Rowan Among Nation's Elite Kickers
Place-kicker Taylor Rowan is among the nation's elite kickers, ending his sophomore season with a career PAT mark of 89-for-89. He enters his junior campaign as the only Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) player perfect over the last two seasons.
    Active Division I Kickers (non-freshmen) Perfect on Career PATs: (stats updated at end of 2006)

•     Alex Trlica, Texas Tech, Jr. (161-161)
•     Chris James, W. Kentucky, Jr. (103-103)
•     Travis Bell, Georgia Tech, Jr. (96-96)
•     Taylor Rowan, W. Illinois, So. (89-89)
•     Bret Culbertson, Iowa State, Jr. (74-74
•     Sam Swank, Wake Forest, So. (61-61)

Freshmen, Sophomores Contribute to Starting Lineup
Freshmen accounted for just eight starts last season, but sophomores accumulated 56 starts, 34 of them on defense.
Sophomores with starting experience in 2006:
• 11 games - RB Herb Donaldson, LB Jason Williams
• 9 games - WR Carl Sims, DB Trokon Tompo, DB Robert Hodges
• 2 games - WR Paul Anderson
• 3 games - DL Chad Groenhagen
• 1 game - DB J.D. Jean - 1 game, LB Eric Lines

Improved Discipline - Leathernecks Rank 12th Nationally in Fewest Penalty Yards Allowed
After ranking eighth in the league in 2005 in average penalty yards, the Leathernecks cut down on their penalties and ranked first among Gateway teams and 12th nationally last season at 39.2 yards per game.

Patterson One of Gateway's Most Successful Coaches
Western Illinois head coach Don Patterson has earned 29 Gateway Conference victories in eight seasons with the Leathernecks, a total that ranks fourth in Gateway history and second among active coaches. He currently is tied for third place on the league's list of overall coaching wins, and has more league wins than any other coach at his current school.
 
A Win Moves Patterson into Second-Place on Western Illinois Coaching List
Patterson will enter the 2007 season needing one victory to move into second place on Western Illinois' list of winningest coaches. He is currently one game behind Ray Hanson who earned 56 wins from 1926-41 (16 years). Patterson, 55-37 in eight seasons, needs just nine victories to match Randy Ball's school record of 64 (1990-98, 9 years).

Record Versus FBS Teams
Patterson has won four games versus Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams in his tenure at Western Illinois - twice as many as Western's previous two head coaches. Patterson owns a 4-6 mark against bowl-eligible teams, while his two predecessors combined for a 2-12 record.