After winning only three games last season, it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe Illinois head coach Ron Zook is feeling the pressure.
But if he is on the hot seat, it’s news to him.
The Illini head coach said he’s more relaxed than ever heading into the 2010 season. After finishing 3-9 last year, he said, the players and coaches feel as if they have something to prove.
“It’s kind of like the attitude we had a couple of years [ago] when we were fortunate enough to go to the Rose Bowl,” he said earlier this month at the Big Ten media days in Chicago. “I think on paper we’re probably every bit, if not better, a football team than we were that year.”
Knowing that a three-win campaign is unacceptable, Zook decided to overhaul his staff, firing six of his assistant coaches in an attempt to turn the program around.
While the Illini hope newly hired offensive and defensive coordinators Paul Petrino and Vic Koenning will be able to remedy last season’s problems, it might take a miracle to repeat the program’s 2007 run to Pasadena.
Illinois was last in the Big Ten in total defense in 2009, allowing 403.2 yards and 30.2 points per game. Plus, the team no longer has four-year starter Juice Williams at quarterback or wide receiver Arrelious Benn to guide the offense.
Despite last year’s poor showing, defensive lineman Clay Nurse isn’t hanging his head. The honorable mention All-Big Ten player said the key is to forget about the past and focus on winning games.
“We’re only going to accept one type of player on this team — someone who wants to win,” said Nurse, who led the Illini with 10.5 tackles for loss last season.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase will take over an offense that returns five starters from ’09.
Former backup quarterback Eddie McGee is now a full-time wide receiver. He has played wideout briefly in the past for the Illini, recording 10 receptions in his collegiate career.
The new offensive scheme under Petrino is “a lot different,” McGee said, noting that while the Illini will still run the option, it isn’t a main focus anymore.
“Change is good,” he said. “We had a very productive spring. We’re working extremely hard. We have a lot of great athletes. Anytime you have all of these aspects, you have to get excited.”
Without Williams, the offense’s strength lies in its running game. The squad returns its top two rushers from last season, Mikel LeShoure and Jason Ford. LeShoure ran for career-high 184 yards in the final game of the season against Fresno State.
He closed out the 2009 campaign with 734 yards, five touchdowns, and honorable mention All-Big Ten honors.
The struggling defense should also get a boost with the return of Martez Wilson. The junior linebacker was third on the team in tackles (73) in 2008, but a neck injury suffered in last year’s season-opener forced him to miss the rest of the 2009 campaign.
Though Zook is relaxed, there is definite pressure to perform. Now in his sixth season as head coach, he has managed only one winning campaign. And this season, Illinois faces eight of the nine teams it lost to last year.
With another season like 2009, Zook could be combing the classifieds for work.
“We have to go out there and play,” McGee said. “It’s on us as players to go out there and make plays, and I’m confident that we’re going to do that.”