First Word with Illinois Football Coach Ron Zook on News Talk 1400 WDWS

Just thought I would share some things that stuck out to me during Saturday’s 35-32 win.

1) A road win, whoo hoo!!

2) Nice to jump out on some one and get a big lead.  Juice Williams got things off to a great start before his ankle injury, and the defense once again was getting great pressure on the QB.  Never expected to be up 28-7 at any point during this game.

3) I think Terry Hawthorne should stay at cornerback and not covert back into a receiver.  He's done a good job there and as a freshman, he should only get better.

4) Jacob Charest did a nice job filling in for Juice.  He only went 10-19, which isn’t anything special, but he did go down the field with accuracy.  As expected, there were some throw that reminded you about him being a redshirt freshman, but at the same time if makes us feel more confident about Illinois’ chances next year at winning some more games.

5) One more thing about Charest, and this worries me because I see it being a problem.  I see this guy having some serious elbow issues in the years to come.  That is one of the most herky-jerky motions I have ever seen a quarterback have (Michael Vick has a crazy throw too).  I wonder if there’s a chance of him working on changing this a bit.  It will be tough, especially since it seems to work for him.  I just don’t want him to have a great year next season where we’re on the edge of bowl eligibility and then he goes out with an elbow injury. 

6) Jeff Cumberland had a nice play on his TD reception from Juice to help the Illini score on their first possession.  After that, it was a game of hot potato.  Got to hold on to the ball, especially when it hits you perfectly.

7) I’ve haven’t said anything about this all year because surprising it didn’t happen until the Michigan game, but our punt formation is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.  I don’t see the logic in lining up with massive holes on the line of scrimmage.  This almost guarantees opponents to get to the next level, which happens to be pretty close to where Anthony Santella attempts to punt the ball 30 yards with a 15 foot roll.    It’s like Illinois is playing a game of red rover or something.  The funny thing is, Ohio State does the same thing.  If this were such a good formation, wouldn’t NFL teams do it?  If I’m Northwestern’s special teams coach I’m working on punt blocks all week.  No doubt in my mind the Illini will have another blocked punt next week unless we line up in a more traditional and logical punt formation.   The blocked punt returned for a TD gave Minnesota a chance to win it.  We might not be so lucky against Northwestern.

8) What a day Clay Nurse had!  Of the Illini’s impressive seven sacks, he had four of them.  Nurse has looked good for most of the season, and gives Illini fans hope for next season.

“Monday Night Sim” results tomorrow, and updated prediction standings.  Things mixed up a bit with that with a couple thinking Minnesota was going to win.  As for the sim, I will start Jacob Charest.  As you can hear on the First Word, Zook said Juice was "day-to-day" with his ankle injury, but then used the word "doubtful" when putting it in NFL terms.  I believe QB Mike Kafka will go for Northwestern.  He was out of the game for a bit against Iowa because of a leg injury, but he did finish it.  His limited mobility would definitely be a plus for the Illini.  Talk to you guys tomorrow.

I-L-L…