Off The Rails

     This 2012 Illini football season is eerily beginning to resemble the one that ended in 2011, and for many reasons, that is not a good sign.  When Tim Beckman was hired as head coach of the Illini back in December, he brought with him quite a bit of energy and also promising some up-tempo football.  What we have seen thus far couldn't be further from that.  The Illini's latest beatdown came at the hands of Penn State last Saturday 35-7, as the same problems that have plagued Illinois the past couple of seasons were very evident once again.  In essence, the Illini may have been "Zookered", and at times on Saturday, it looked as if the former coach was once again in charge of the offense and special teams.  Early in the Penn State loss, Tommie Davis mishandled a punt that resulted in the Nittany Lions getting very good field position.  The Illini defense managed to hold Penn State to a field goal, but yet another penalty, this one running into the kicker, gave the Nittany Lions another chance.  This time they scored a touchdown and for all intensive purposes the game was over.  So far in the 2012 season, things have not gone the way that most, including the players and coaches, thought that it would.  Beckman had said repeatedly before the season began that he was worried about depth issues, and while some injuries to key positions have further worsened this problem, a lot of younger players are seeing more of the field than they originally thought was possible.  Under interim coach Vic Koenning last year, the Illini looked pretty good in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl against UCLA, and with Koenning running the defense a year ago, things weren't that bad, despite the six consecutive losses to end the regular season.  That team lost Whitney Mercilus, Jeff Allen and A. J. Jenkins to the NFL, but it is unfathomable to think that those three losses could make this much of a difference.  In the Illini's three defeats in the 2012 season, they have not only been beaten, they have been beaten down, and in a bad way.  There is not any other way to say it than that.  At times it has been down right ugly, and it is starting to show in attendance, which was not great to begin with.  The last three games on the home schedule, Indiana, Purdue and Minnesota, do not scream sellouts, and judging from the recent performance of the football team, they won't even come close to getting Memorial Stadium half full for any of those games.

     The road doesn't get any easier for the Illini starting this Saturday, when they travel to Madison, Wisconsin for the first of two straight road games, when they take on the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium (2:30 pm CT, ABC).  The Badgers come into the game with Illinois at 3-2 overall, and dropped their conference opener last Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska to the Nebraska Cornhuskers 30-27.  Wisconsin lost a key member of their offense last season when Russell Wilson took his game to the NFL, but they still return Montee Ball, who figured prominently in their offense last season.  Ball did have an off-season incident where he was attacked, but appears to be healthy once again and ready to welcome the Illini to Madison.  Illinois, who comes into the game at 2-3 overall and also winless in the conference at 0-1, must figure out a way to get their offense moving, while at the same time finding a way to keep the Badgers off the field and off the scoreboard.  If these things do not occur, it will be another long day for the Illini and the fan base, which is already restless, will become even more so.

      The Illinois women's volleyball team made a trip to the Hoosier state this past weekend, and came away with a split, defeating Indiana in 4 games, while losing to Purdue in 5.  The Illini have struggled out of the gate this season with the much tougher schedule, and will return to Huff Hall this coming weekend to face #19 Ohio State on Friday night (7:00 pm CT, BTN.com),  then welcome top-ranked Penn State on Saturday evening (7:00 pm, CT, BTN.com). The Illini are currently 8-6 overall this season and 2-2 in the Big Ten.

     Janet Rayfield's Illini women's soccer team also traveled to Indiana this past weekend, and came away a bit more successful than their spiker counterparts, defeating Indiana 2-1 and tying Purdue 1-1. The Illini will return home on Thursday evening to face Michigan State in a game that will be televised on the Big Ten Network at 7:00 pm CT.  The Illini come into the game with the Spartans at 6-4-2 overall and 3-1-1 in the Big Ten.

