For Naperville Central’s Nathan Monken, football is family. ‘Like it runs through my blood and veins.’

Naperville Central senior cornerback Nathan Monken was destined to be a football player.

Just about every male in Monken’s family has played the sport, and 13 of them have coached it.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s almost like it runs through my blood and veins.”

Monken started playing football much earlier than most kids do.

“My first memory is kindergarten,” he said. “I played for the St. Raphael Rams, so super early I was put into tackle football, and I’ve loved it ever since.”

The Monken name is synonymous with high school football in Illinois. His grandfather, Bill Monken, who died Sept. 24 at age 81, was the first in a long line of football coaches, working in Charleston, and is in the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Bill Monken’s son Matt is Nathan Monken’s father. That’s only one part of the family tree.

“My dad has 18 cousins, and he’s the youngest,” Nathan Monken said. “Most of them played or coached football.”

Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken looks on before a game against the Houston Texans in Baltimore on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. (Nick Wass/AP)

The most famous is Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken. He’s the only one who didn’t coach high school football, having started his career at the college level.

Todd Monken is a cousin of Army coach Jeff Monken, who graduated from Joliet Central, and the older brother of Ted Monken, who was the first coach at Metea Valley and also led programs at St. Charles East and West Chicago. They are all cousins of Matt Monken.

Other relatives include Tony Monken, who was the first coach at Vernon Hills, and Bob Monken, who was the coach at Lake Park for 30 years.

Nathan Monken was thrilled to be able to attend a scrimmage between the Cleveland Browns and Washington Commanders a few years ago when Todd Monken coached for the Browns.

But Nathan Monken is closest with his father, who was the coach at York.

“We sit down and watch film and talk it out, break it down,” Nathan Monken said. “I just can’t ask for anything else. It’s the best.”

Matt Monken was the offensive coordinator at Bolingbrook when the team won the Class 8A state championship in 2011. The Raiders beat Naperville Central 22-19 in the semifinals. Mike Ulreich was the Redhawks’ defensive coordinator at the time and since then has become the head coach.

“I was at that game,” Nathan Monken said. “When (Matt) was at Bolingbrook and York, I was the ball boy. I was in the newspaper when I was like 7 years old. I have (the article) hanging in my room. It was the best thing ever.”

Matt Monken is not coaching these days. That gives him more time to watch Nathan, who is in his first season as a varsity starter.

Naperville Central’s Nathan Monken (22) breaks up a pass to Neuqua Valley’s Miles Miskel during a DuPage Valley Conference game in Naperville on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. (Steve Johnston/Naperville Sun)

“(Nathan) is one of those great examples of a program kid,” Ulreich said. “He played a lot as a freshman and sophomore and last year kind of had to bide his time. We had a pretty talented group in the secondary.

“In the crosstown game, our starting running back went down, and we had to play one of our corners at running back, so we had to throw Monk right into the game against a really talented offense.”

The 5-foot-9, 160-pound Nathan Monken shined in the latest game against crosstown rival Naperville North. He had five tackles and broke up two passes, one in the end zone, intended for star receiver Luke Williams in the Redhawks’ 21-14 victory at North Central College on Friday.

That impressed Naperville Central junior cornerback Nick Zbylut, who made a game-clinching interception.

“Monk is definitely a team player,” Zbylut said. “He’s fast, he breaks on the ball really well and he’s not afraid to lay a hit on someone.”

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But Nathan Monken is not one to brag about his family history.

“It’d be cool to know,” Zbylut said. “He talks about it, but he doesn’t really go into detail.”

Perhaps that’s because Nathan Monken is comfortable just being one of the guys. That humble approach is appreciated by Ulreich, who said coaches’ kids like Nathan Monken and junior twins Daniel and Aaron Nussbaum are usually a delight to have as players.

“Monk certainly is a coachable kid,” Ulreich said. “He’s a kid who’s got a lot of football intelligence to him. It means a ton to him. I think that’s the best part.”

Naperville Central’s Nathan Monken looks to make a play against Naperville North during a DuPage Valley Conference game in Naperville on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. (Jon Langham/Naperville Sun)

This will be the final season of football for Nathan Monken. He is cherishing every moment.

“My favorite thing about football is being here with my friends,” he said. “They’re my brothers, and playing the game with them, I just love it so much.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.