Ron Zook came out swinging for his weekly press briefing Tuesday, saying he didn’t want to press the panic button but indicating there are personnel changes coming on offense and defense.
The changes, Zook said, will happen immediately.
Without naming Jeff Cumberland, he is clearly the wide receiver who is in for a diminished role following his fumble and two dropped passes in the debacle against Missouri. Zook said Cordale Scott will play. He said Chris James and Fred Skyes will play.
He said Dere Hicks is losing his starting cornerback role and will become the nickel back. Trayvon Bellamy takes over as the corner.
He said changes are in the works at safety. Donsay Hardeman will apparently have a reduced role following a tough game against Missouri. Zook said two true freshmen — Walt Aikens and Terry Hawthorne — will be tried at safety and for Hawthorne it would be his second position change in a couple of weeks. Recruited as a wide receiver, he was moved to corner after Miami Thomas suffered a season-ending injury. Now Zook said they could look at him at safety, so long as he proves he can play the position at full speed.
No where did he mention Suppo Sanni, who drew rave reviews during the intrasquad scrimmage in Rantoul. He’s the guy I’d like to see.
He also said running back Mikel LeShoure and backup DB Ashante Williams will be suspended for the Illinois State game for breaking team rules. He would not elaborate.
And, we’re now getting a slightly different injury report from the mouth of Rejus Benn. He said Tuesday he does, indeed, have a high ankle sprain. Zook said Sunday it was not a high ankle sprain. Benn said he could not play if the game was Tuesday but is hopeful for playing Saturday.
I say they’d be silly to play him Saturday. If Illinois can’t beat Illinois State without Benn, this program is in worse shape than we know. And there’s a bye week after that. Play it smart with Benn and bring him back for Ohio State on Sept. 26. Let him be a sideline cheerleader this week. He couldn’t even do that last week after being injured on the third offensive play of the game. He ended up in the trainers’ room watching on TV.
On one happy note, I watched the Red Grange statue swung into place Tuesday on the west side of Memorial Stadium and it’s a beautiful 12-foot, 2,000-pound piece of bronze that will be mounted on a circular pad of concrete. It’s going to be spectacular and if you’re going to the game this week (or any game this season), stop by and check it out. It’s beautifully done.
A $500,000 anonymous donation made it possible. I think the front of the stadium would look perfect with three statues. The second should definitley be Dick Butkus, who with Grange is the only other player to have his number retired.
My question is this: Who is most deserving of being the third statue? I know you’ll have some suggestions.
September 8th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
How about Mel Brewer for the 3rd? He really made honest men out of us. The bastard!
September 9th, 2009 at 1:57 am
Hey Mark - How about this for a shakeup, Juice is not a ball control type of quarterback - why doesn’t Ron try Jacob Charest, especially after nearly no offense in three quarters…
September 9th, 2009 at 5:44 am
I really enjoy your columns and blogs. I live in New York and this is my main point of contact with Illinois sports.
Zook is clearly not going to lead Illinois football out of the wilderness. His game day coaching is just impossibly inept. And, despite his reputation as a recruiter, his ability to evaluate and develop players who can actually deliver on the college level is beginning to look suspect.
It would be interesting to read your opinion on this subject: Can any coach bring some life to Illinois football? Or is there something about Illinois that consigns it to life in the second division of the Big Ten? Over the past decade Northwestern has produced better football teams than Illinois! I can remember when Northwestern was thought to be a basket case.
What are the reasons for this consistent failure at Illinois? Doesn’t seem to matter who’s coach. Is there something about Champaign-Urbana that is unattractive? Is Illinois high school football inferior? Could it be that the history of mediocrity and failure just cannot be overcome?
My nomination for the third statute would be J.C. Caroline. Interesting that no player in the post 1970 era is of the stature of Butkus, Grange and Caroline.
September 9th, 2009 at 7:21 am
ESPN.com story today about top recruiters lists Reggie Mitchell - would be a good list to look for possible replacements if the year doesn’t get any better: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/news/story?id=4452262
September 9th, 2009 at 7:22 am
Excuse me while I throw in a quick informational thing about an Illini bball player. Freshman J. Bertrand injured his right knee Monday & will have it scoped on Friday. Since it’s not major surgery, maybe he’ll make a full recovery rather quickly. Please keep us informed about this, Mark.
September 9th, 2009 at 7:34 am
There are no other players in the category of Butkus and Grange. Don’t water it down.
I agree with venfil on QB position. Probably a game or two early, but it should happen.
Too bad about Leshore. He turned in a credible performance amid that disaster Saturday.