   

Picking Up The Pieces

     As this 2012 football season moves forward for the Fighting Illini, the questions concerning the team continue to mount.  Witness the beating that the Illini took last Saturday when they were soundly defeated by Louisiana Tech 52-24 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.  Everyone knew what this Bulldogs team could do offensively, since they had scored 56 points in each of their first two games.  But for Illini coach Tim Beckman, his specialty is defense, and you figured that if the Illini could find a way to hold La. Tech down on offense, then they might have a chance.  It looked good at the start of the game, as the Illini scored first on a pass from Nathan Scheelhaase to Ryan Lankford.  It seemingly looked even better for Illinois near the half, going into the break trailing 21-17.  But, much like last season, turnovers at the wrong time seemed to befall the Illini, as they committed six miscues, including a muffed punt return that Louisiana Tech pounced on in the end zone.  You cannot keep giving teams as good as La. Tech chances and expect to win games.  Thus, the result was the blowout that it was.  It has generated talk around Illini Nation that Beckman may be in for a long season, but the season is only four games old and they are 2-2 heading into the Big Ten portion of the season, which begins this Saturday when the Illini host Penn State (11:00 am CT, ESPN).  Injuries have played a factor in the two losses, but that cannot be viewed as the only reason why the Illini suffered blowouts in both of their setbacks.  Scheelhaase is back, but not quite 100%, as evidenced by Beckman pulling him in the second half last Saturday in favor of Reilly O'Toole, who actually moved the Illini down the field at times.  The offensive line, which was a major concern to begin with, got a little worse with Graham Pocic nursing an injury, and Hugh Thornton suffering an injury of his own in the loss to La. Tech.

     This Saturday's Big Ten opener will be unique in many ways, not only because it will match up coaches in their first conference games of their coaching career, but more remembered for not seeing Joe Paterno on the Penn State sidelines for the first time in 46 years.  Since the scandal broke in Happy Valley, talk has focused on how the Nittany Lions will be received at each school they visit this season.  That topic has taken a place on the back burner for the time being, as the chatter this week has focused on the Illini's two recent blowout losses, and wondering what will happen this week.  Back during the summer, several Illini coaches made a trip out to Penn State to inquire about a player who eventually transferred to Illinois.  That talk has resurfaced this week, fueled mainly by some members of the Penn State media contingent that cannot seem to let well enough alone.  The Nittany Lions continue to be portrayed as the victim in this, and even though the Illini coaches went about the situation the correct and ethical way, there are some that still think that it was underhanded and wrong at what they did.  I say, let the teams decide it on the field and let well enough alone.  Penn State has their own problems to deal with, and will for the forseeable future.

     Don't fault Illini basketball coach John Groce for not landing the latest recruit that he went after, Demetrius Jackson of Mishawauka, Indiana.  After all, Notre Dame, who Jackson ultimately chose over the Illini, had been recruiting the guard since he was a freshman in high school.  Groce came in on the recruitment   late, and since he became head coach at Illinois, Groce has been turning heads with his work ethic in regards to recruiting.  After getting Kendrick Nunn's commitment a week ago, Illini Nation was abuzz with the possibility of landing Jackson or even Xavier Rathan-Mayes, another guard that is near the top of Groce's wish list.  The Rathan-Mayes recruitment is still ongoing, but it is clear that Groce intends to get Illinois back to relevancy sooner rather than later.

     Kevin Hambly's Fighting Illini volleyball team split their matches this past weekend, getting swept by Minnesota on Friday evening before rebounding to defeat Wisconsin in 5 sets on Sunday afternoon.  The Illini, who have endured a very tough schedule to begin the season, enter play this coming weekend at 7-5 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten.  The Illini will make their annual trip through Indiana this weekend, traveling to Bloomington on Friday evening to battle the Indiana Hoosiers (6:00 pm, CT BTN), then will head north from there to West Lafayette on Saturday evening to take on the Boilermakers of Purdue (7:00 pm, CT  BTN).

     The Illini women's soccer team split their matches as well this past weekend, defeating Ohio State 1-0 on Friday night and then dropping a 4-0 contest to #11 ranked Penn State on Sunday afternoon.  The soccer team also make a swing through Indiana this weekend, traveling to Bloomington on Friday night to battle Indiana (6:30 pm CT, No TV), then finishing up their Indiana trip in West Lafayette on Sunday afternoon against Purdue (12:00 CT, No TV).  The Illini are currently 5-4-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten heading into this weekend's action.

