Downers Grove North junior QB Owen Lansu, after breakout debut season, ready to lead team forward

Downers Grove North quarterback Owen Lansu is just a junior.

That’s bad news for area football teams, specifically on the Trojans’ 2024 schedule.

Blessed with next-level potential, Lansu blossomed into one of the top players in the West Suburban Conference last season by leading the Trojans to an historic run to a runner-up finish in Class 7A.

A year ago, Lansu was gearing up for his varsity starting debut against St. Francis. Now, after leading the Trojans to an 11-3 record, Lansu is a big name in Chicagoland football circles.

Lansu, who has nine offers, said his life has changed since last August.

“Football has definitely become more of a lifestyle for me than it was a year ago and controls most of my schedule,” Lansu said. “I gained a lot of confidence and thought I played really well down the stretch. My expectation is the end of last year to be my jumping off point at the start of this season.”

Lansu, who will be visiting Minnesota this weekend, had a season to remember in 2023. He completed 145 passes for 1,929 yards and 25 touchdowns, throwing just seven interceptions for a 56% completion rate.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder said he built up his body during the offseason and worked on his throwing.

“I focused on building up my body and gaining weight as well as improving my speed and running ability, just kind of fine-tuning the rest in terms of throwing the ball,” Lansu said. “Being an upperclassman is a little different because we don’t have the same seniors to look up to, but it’s good for us to step into bigger leadership roles for the team. I’m excited about the potential to be a captain and a more vocal leader this year.”

Lansu said he understands he has to take on a bigger role, on and off the field, this season. The Trojans suffered significant losses in personnel, namely linebacker/tight end Cael Brezina, linebacker/punter Jimmy Janicki, running back Noah Battle and wide receiver/cornerback Owen Thulin.

Lansu said the returnees – and newcomers – understand teams will be looking to knock them off this season.

“We’ve become much more bought into the program and raised the standard since last year,” Lansu said. “We demand more of ourselves and hold each other accountable. Last year’s playoff run taught us how to win big games and battle through adversity, while preparing for opponents we would otherwise not play.

“It also showed us we could go all the way with a young squad, so to have most of the same guys back this year raises the expectations to be state champs, and anything short of that for us will be disappointing.

Even without several standouts back, Lansu said he’s excited to showcase the new-look on offense.

“I like how versatile we can be with our play calls and the personnel we have to run our concepts with is super diverse,” he said. “I also like how the offense flows through me.”

Downers Grove North coach Joe Horeni built the program around his image, infusing the team with his toughness, work ethic while also reaching out to the youth community.

Horeni said last season was a perfect storm of experience, talent and work that led to a memorable journey to the Class 7A state championship game.

“Last season was a combination of a lot of things,” Horeni said. “The guys clicked at the right time. The work that our program has done to commit to the youth football and community has helped raise the level of expectations for our program. We’re very proud of last year, but that’s over with. We’re excited for week one against O’Fallon.”

Horeni said the Trojans return a strong foundation.

“I’m excited about the experience we have returning on offense,” Horeni said. “There’s potential to be successful. Lansu and the other returning starters have done a nice job of carrying the momentum from last year into this offseason.