September 9th, 2009 at 7:48 am
The athletic dept. is the first to blame. The biggest problem is the Alumni association and booster clubs for not open their month filled wallets and get out there and find a good coach that will cost them some money. Some assistants at Florida make more than Zook. As I said in my last blog when you’re cheap, you get a cheap product. Ron Guenther complains that the funds are less than most of the colleges in the Big Ten, why is this? There are some very rich alumni that could help the program a lot. The Boosters need to get out and raise more money to get Illinois equal to some of the other Big Ten teams. Another big problem is the talent in Midwest is so much less than the talent in the South. Illinois has to battle some big name schools with big name coaches for this talent and when your program is down like Illinois program it makes it harder to get a big name recruit. My belief the biggest problem at Illinois is the lack of funds to have a competitive program. You have to spend money to put out a respectful program. The Athletic dept. and boosters aren’t willing to do this.
September 9th, 2009 at 8:58 am
After Butkus, I would say that #3 would have to go to Howard Griffith. He holds the NCAA record of most touchdowns in a game with 8. Amazing. It’s going to be hard for anyone to beat that record. Not to mention his 2 Super Bowl rings.
*
UI Luke- If Juice is the bright spot then it just shows how bad this team really is. Like I said from day one, you can’t teach accuracy. His best asset is running with the ball and that’s not what you want in a QB. Zook is too loyal to Juice. He won’t pull him. The one time that Zook gave McGee some time to play, he did really well. What does throwing him in for 2 plays do in any quarterback’s development? Don’t settle for being average. Zook and Juice are all hype and overrated. Don’t get me wrong, I love Juice’s fire. He has a strong arm, but struggles with accuracy and reading through progressions. Not good. If this team is 1-4, then it’s time to give the other QB’s a shot.
*
Shouting Thomas- We have a history of sticking with bad coaches way too long. Ron Turner and Ron Zook were the big name hires, but were both guys who had not won much. We will never compete with USC, OSU, Alabama, etc. We don’t have that type of booster money coming in to the program. But we also don’t need to have top talent to win either. Look at schools like Northwestern, Minnesota, Boise State, etc. Who wants to go to any of those schools, but they get talent and win? We need a real football coach. An X and O coach who also knows how to develop talent.
September 9th, 2009 at 9:01 am
The 3rd statue? No brainer. Mr Illini himself - Coach Ray Eliot
September 9th, 2009 at 9:46 am
As to the promised changes, I’m not holding my breath… Zook & Co. have fooled me enough; I’m not buying into his “we’ll get back to the board to determine what went wrong and make adjustments” BS. What went wrong is that Zook is probably the worst HC in D1, plain and simple. Actually, I’m not sure that he won’t get outcoached by most HS coaches in the state. I think we should cut our losses and get rid of Zook while there is still some talent on the team (it won’t take long before kids realize the futility of coming here) so that the next coach, if it is a good hire may actually win with this talent, and who knows, may be this would get the ball rolling out of this perpetual cycle of mediocrity.
========
As to the third statute, I’m surprised (and disappointed) that no one has mentioned Ray Nitchke as a candidate… I mean I do realize he played for the hated Packers, but very few players in the game were as tough and driven as Nitchke was
September 9th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Brooks & Gator-Juice completed 64%, and like I said, if you factor in the 3 drops that I remember that would be 75%-the same % as Gabbert (who so many on here think did amazing). I’m pretty sure accuracy can be taught up to a certain point as well (not that Zook has done it).
*
You guys may be right about the decision making, but until I see a wider variety of plays, I have a hard time going that route. I’m of the opinion Juice took what was given (not much), and when he threw down field, it got intercepted (not his fault) or fumbled. And I also thought the play-calling was atrocious and did not allow Juice to do much more.
*
Maybe mikey can help, Mikey- how open were the receivers down field? Were there any receivers down field?
*
Brooks-I don’t understand your support of McGee. He really hasn’t been that good. Maybe 1 game, I say put in Charest or Scheelchase if anybody.
September 9th, 2009 at 10:50 am
J.C. Caroline
September 9th, 2009 at 10:53 am
The only shake-up that will fix this mess is one that includes saying “Bye-bye” to Ron Zook and Ron Guenther. The “Rons” have to go!
September 9th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Brooks, what has Minn won? Don’t tell me your back supporting Brewster? Past 30 years they’ve had 6 coaches and only one with a winning record (Mason 64-57). Brewster dropped 5 straight to close the season and 3 of the 5 were major blowouts. Yea they got lucky last wk and beat powerhouse Syracuse in OT with a QB who hasn’t played a down in 5 years.
+++
Sure NW wins - we’d win too with this type of monumental non-con schedule: Townson, E. Michigan, Syracuse, Miami-OH. They’re under .500 over the past 10 years as well - so they dont’ win anything either.