Better Days Ahead

     The past weekend for sports on the University of Illinois campus couldn't have gone much better than it did.  From football to women's soccer, every team in action excelled, as well as one that occurred off of the field.  First things first with football.  After the "Debacle in the Desert" last Saturday evening in Arizona, the Illini gridders came back against a team that they should have had no problem in beating, which ended up being the case.  The Illini cruised from the start en route to a 44-0 victory over the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern University, a FCS opponent that hadn't won a game in the last 14 tries.  If ever there was a game where injuries didn't play a factor, this was the game to make that happen.  The Illini are a bruised and battered group, with the top four players on the offensive side of the football out with some sort of injury.  Of course, the marquee name on this list is Nathan Scheelhaase, who sustained an ankle sprain in the opening game win over Western Michigan, and hasn't played since. However, running back Josh Ferguson was held out of the game Saturday with concussion-like symptoms, while center Graham Pocic and wide receiver Darius Millines also are dealing with injuries and didn't see action.  According to Illini coach Tim Beckman, "it's something that I have never seen in all my years of coaching", he spoke about all of the injuries at the same time.  True, they probably didn't need these players against Charleston Southern, and it was a sigh of relief to see some of the younger players step up in the absence of so many starters.  True freshmen Dami Ayoola (RB) and Justin Hardee (WR) filled in nicely, both leading their respective positions in yards from scrimmage.  Ayoola finished the game with 55 yards on the ground, and scored on a 28 yard run that was a sight to behold.  Ayoola appeared to be tackled after a short gain, but somehow managed to slip away from his tacklers and bandied into the end zone for the score.  Hardee was the favorite target of quarterback Reilly O'Toole, catching 5 passes for 99 yards.  Although Hardee didn't find the end zone in the game, it was still a nice sight to see another young player doing well in Beckman's system.  Beckman has said along that if a freshman is good enough to play, then he will be seeing plenty of action.  Ayoola and Hardee definitely didn't disappoint as a result, and hopefully more of those days are to come from this duo.  Now that the Buccaneers are out of town, the real fun begins, as the next two weeks pose challenges of a different kind.  This coming Saturday's opponent, Louisiana Tech (7:00 pm, BTN), has a high powered offense, and leads the nation in red zone offense.  They have only scored 56 points in each of their first two games, but have allowed at least 37 points in those games as well.  So, could a shootout be in order?

     Does Beckman have a quarterback controversy on his hands?  With Scheelhaase still out and his status still uncertain for Saturday's game, it appears that Reilly O'Toole has the inside track, especially since he threw for 313 yards and  5 touchdowns  against Charleston Southern.  Granted, it was against an FCS opponent, but it still was good to see the Illini air it out like they did.  Beckman has said repeatedly that a player won't lose his starting status due to an injury, but it O'Toole begins to produce, it begs the question of who would be the better fit down the stretch.  One would think that Scheelhaase would be the logical choice, since he has the most experience, but if O'Toole can get the job done, a healthy O'Toole might be a better fit than a less than 100% Scheelhaase.  Whatever the case, Beckman won't tip his hand to anybody, especially the media.  At his weekly press luncheon on Tuesday, the question was posed about this very topic, and he stayed true to form by not elaborating on what he was thinking.  Why give the opponent any information?  We in the media will be the last ones to know anyway.

     Perhaps the most positive news of the entire weekend came off the playing field, as Simeon senior Kendrick Nunn gave an oral commitment to Illini coach John Groce to play basketball for the in-state team.  It was Nunn's official visit, and apparently he liked what he saw, because Twitter was abuzz with his decision minutes after the football game ended.  Since signing day is not until November, nothing is official until he is signed on the dotted line, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.  Now Illini Nation is hoping that he can bring some of the other talented players in the class with him to Champaign to get the Groce era off to a strong start.  Stay tuned for more on this story as it continues to develop.
 
     After a sluggish start to the season where they started off 3-4, Kevin Hambly's Illini women's volleyball team bounced back nicely in Austin, Texas at the Texas Invitational by defeating Cincinnati, LSU and the host Longhorns, who were ranked #6 in the nation.  The three wins gave the Illini the invitational title, and more importantly, vaulted them back over the .500 mark at 6-4 overall as the conference season begins this coming weekend when the Illini return to the confines of Huff Hall to battle Minnesota on Friday night and Wisconsin on Saturday evening.

