Former NCAA rushing leader Mark Kellar, an NIU football legend, dies at age 71
Before there was Garrett Wolfe, before Michael Turner, even before LeShon Johnson and Adam Dach and current coach Thomas Hammock, it was Mark Kellar that made Northern Illinois University one of the best running teams in college football.
Kellar, who led the nation in rushing with 1,719 yards for the Huskies 50 years ago, died peacefully at age 71 last week in Minneapolis. He is survived by three daughters.
Before the Huskies became famous for halfbacks like Wolfe, the fullback was the star runner for NIU. Wolfe led the nation in rushing in 2006, Johnson did the same in 1993 and Turner was an NFL All-Pro and the Atlanta Falcons’ No. 2 all-time leading rusher. And Kellar was an even bigger star than Byron grad Dach, who led the way as NIU led the nation in rushing as a team in 1990 with an average of 344.6 yards.
Kellar finished his NIU career with what at the time were school records of 3,745 rushing yards, 33 touchdowns and 20 games of 100 yards or more.
Kellar settled in Minnesota after being drafted by the Vikings in the sixth round in 1974. He was also drafted in the seventh round by the Chicago Fire of the now-defunct World Football League that year. Kellar originally chose the WFL, playing two seasons with the Chicago Fire, Chicago Winds (who folded in mid-season) and San Antonio Wings. He had over 1,000 total yards his first season, with 778 yards rushing and 342 yards and six touchdowns receiving.
Kellar then signed with the Vikings, where he played in 33 games in the NFL from 1976 to 1978 before retiring.
More: Rockford tennis player turned pickleball star 1 of NIU's 50 greatest women athletes
The 6-foot, 232-pound Kellar remains to this day the leading rusher for a fullback in NIU history. NIU retired Kellar’s No. 31 jersey at the end of his senior season. He was a three-sport all-conference pick in high school at Carpentersville Dundee-Crown and known as the “Carpentersville Cruncher” and “Baby Bull” for his physical running style, which was often compared to a runaway train.
Kellar was named one of NIU’s five best players of the 20th century. He also finished sixth in the nation in rushing as a junior with 1,316 yards and had 710 yards as a sophomore. He was named NIU’s co-MVP all three seasons, played in the North-Shrine game as a senior and set a then-school record with 246 yards against Illinois State in 1973.
His younger brother, Scott Kellar, was also named to the All-Century team at NIU and played two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts after being a fifth-round draft pick.
Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Former NCAA rushing leader Mark Kellar of NIU dies at age 71
