacker playing style as "a natural presser" and called John "a fiery leader and competitor". Tepper praised Holecek in a college pre-season magazine, stating "He will bite, chew, and claw his way to make the play. He has incredible toughness and intelligence, and that is rare combination." "I remember Holecek was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week" (November 1993 comeback win vs Minnesota) Tepper said of the least heralded of his all-star linebacker corps. "We had two future Butkus Award winners (Howard and Hardy) and Simeon Rice, who was just as good or better than two others I coached — Khalil Mack and Bruce Smith. And yet, you could make an argument that if you could just pick one guy to start your defensive with, it would be Holecek, just because of the effect he had on others." NFL career Holecek was drafted in 1995 by the