     Coach Janet Rayfield returned from being an assistant coach on the U20 women's World Cup soccer team in Japan just in time to get their conference season off to a good start, defeating Iowa 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Illini soccer stadium in Urbana.  Vanessa DiBernardo, who was a member of that team, wasted little time in getting her first goal of the season, while freshman Nicole Breece was able to find the net for the eventual game winning goal.  The Illini continue their home cooking this coming weekend, when Ohio State pays a visit to Champaign on Friday night, followed by Penn State on Sunday.  The Illini are 4-3-1 on the season as the conference portion of the schedule begins.

   

Ready......Set.......Go!

     The Tim Beckman era began in style last Saturday in Champaign, resulting in a 24-7 victory over the Western Michigan Broncos at Memorial Stadium.  But what exactly did we learn from the win?  Certainly it appears that the defense has left off from where it was last season, despite not having one of the stalwarts from that unit in Whitney Mercilus, who left a year early for the NFL.  The defensive unit had 4 takeaways on the day, including an interception by Michael Buchanan, who will undoubtedly follow in Mercilus' footsteps to the NFL next season.  There was also an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Ashante Williams. another good sign.  Offensively, the news wasn't as good.  It certainly started off promising, as Illini quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase connected with wide receiver Ryan Lankford for a 64 yard touchdown in the game's opening few minutes.  After that play, however, the offense resembled one more suited for former coach Ron Zook, and not Beckman.  The news would get progressively worse for the Illini during the second half, as Scheelhaase would leave the game with an apparent ankle injury, giving way to sophomore Reilly O'Toole to guide the offense the remainder of the way.  Miles Osei, who was converted to a wideout during the Camp Rantoul workouts, would come into the game for the final few minutes to run out the clock and preserve the victory.  It was no secret that the offensive line was inexperienced, and up until the final few days leading up to the first game, undecided as to who would exactly start where.  Beckman is notorious for not tipping his hand in regards to information, especially if he knows that the opposing team could possible use that knowledge to their advantage during the game.  Beckman knew that Western Michigan would know his scheme pretty well, since he spent the last three years coaching against them at Toledo.  One thought possibly is that Beckman was not letting too much out of the bag for the Illini's next opponent, which is Arizona State on Saturday evening in Tempe, Arizona (9:30 pm CT, ESPN).  This will be a stern test for the Illini, since it is their first game on the road, as well as on the west coast, where the Illini haven't had the best of luck in the regular season in the past few years.  The Sun Devils  won their opening game as well, routing Northern Arizona 63-6 on Saturday at Sun Devil Stadium, behind a balanced attack on offense.  The Sun Devils rushed for 305 yards, while passing for 249 yards.  Gone is quarterback Brock Oswiler, and the new signal caller, Taylor Kelly, completed 15 of 19 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown.  This is obviously not as talented a team as the one that came to Champaign last season, but it is on the road and in a hostile environment, so nobody really knows what will happen.  I suspect that if Scheelhaase is good enough to play on Saturday night, then the Illini will probably be favored. Then again, nobody will know what the result will be, since Beckman will keep the verdict to himself up until kickoff.  Stay tuned.

     Kevin Hambly's Fighting Illini volleyball team has had an auspicious beginning to their season, losing their first two matches of the season in Dayton, Ohio, before coming back to defeat Ohio University to salvage one match in the opening weekend.  The Illini then hosted Iowa State in a rare two match series, winning one and losing one.  But don't let the 2-3 record fool you.  The Illini are still a talented squad that have a lot of potential as the season wears on.  The Illini will be back in action this weekend in Cincinnati when they take part in the Big Ten/Big East Challenge against host Cincinnati and also Louisville.

     Much better news on the soccer front, as Janet Rayfield's team is off to a 3-1-1 start to the 2012 season.  Wins over Western Michigan, UC-Santa Barbara and Milwaukee have propelled the Illini to a promising beginning.  The Illini will be in action as well this weekend, when they travel east to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to battle Virginia Tech and host Wake Forest.

