Q. You grew up in Youngstown, about 150 miles from Columbus. How much interest did Ohio State show in you.

A. Actually, not a lot. I knew they were recruiting me. It was something I never thought about too much. I always knew I was not going to stay in Ohio. They really didn't show too much interest. Toward the end when final decision-making time came, they kind of showed a little bit more interest. My mind wasn't in Ohio State. My mind was to be to go away somewhere to school. It was too close to home. I wanted to be on my own and travel and not have my Mom so close to me that she would be there every day.

Q. Do you have friends on the Ohio State team. Would you like to trade places with them.

A. I've got a lot of friends on the team. Antoine Winfield, we're good friends. I never think that I want to trade places. I knew once I made the decision to come to the University of Illinois, it was the right decision for me.

Q. You played safety your first three years here, now you're at cornerback. Was the change easy to make.

A. It didn't really matter to me. I figured I'll play whatever position that comes natural to me. Safety was the first choice because I feel I'm an aggressive player. I always had a knack for hitting. The switch to corner, the team needed it. I had to prove myself. It wasn't like I was just given the position.

Q. Were you nervous about it.

A. Sometimes I was. I never thought I couldn't do it, but I was just nervous in the fact that I'd never played corner before.

Q. What's the biggest difference between corner and safety.

A. One difference for me is actually being the deepest. Safety sometimes you come up on the run. Playing corner you're really put on an island. You really have no help most of the time. Playing safety, I was the cleanup guy. Now, it's a one-on-one battle just about every down. If you lose, everybody's going to see it.

Q. You've now got two interception returns for touchdowns. Which one did you like better, the 30-yarder against Akron or the 89-yarder against Middle Tennessee.

A. This one (against Middle Tennessee) really takes the cake because it's something new. I never look back upon Akron. This is the start of a new season. I'm looking forward to getting some more picks for touchdowns.

Q. How much do you think about Steve Willis.

A. Every day. Every day. He was like my brother, part of my family. We never really ran into any problems. We were both competitors. Those are the things I remember. I remember him pushing me to work harder. The only bad thought I had was I wish he was out on the field with me. I'm upset that he's not.

Q. Do you have any answers as to what happened.

A. I don't look for answers, I use the things Steve gave me to boost me to play harder. I don't think about the situation that happened. If I dwelled on that (reasons), it would cause too much confusion. I'm not that type of person that I'll search for answers that I'll never know.

Q. Where did 'Asim' come from.

A. My Mom named me. It's Swahali and it means 'protector and defender.' She wanted me to have a name that was meaningful. Me being the only child at the time, she felt like I was her little defender.

Q. Does it bother you when it's mispronounced.

A. It's not a big deal because it's been happening since I was in kindergarten. My Dad always told me everybody's going to mess my name up. As long as they know who I am, it doesn't really matter.

Q. After 18 losses in a row, how does it feel to win a game.

A. I felt a sense of relief. I really felt like, 'Now we can build.' I didn't feel we could build until we got that first win. That was the standard on which we base everything else. It gave me a sense of confidence. I had confidence before, but it put it all together for me. It showed the whole team that we can do it.

Q. What did you think when you saw the students climbing the goal posts.

A. We as a team felt, 'Man, our fans are back.' As long as we do what we've got to do, the fans will be here and support us.

Q. You've got 20 games left in your Illinois career. What's the record going to be in those 20 games.

A. I don't know. I'm not a psychic. You say I've got 20 games left. Hopefully, it will be 22. Hopefully, we'll get two bowl games. That's what I'm hoping for. I know we'll win. As far as the record, who knows. I want to leave this school with a winning record.

Q. You were a good high school quarterback. Do you miss playing on offense.

A. I miss throwing the ball more than running the ball. In high school, I really looked forward to passing. I wanted to be a quarterback in college. But I figured I'd probably play defense when I got here.

Q. You came in as a freshman with Tyrone Washington and Antoine Patton. Were those guys tough on you. Are you better because of them.

A. They were excellent athletes. They were really competitive. I looked up to those guys. I didn't think there was anybody better than them in the Big Ten. They were two of the reasons I came here. Coming in as a freshman, I didn't really know the consequence of not being disciplined. After a drill, we would walk back to the line. They'd say, 'Don't walk, run.' They wanted me to understand the defense on my own. They wanted me to take some responsibility for myself. They were good examples to look at and learn from.

Q. Tell me something people don't know about you.

A. I always wanted to play soccer. I've never played. Growing up in Youngstown, we didn't have any little league soccer teams. If I would have played soccer, some of my friends would have called me names or talked about me.