Terry O’Shea: “I also had the locker next to Tunch Ilkin. He was a 100% quality individual. You didn’t have to go to dinner with him – you could just watch how he lived and learn from it. What do they say – you live the gospel every day and preach it only when necessary. That was Tunch.”
Craig Wolfley: “A good example. Tunch was the backup center – and remember, in practices there were no names on the back of the jerseys. Well we’re in film study and Dotsch is going on and on about how horrible Ilkin looked playing center – hand was too slow, etc. He’s just tearing in to him and Webster’s giggling as Ilkin’s sweating bullets.
It’s because it wasn’t Tunch – it was Webster on film. But Dotsch couldn’t tell. Ilkin creeps up to Webster and asks him to tell the coach it was him. Webster finally does and Dotsch just stops and moves on to the next player. Doesn’t say anything further about Webster.”
Leon Searcy: “Tunch Ilkin was in front of me I was on the bench so I sponged off of him. I watched all he did to prepare – his training, including the martial arts work, his slide, hand technique, the way he watched film. As a rookie, I knew I wanted to do what he did that allowed him to play for thirteen years. If I wanted that kind of longevity, I knew I had to be an apprentice and watch and copy him”
Ron Blackledge: “At the end of every year I sit down with each player and ask them how I can help them better. Ilkin looked at me at just said “Coach, if you just play me at one position I could be really good.” Here I was thinking I was doing good by moving him around. The next year he was an All-Pro right tackle. I wouldn’t have thought about not moving him if he didn’t tell me.”
Tom Moore: “I think a great story is Tunch Ilkin. We let Tunch go and he was working somewhere in Chicago when we called hm back. The rest is history. He turned out to be a folk hero in Pittsburgh and made the Pro Bowl. He did that through a lot of hard work with the offensive line coaches.”
Mark Kirchner: “Tunch Ilkin was also a strong mentor too. All the guys were helpful – but he and Ted Peterson were helpful was well – both were tackles and were willing to help”
Tom Myslinski: “It just so happens that the coach and mentor that had the greatest impact on me, I never played for. His name is Tunch Ilkin. Tunch took me under his wing and taught me how to be a man and play the game.”
Pete Rostosky: “Another great friend who taught me so much about the quick-punch technique in pass blocking was Tunch Ilkin.”
Ariel Solomon: ” Tunch Ilkin was a fantastic player and a great mentor to me. He worked with me on techniques almost every day, showed me how to study film and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each opponent.”
Delton Hall: “Tunch and I had a big fight in my first days of camp. I didn’t know he was the captain then. But the relationship grew as the season progressed.”
Daryl Sims: “Tunch Ilkin. He had great hands. He was very accurate with punching defenders in the chest and negating their rush.”