      Even though the calendar says it is fall, basketball season is not far off, and the schedules for both John Groce's men's team and Matt Bollant's women's team have been announced.  Highlights of the men's schedule include trips to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational and to Spokane, Washington to take on Gonzaga.  The Illini's annual trips to St. Louis and Chicago are also on the docket, as is the Big 10/ACC Challenge against Georgia Tech at the Assembly Hall.  The women will make Assembly Hall their home for a good portion of the non-conference season, only playing away from home three times between October and January.

     Fall sports season is here, and it's time to get after it!  

Camp Rantoul anyone?

     It's coming folks.  I'm talking about football season, and a good sign of this is the annual Big 10 Football Media Days in Chicago, which occurred last weekend at the Hyatt McCormick Place in Chicago.  Talk, as one would expect, focused on Penn State and all of the troubles they are enduring since the heavily imposed sanctions were levied a couple weeks ago.  This will be the second season of the split divisions since the addition of Nebraska at the start of the 2011 campaign, and once again, the conference will be split up into the Leaders and the Legends.  The Leaders division includes Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin, and within this division there are three new coaches and two teams on probation.  The Legends division contains Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State and Northwestern, and seems to be the more balanced of the two divisions.  Here is a quick preview of all 12 teams in the conference, and the outlook of the teams as the season begins to unfold.

     Tim Beckman was named the 23rd head coach of the Fighting Illini last season, and brings with him an energy level that has not been seen around the Urbana-Champaign campus in many years.  Beckman came to Illinois from Toledo, where he compiled a 21-16 record over 3 seasons. including 2 bowl appearances.  The Illini lost a couple of key players last season, most notably Whitney Mercilus, but return a lot of the offensive unit, including quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase.  The offensive line, which protects Scheelhaase, will be inexperienced, as only Hugh Thornton and Graham Pocic return from a year ago.  Beckman has said time and again that the best 11 athletes will play, even if that means having three tight ends on the field at the same time.  Also, look for Terry Hawthorne to see some action on the offensive side of the ball at receiver, in addition to his normal position of cornerback.  The Illini are coming off of back-to-back bowl victories for the first time in school history, so the pressure will be on for Beckman to keep the Illini moving in the right direction.

     Indiana finished 1-11 last season in Kevin Wilson's first season, one that he would like to forget.  The Hoosiers return seven players on the offensive side of the football, including quarterback Tre Roberson and center Will Matte.  Defensively, the Hoosiers welcome back eight starters from a year ago, led by Adam Replogle and Larry Black Jr.  Indiana has the potential to start off the 2012 season with a couple of victories, but getting back to respectability may take longer than Wilson intends.

     Purdue comes into the 2012 season brimming with the most confidence that they have had in quite some time, thanks in part to a lot of letterwinners returning on both sides of the ball.  The Boilermakers will be stacked on offense, especially at the quarterback position, as all three signal callers return from a year ago.  Starter Caleb TerBush will start the season behind center, but don't be surprised if Coach Danny Hope uses sixth year redshirt senior Robert Marve or junior Rob Henry at least part of the time back there.  Marve saw considerable action at the position in 2011, and Henry is versatile enough to play any of the offensive skill positions, according to Hope.  Defensively, the Boilers return a stable of athletes, led by Ricardo Allen and Kawaan Short.  Allen, diminutive in stature, returns to anchor the secondary while Short patrols the defensive line.  Frankie Williams also returns for Purdue on defense, a unit that has played together for a while and are beginning to come together as a group.  Purdue finished 7-6 in 2011, including a 37-32 win over Western Michigan in the Little Ceasars Pizza Bowl in Detroit, Michigan.

     Wisconsin is coming off one of the more successful seasons in their recent history, defeating Michigan State 42-39 in the inaugural Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.  That win propelled them into the Rose Bowl, where they were defeated 45-38 by Oregon.  The Badgers, under coach Bret Bielema, return several starters from a year ago, including running back Montee Ball.  However, earlier this week, Ball was involved in an altercation on the Wisconsin campus where he was jumped by several men.  Bielema said this week that Ball probably won't be ready for the start of training camp, which begins on Monday.  That would be a critical blow to the Badgers if Ball isn't ready for the start of the regular season, because they relied on him so much last year.  Also returning is wide receiver Jared Abbrederis, who caught 55 passes for 933 yards and scored 8 touchdowns.  The Badgers go into the season as the favorite to win the Leaders Division.

