Take a lumbering mass of negative ions . . . the University of Illinois’ football team was 2-9 last fall.
Supply that mass with a new and positive force of energy.
How high and how fast will the mass go?
Interesting question.
At the Chicago Hilton & Towers last week, new head coach Ron Turner didn’t waste any time revealing how he hopes to blow Illinois football out of its doldrums.
It was the day before the annual Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon and all 11 head coaches were on hand to address the media.
Scheduled dead last on the program–11th, right before the chicken sandwiches and pasta salad–was Ron Turner.
“When I looked at the list of speakers today,” Turner began, “I immediately thought `I hope there’s no significance to this (spot).’
“But then I looked at the list again and I noticed that (Ohio State’s) John Cooper was right in front of me and I felt a lot better.”
Given what he was left to work with in this his rookie season, the former Bears offensive coordinator knows he may not be getting that close to the Big Ten champions for awhile. Still, he keeps smiling.
“I can’t wait to get started,” Turner has said more than once.
Rookies start Monday. Veterans report Thursday. The first game is at 6 p.m. Sept. 6 at Memorial Stadium against Southern Mississippi. Football is in the air. What’s not to be enthused about?
Well, here are a few concerns:
– Untested quarterbacks. Junior starter Mark Hoekstra has thrown only 47 career passes for the Illini, 46 last year. Six of those were intercepted. Hoekstra’s backups are redshirt freshmen Tim Lavery and Brian Sheard.
– A depleted receiving corps. Marquis Mosely, the top returning pass-catcher, left the team before the spring game.
– Lack of size up front on defense.
“We have to learn how to finish,” Turner said. “We have to learn how to be more physical. There’s a difference between size and strength. We have asked a lot of guys to lose some weight and reshape that weight.”
– An unsettled kicking situation. Ryan Tabloff, Jason Higgins or Bret Scheuplein will be the punter. Neil Rackers or Scheuplein will be the placekicker. Stay tuned.
– The wounded psyche of a team that went 2-9 and got its head coach–Lou Tepper–fired.
“We’re trying to set an attitude,” Turner said. “We were starting to make those strides in spring ball. Now we have to pick up where we left off.”
– A schedule one national magazine ranked the second most difficult–behind only Michigan’s–in the Big Ten: Southern Mississippi (Sept. 6) is picked to win the Conference USA crown. Louisville (Sept. 13) is the choice to finish third in that league. Washington State (Sept. 20) is no slouch in the Pac-10. The Illini’s oh-brother Big Ten slate includes national championship contender Penn State, Rose Bowl champ Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan State and Northwestern.
All, however, is not lost.
Led by cornerbacks Trevor Starghill and James Williams and strong safety Asim Pleas, the secondary could be as good as any in the league.
More important, though, any team with Robert Holcombe in its backfield can’t be too bad. The “Incredible Holc,” as he is being billed, needs just 35 yards to become Illinois’ all-time leading rusher. Holcombe can’t afford to stop when he gets there, though. Turner will have Holcombe running left, right and up the middle. He will have Holcombe catching even more passes out of the backfield than last season.
“Robert is going to be the basics of our offense,” Turner said. “He’s going to run it and run it and run it for us. He’s as good or better than any back in the Big Ten. I was aware of him, but not aware how good he is till I started working with him. Everything on offense begins with Robert Holcombe.”
The problem is that Illinois’ foes know that, too. Turner, though, doesn’t have many other options.
What Turner promises, until he finds some new blood, is that “we’ll be an entertaining football team.”
Which means, thanks to the West Coast pro-style offense Turner ran with the Bears, an unpredictable team as well.
“Offensively we have a plan,” he said. “We won’t be as proficient on offense early as we will be later; it’s going to take some time. One thing we do know is we won’t be able to just line up and beat people.”
Whom can Illinois beat?
“I’m not going to say we’ll win the championship,” Holcombe said. “But I won’t put a limit on what we can do.”