September 9th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Follow-up on Gator’s post: Carroll, Weis, Meyer, Saban, Stoops, Miles all make over 4x what Zook does. Tressel, Ferenetz, Brown, Petrino, Richt all make 3x. Rodriguez, Bowden, Pinkel, Nutt, Mangino, Johnson, Schiano, Gundy and 5 other’s all make 2x. - #’s from Sports Business Journal.
September 9th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Good pick Archie. I’d forgotten about Nitchke. Excellent.
September 9th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Nitchke would be a good pick so would JC Caroline. I would be happy with either one. Grange, Butkus and maybe a coach would be good to. Also, they should have a grave stone for the Moeller, Tepper, Turner and Zook the last 4 coach’s that have torn down any good history The University of Illinois program has ever had, just kidding.
September 9th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
How about building a team with good defense and hire a coach with a defensive backgroud. I suggest Charley Strong the defensive coordinator from Florida. He would have to take a pay, if they pay him like they do Zook.
September 9th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
We had a tremendous defensive coach. Name was Tepper. We fired him.
September 9th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Third statue - Zuppke
September 9th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Did Supo Sanni play poorly Saturday? I didn’t see him in the game. Two weeks ago he leads the team in practice in the scrimmage, Zook is saying he runs like a deer and that he is going to be a good player and now they have two Freshmen playing in front of him. Does anyone understand what happened?
September 9th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
If you are going to pick a coach it would have to be Zuppke.
I don’t think there are any past players on par with Grange and Butkus.
September 9th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
I agree with Archie - Ray Nitschke for the 3rd statue - Great college player and NFL Hall of Famer like Butkus and Grange and arguably the meanest of the three on the field. Enough said. The only question is whether or not to include his front teeth in the statue!
September 9th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
I nominate Buddy Young
September 9th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
I vote for Nitchke.
I also give credit to Zook for shaking things up. It was needed. Now we have to see if the shake up has a positive effect.
September 9th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
UI Luke - Thats my point. Have they ever heard of the “fly” pattern. You just take off sprinting and throw the bomb. No, they were not down field because they never had anyone run down field like that. At least it would have loosened up the corners.
*
Third Statue - Dana Howard. Butkus Award winner and doesn’t he still hold the record for most career tackles in Big Ten history? Why they have not tried to make him linebackers coach is beyond me. Besides, he is on the sidelines next to the Illini bench hollering encouragement every game. The other names mentioned are no slouches for sure. Does it have to be a 3 statue limit?
September 9th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
The third statue HAS to be Nitschke. If you don’t believe me, read this excerpt I found about how he lost his 4 front teeth:
“Ray could take the punishment as well.
He once stayed in a game after breaking his arm, only to be rewarded with a broken nose the same 60 minutes.
One season a constant cut from the center of his forehead caused blood to drip down over his face the entire game. The opposing quarterback would look across and see the menacing Nitschke, blood mixed with dirt and grass hauntingly behind his facemask.
While at the University of Illinois, his team squared off against Ohio State. You could play without a facemask and demonstrate your toughness. In this case, a guard took out his four front teeth on a kickoff. Ray describes it like this, “During a timeout, somebody shoved a wad of cotton in my mouth and I went on with the game, spitting blood all over the field.”
How can you not pick Nitschke? Great question Mark.
September 10th, 2009 at 3:08 am
Gator suggests that the football talent in the south is greater than the Midwest. A friend sent me the minutes of a school board meeting from a high school in Georgia which showed that the football team had been a allocated $500,000 budget (mostly booster money) for the year, including the building of a six figure projection studio to be used for the analysis of game film. crk
September 10th, 2009 at 11:37 am
I guess it is kind of telling whenZuppke is the only coach in the history of the football program who would merit enshrinement. If Illinois is ever going to compete with the elite programs in the country would need a coach who is capable of building a tradition. As I suggested in a previous post 7 bowl games in 70 years is not much of a tradition for any coach to build on. crk
September 10th, 2009 at 11:48 am
After Nitchke, I’d go for honorable mention: George Halas.
In this crowd (small though it may be) you better not show up unless you are already in Canton.
September 10th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Definitely J.C. Caroline for the 3rd statue.
September 11th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Played golf today with a friend whose son has a friend on the Illini football team. Word from the player was there’s so much infighting & turmoil on the team, he’ll be surprised if they last the season. Doesn’t say much for the coaching staff.
September 11th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I disagree with Zook’s replacements. I agree with one of you that Leshore looked good, better than Ford last year in most games. I have no idea why Sykes is on the field. I think Jenkins is a star in the making and I blame his drop for int on Juice for throwing the ball too hard late over the middle. And yes where are Sanni and other decent big name recruits? I would love to see McGee or Charest get a whole half against ISU. We are about at theend of the Juice-a-thon and I am so pleased!!!!
September 12th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
The WSOY announcer is going to have a sore throat from saying Touch Down Illinois! when this farce is over. ISU couldn’t beat a good HS team.