     Ohio State will have a familiar face on the sidelines this year, as Urban Meyer comes out of retirement to coach the Buckeyes.  Meyer, who led Florida to two national championships, walked away from the Gators and into the broadcast booth, where he stayed for only a year when Columbus came calling.  The Buckeyes will be ineligible for a bowl game this season due to their punishment for the "tattoo gate" and the selling of memorabilia from other games.  Ohio State finished 6-7 in 2011, including a 24-17 loss to Meyer's former team, the Florida Gators in the Gator Bowl.  Gone are a lot of the players that put the Buckeyes on probation, but quarterback Braxton Miller returns, as does fullback Zach Boren and tight end Jake Stoneburner.  Butkus Award candidate Etienne Sabino returns at linebacker to lead the defense, as well as defensive linemen Jonathan Hankins and John Simon.  With no postseason aspirations or a chance at the Big Ten title game this season, the Buckeyes will aim for a successful season and hope for the best until they are eligible again.

     Then there is the case of Penn State.  So much has happened in State College over the past year, with the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal that led to the firing of legendary coach Joe Paterno.  Paterno would die nearly three months later, due to complications of cancer, among other things.  The sanctions that followed in the wake of the scandal has pretty much crippled this program, as one of the stipulations included  players being able to leave the school and transfer to another school and be immediately eligible without penalty.  Several players have taken advantage of the situation, including tailback Silas Redd, who transferred to USC earlier in the week.  The Nittany Lions finished 10-4 in 2011, including a 30-14 loss to Houston in the Ticket City Bowl in Dallas.  However, what is to come for the Nittany Lions will further define the program, because after all, this whole situation could have been avoided, but nothing was done.


      Michigan appears to be the odds on favorite to come out on top in the Legends Division, since they return quite a few starters on both sides of the ball, led by quarterback Denard Robinson and wide receiver Roy Roundtree.  Running back Fitzgerald Toussiant also returns for the Wolverines, who finished 11-2 in 2011 under first year coach Brady Hoke.  The Wolverines defeated Virginia Tech 23-20 in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Hoke expects more from his Wolverines in 2012.  The offensive line also returns three players from a year ago, and defensively, Michigan returns their entire linebacking corps, as well as three quarters of their secondary.  The Wolverines have high expectations for this season, and don't be surprised if they are representing their side of the conference in the Big Ten title game come December.

      Michigan State is coming off an exceptionally successful season on 2011, finishing the season 11-3, including a trip to the Big Ten Championship game against Wisconsin, a game they lost 42-39.  The Spartans bounced back from that loss to defeat Georgia 33-30 in triple overtime in the Outback Bowl, but lost a key member of their offensive unit when quarterback Kirk Cousins graduated.  Michigan State will have a new signal caller under center for the first time since 2009 this season, as young Andrew Maxwell takes over for Cousins, who is now in the NFL.  The Spartans return most of their running backs from a year ago, but must replace three wide receivers and two tight ends, most notably wideout B. J. Cunningham, who was one of Cousins' more prolific targets.  The offensive line loses nobody, so it will remain one of the strongest in the conference and should give Maxwell a lot of protection.  Defensively, the Spartans lost two interior linemen from last season, but return their entire linebacking nucleus, making them still a force to be reckoned with.  The goal is still to get back to the title game, but with a lot of new faces in East Lansing, that might be a tall order.

      Nebraska finished their first season in the Big Ten 9-4, including a 30-13 loss to South Carolina in the Capital One Bowl, and look to contend once again for the Legends Division crown.  The Cornhuskers return their starting quarterback Taylor Martinez, as well as their top running back of a year ago Rex Burkhead. Nebraska returns a bunch of offensive linemen, but only three that had starting experience.  Defensively, they return three players that started a year ago, while the linebackers return intact, including senior Will Compton.  Coach Bo Pelini will have the Cornhuskers ready to play, but a lot depends on Martinez and how well he can generate the offense in Lincoln.  That will be the determining factor in how successful they will be in 2012.

