Illinois Fighting Illini
Preview 2007
By
Pete Fiutak
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2007 Illinois Offense Preview |
2007 Illinois Defense Preview
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2007 Illinois Depth Chart
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2006 CFN Illinois Preview
Well, we know Ron Zook can recruit (the 2006 Florida Gators proved
that), but can he maximize the full potential of his players? More
to the point, can the guy actually coach, or is he just a great
salesman (Mack Brown-lite)? For Illini fans starving for a winning
football program, it’s time to turn a corner.
Zook is slowly upgrading the talent level with the speed and
athleticism that will finally bring Illinois up to Big Ten snuff,
and now the talent has to pay off in victories. The Illini won just
four games in the last two years, finishing both seasons with awful
losing streaks. The off-seasons haven’t been fun after dropping the
final nine games in 2005 and the last seven of last year.
Head coach: Ron Zook
3rd year: 4-19
6th year overall: 27-33
Returning Lettermen:
Off. 20, Def. 21, ST 4
Lettermen Lost: 14 |
Ten
Best Illinois Players
1. LB J Leman, Sr.
2. QB Juice Williams, Soph.
3. DT Chris Norwell, Sr.
4. DE Derek Walker, Jr.
5. RB Rashard Mendenhall, Jr.
6. WR Arrelious Benn, Fr.
7. LB Martrez Wilson, Fr.
8. OT Akim Millington, Sr.
9. DE D'Angelo McCray, Fr.
10. CB Vontae Davis, Soph. |
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2007 Schedule
CFN Prediction:
5-7 |
|
Sept. 1 |
Missouri
(St. Louis) |
|
Sept. 8 |
Western Illinois |
|
Sept. 15 |
at
Syracuse |
|
Sept. 22 |
at Indiana |
|
Sept. 29 |
Penn
State |
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Oct.
6 |
Wisconsin |
|
Oct.
13 |
at
Iowa |
|
Oct.
20 |
Michigan |
|
Oct.
27 |
Ball State |
|
Nov.
3 |
at Minnesota |
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Nov.
10 |
at
Ohio State |
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Nov.
17 |
Northwestern |
|
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2006
Schedule
CFN
Prediction:
5-7
2006 Record: 2-10
Preview
2006 predicted wins
|
| 9/2 |
Eastern Illinois
W 42-17 |
| 9/9 |
at Rutgers L 33-0 |
| 9/16 |
Syracuse
L 31-21 |
| 9/23 |
Iowa L 24-7 |
|
9/30 |
at Michigan St W 23-20 |
| 10/7 |
Indiana
L 34-32 |
| 10/14 |
Ohio
L 20-17 |
| 10/21 |
at Penn State L 26-12 |
| 10/28 |
at Wisconsin L 30-24 |
| 11/4 |
Ohio State L 17-10 |
| 11/11 |
Purdue L 42-31 |
| 11/18 |
at Nwestern
L 27-16 |
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Consider 2006 a stepping stone to bigger things, after this young
team full of underclassmen played like it didn’t know how to win.
Four of the losses were by six points or less, including
back-to-back battles with heavyweights Wisconsin and Ohio State.
Time and again the team had a win in its grasp, needing a big play
at the right time to turn the momentum in its favor, only to see
something go wrong. You can blame inexperience for those problems,
but it won’t wash for too much longer.
Zook got a bit of a national hug after the Gators blew out Ohio
State, and he’s as relentless a pitchman as there is on the
recruiting trail, but if he doesn’t start producing, he might be
building yet another foundation for another coach to come in and
capitalize on.
While the league is improved this season and just about everyone
will mentally circle Illinois as a win, this could be a dangerous
team for anyone looking ahead. Progress was made last year. Now
there should be a few more wins to show for it.
What to watch for on offense: The improvement of QB Isiah
“Juice” Williams. A tremendous talent with 6-2, 220-pound size and
excellent mobility, Williams has the type of moxie you want in a
quarterback. Unfortunately, last season he couldn’t hit water if he
was standing at the bottom of Lake Michigan, completing 39% of his
passes to lead the Illini to dead last nationally in passing
efficiency. The receivers are in place to do some damage. Now
Williams has to get them the ball.
What to watch for on defense: Despite having some great
talents through the years, Illinois has never been known for its
defense. That should change this season, as nine starters return to
a group that was surprisingly strong in all phases, led by sleeper
All-America linebacker candidate J Leman, who led the Big Ten in
tackles. The coaching staff would love to bring more pressure and
get into the backfield, but last year there wasn’t enough of a pass
rush, despite plenty of big plays made against the run. Expect more
blitzes and more problems for opposing quarterbacks.
The team will be far better if … it hangs on to the ball.
Williams should be able to make up for his passing issues with his
mobility, but the offense has to stop giving the ball away, after
turning it over 35 times last season. While all turnovers are bad,
too many of Illinois’ led directly to losses.
The Schedule:
After the
battle in St. Louis against Missouri to open the season, the Illini gets
the easy part of the slate with Western Illinois, at Syracuse and at
Indiana. Those are must wins, given the brutal four-game stretch of Penn
State, Wisconsin, at Iowa and Michigan that comes later. With three of
those four at home, Zook’s boys have to pull off at least one upset.
Missing Purdue and Michigan State from the schedule isn’t necessarily a
plus.
Best Offensive Player: Sophomore QB Juice Williams. Even after suffering through
the requisite growing pains of a true freshman quarterback, Illinois’
passing prodigy showed why he could be the Big Ten’s most exciting
player over the next few years. While still very raw, he has a cannon
for an arm, great feet outside the pocket and nine valuable games of
experience that’ll speed up his maturation process in 2007.
Best Defensive Player: Senior LB J Leman. An All-Big Ten
standout who seemed to never miss a tackle, Leman is the physical and
emotional soul of the Illini defense. Showing the ferocity and natural
instincts inherent in great middle linebackers, he flourished a year
ago, piling up a league-best 152 tackles and 19 tackles for loss and
setting the stage for a senior year that’ll be chock-full of individual
honors.
Key player to a
successful season:
Junior RB Rashard Mendenhall. While the offense will be about Juice,
Juice and more Juice, there needs to be a little bit more help from the
backfield. With Pierre Thomas and E.B. Halsey gone, it’ll be up to
Mendenhall, the speedy top recruit of a few years ago, to live up to his
promise. He ran for 161 yards against Penn State and 94 against Ohio in
back-to-back games, and now he has to be consistent coming off a good
spring.
The season will be a
success if
... Illinois wins six games. The team is still young and will lose a few
games it shouldn’t, but it should be talented enough to pull off an
upset or two, and it can’t afford to blow games against Indiana,
Syracuse or Northwestern. Six wins this year would set the tone for a
potentially huge 2008.
Key game:
Sept. 1 vs. Missouri.
Illinois has to show right from the start that it’s a better program and
a better team with the speed, athleticism and talent to stay with a team
as good as Missouri. The Tigers will be one of the favorites to win the
Big 12 North, so if Illinois can pull off the win, it might be the type
of confidence boost to carry the team to a huge start.
2006 Fun Stats:
- Third quarter scoring: Illinois 31; Opponents 85
- Fumbles: Illinois 34 (lost 21); Opponents 20 (lost 10)
- Average yards per carry: Illinois 5.7; Opponents 3.3
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