      Minnesota is coming off of a disappointing 3-9 season in Coach Jerry Kill's first season as bench boss of the Golden Gophers.  Kill, who battled some health concerns in 2011, is back at full strength, and he hopes for improvement for his football team as well.  Quarterback MarQueis Gray returns for Minnesota from a year ago, but he lost his top receiver DaJon McKnight.  The offensive line will be young, as several redshirt freshmen and sophomores dot the roster.  Defensively, the Gophers are a little more experienced with depth, but still will need to make plays.  The Gophers begin the season ahead of most of the rest of the conference when they battle UNLV on Thursday, August 30th.

       Iowa enters the 2012 season with the most experienced coach in the conference in Kirk Ferentz, who is beginning his 14th season in Iowa City.  Longevity has been the norm for the Hawkeyes, as Ferentz succeeded Hayden Fry, who was at Iowa 20 years.  The running back position will be a concern for the Hawkeyes this year, but they return their starting quarterback James Vandenberg from a team that finished 7-6 overall, including a 31-14 loss to Oklahoma in the Insight Bowl.  Ferentz says a lot of the positions, both offensively and defensively, are up for grabs.  Iowa has the potential to contend for the Legends Division crown with Michigan and Michigan State, but they will need to have some things fall their way if that is to happen.

      Northwestern, or who Tim Beckman commonly refers to as "that team up north", is coming off of a 6-7 season, which saw them qualify for their fourth straight bowl game, the first time that has ever happened in Evanston.  The Wildcats lost that game 33-22 to Houston in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Houston, Texas, but according to Pat Fitzgerald, they are in pretty good shape to get back to a bowl game again.  Leading the Wildcats under center will be Kain Colter, who saw some action back at the position a year ago when starter Dan Persa went down with an injury.  Northwestern had an up and down season, starting the year off 2-0, then losing five straight games before winning four of their final five games to become bowl eligible.  The key to the Wildcats continuing this recent success will be doing the things that Coach Pat Fitzgerald has instilled on them in the past.  Plus, a little luck wouldn't hurt as well.

     Back to the Illini for a minute, since this blog is called The Illini Guy Report.  Coach Beckman started their pre-season workouts on Monday at Rantoul, and in contrast to the past few years, they are only going for one week up north.  Also, there is no scrimmage this year at Rantoul, but according to Beckman, they may revisit that idea in future years.  "I really like it, it reminds me of past seasons going to Cleveland Browns training camp.  There is really nothing like it", Beckman said on Tuesday after practice. The workouts are free and open to the public, and they will remain in Rantoul until Sunday, when they will return to Champaign for the Illini media day, followed by Fan Appreciation Day.  Fans will have the opportunity to meet players and coaches, and get autographs from them from 5-6 pm on the new turf of Memorial Stadium.  Practice resumes on Monday in Champaign, which will then be closed to the media and public.

   

Dog Days Of Summer

     Now that we are beyond the July 4th holiday, we have hit the midway point of the summer season, and while some of us are still focused on baseball, others have begun to explore other sports, namely football and basketball.  July also means there will be an Olympiad this year, and this week I had the distinct pleasure to talk with former University of Illinois track star and Jamaican Olympic superstar Andrew Riley (right).  Riley will compete in the 110 meter hurdles for his native country, something he says "is a very great honor".  Riley is very humble, and owes a lot of his success to his coaches, Mike Turk on the men's side, and former Olympian Tonja Buford-Bailey, the women's coach,  who has been helping him with the hurdles for the past couple of years.  It was actually Jim Angel who recruited Andrew to Illinois, after a previous athlete in Jamaica told him about Riley and introduced him to Angel, the stage was set for him to come to Champaign and compete in the Big Ten.  Jamaica is probably more known for their world-class sprinter Usain Bolt, but it will be Riley that will be competing in the hurdles for the small nation.  "To represent my country means a lot to me, and it is always an honor to compete for your home nation, your birthplace", Riley proudly admitted.  Riley has continued training at the University of Illinois track, and will continue to do so until he leaves for training camp in a week.  With the opening ceremonies about two weeks away in London, Riley feels he is ready, but still would like to get the most out of the next couple of weeks. 


     Riley is not the only one headed to London that has Illinois ties.  Former Illini basketball standout Deron Williams was named this past weekend to the USA basketball squad, while Robert Archibald, another former Illinois hoops star, will compete for Great Britian's basketball team.  The sense of pride of the Orange and Blue being represented across the pond cannot be measured, and if these athletes are fortunate enough to win some medals, that will make the achievement that much more gratifying.

     New Illinois basketball coach John Groce once again has a complete basketball staff, and judging from the reaction of the latest hire, it seems that it is a match made in heaven.  When Isaac Chew was hired two months ago to be the Chicago contact in recruiting, all signs pointed to Groce making a slam dunk hire.  However, Buzz Williams came in and made Chew an offer that he couldn't refuse, and all of a sudden, there was another opening.  Enter Paris Parham, who spent the last five years at Illinois State as a part of Tim Jankovic's staff in Normal.  But when Jankovic was offered a coach-in-waiting position on Larry Brown's staff at SMU, that left a lot of uncertainty with Parham.  I also had the opportunity to speak with Parham this past week, and it appeared that he wanted the job all along, even when Chew was hired.  Parham also has strong Chicago ties, having played in the Public League, so he is a natural fit for the Illini to get their foot back into the Chicago area.  "I would have crawled on my hands and knees backward to get to Champaign", Parham noted when talking about his feeling for the job when it was offered to him.  "Initially, I thought I would have been on the staff with Jamaal (Walker), and luckily someone moved out, and I moved in, and here I am", Parham added.  So, it sounds like ultimately the right guy ended up being hired, although it will be a few months until we can actually see it working.

     We are now just about one month from the start of Camp Rantoul and the beginning of the Tim Beckman era at Illinois.  Big Ten Football media days will take place at the end of the month in Chicago, and I am sure that most of the talk up at the Hyatt Regency at McCormick Place will center around the scandal involving Penn State.  New coach Bill O'Brien certainly has an unenviable situation on his hands in State College, and this story, although exposed, is far from over.  Stay tuned for complete coverage from media days, as well as  a complete wrap-up of the Illini athletes in the Summer Olympics in London.  As for now, enjoy the rest of the summer, because fall will be here before you know it!

Spring Sports Wrap

It's been quite a while since I have updated this blog, but it has been far from boring over the past couple of months.  The Illini baseball and softball teams both completed disappointing seasons, with the women finishing 27-26 overall and ending the conference season with a 10-14 record.  Needless to say, the Illini softball team didn't qualify for the NCAA Tournament, this year being one of those rare years where that was never really in question.  As for Dan Hartleb's baseball team, they made things far more interesting, defeating Minnesota 2 out of the final 3 games, but missing the Big Ten Tournament by virtue of a tie-breaker, in which they tied both Ohio State and Minnesota with identical 11-13 records.  The Buckeyes earned the #6 seed in the tourney, since they had a better common opponent record than the Illini and Gophers.  The Illini finished the season with a 28-25 record, but battled right to the end, almost pulling off the impossible.

The main news is coming from the men's basketball program, and the news just keeps getting more complex as each day passes.  First of all, earlier this week, rumors began to surface that new assistant coach Isaac Chew was leaving his job under John Groce and heading to Marquette to be reunited with Golden Eagles coach Buzz Williams, whom he has had a working relationship before.  Chew, who was hired by Groce to be his top assistant in Champaign, left Missouri to take the Illini job.  Now, apparently he is on the move once again, this time heading up to Milwaukee.  Then, earlier in the day on Wednesday, it was revealed that Illini recruit Jalen James has decommitted from Groce, and will re-open his recruitment.  The move by James isn't surprising, given the fact that his game has been declining over the past few months.  However, the Chew news came as a surprise to many, but apparently he is more than doubling his salary by moving to Marquette, and this day and age, money talks.  I wish both of them well in their new endeavors.

Now that we are in full summer vacation mode, it is time to begin thinking about the fall and Illini football.  New coach Tim Beckman still has all of his staff intact, and is beginning to bring some recruits into the fold in Champaign,  Even though it seems like a long way off, September 1st will be here before you know it, and Memorial Stadium will be rocking when Western Michigan comes to open the season against the Illini.  I will try and update this blog monthly during the summer, and then get back to a more regular schedule once the Illini begin training camp.  Have a good summer, everyone!