Enter to win tickets to Illinois' season opener against Missouri here.

CHAMPAIGN – Critics expressing concern about Illinois' football attack "staying the same" are advised: Don't.

The new guy, Mike Schultz, has his own ideas about calling plays. Not that we'll learn much before the Missouri game. That's the advantage of being new. He can keep everyone guessing.

But take note. Schultz's last three Texas Christian teams topped 5,000 yards, and the 2008 team scored 54 touchdowns. FIFTY-FOUR. That's one TD every quarter in an 11-2 season that ended with a Poinsettia Bowl defeat of unbeaten Boise State.

Count on it. Even if the UI's nomenclature is the same, there'll be fresh twists and new emphasis as the Illini begin a two-week Rantoul session Monday in 90-degree temperatures

"We have a lot of veteran guys who have played a great deal of offensive football here," said coach Ron Zook at Sunday's media day. "So it seemed logical to ask him (Schultz) to learn our system rather than the other way. What we do is similar to what he did at TCU. They used more two-tight end formations, which is something we were moving toward as well."

To facilitate Schultz's mastery of the offense and Zook's overall philosophy, Schultz called for early-morning meetings with the head coach.

"I had a lot of questions, and I won't go into what they were," Schultz said. "Coach is a busy guy, so we started meeting for 20 minutes at 6 a.m. We would discuss one, two or three issues. Through those meetings, our comfort level grew. I wanted to be clear on his philosophy. After all, it is his offense and I wanted to make sure we were on the same page.

"As for tweaking the system, that's what we always do at the end of every season. If I was still at TCU, or if Mike Locksley was still here, that's what we would be doing. There are always new ideas, things to add. We've gone through that process."

Ball control

Zook's decision in this matter could be a positive turning point for this season. On two occasions in the 1990s, defense-oriented head coach Lou Tepper hired offensive coordinators who changed the offense for senior quarterbacks Jason Verduzco in 1992 and Johnny Johnson in 1995. Both situations backfired.

As a junior, Verduzco completed 252 passes for 3,014 yards under the offensive direction of head coach John Mackovic. Tepper succeeded Mackovic in 1992, and Verduzco trailed off dramatically under one-year coordinator Tom Beck. He completed 184 passes for 1,779 yards, and was replaced at times by Jeff Kinney.

Greg Landry succeeded Beck, went back to the pro-style aerial game operated by Mackovic and Mike White, and in 1994 Johnny Johnson completed 198 passes for 2,495 yards. That was the year Johnson capped a 15-0 fourth-quarter rally with a strike to Jim Klein to shock Michigan, 24-21. But Landry was dismissed and replaced by Paul Schudel in 1995, and Johnson's production was cut in half (99 completions) as Scott Weaver replaced him at times.

Point is, it is dangerous and sometimes confusing to players when a dramatic system change takes place. Best recent example is at Michigan.

So the UI's spread system is the same, but it is being tweaked.

"You always evaluate and examine ways to get better," Schultz said. "I'm not going to discuss them here because Missouri doesn't know what we're doing and I want to keep it that way. We didn't give anything away in the spring."

Missouri coaches will study TCU film, where Schultz's team hogged the ball 35 minutes per game to lead the nation in 2008. And the Tiger brass will also study recent Illini games.

"Any time there's a new coordinator, you always go back in his history," Schultz said. "I recall one year Air Force had a new defensive coordinator, and I went all the way back to his Mid-American days to study him. Missouri will be thorough in checking me out."

Thinking bigger

Schultz made the move from Texas to Illinois for a variety of reasons.

One, he's been an assistant since he began at Sam Houston State in 1979, and he wants to be a head coach, saying: "I think every assistant aspires to be a head coach. I think my opportunity is greater in the Big Ten. The conference has a great history."

Two, his three daughters have left the nest and he felt no restrictions on pulling up stakes after 10 years at TCU.

Three, he meshes with Zook. He believes Zook has created "a positive family atmosphere" at Illinois, and the current offensive talent is as good as any in the Big Ten.

"I'm a college football guy," he said. "The next level is not for me. I love Saturdays and the pageantry of college football. I'm looking forward to Rantoul and taking care of business. My first goal is to get 11 guys out of the huddle against Missouri and making a first down. We'll go from there."

Schultz has the look of the right man for the job. He works directly with the tight ends and has already moved 252-pound St. Joseph-Ogden fullback Zach Becker to tight end to provide depth behind Michael Hoomanawanui and Hubie Graham in his two-tight end set.

And while Locksley was his own QB coach, with Kurt Beathard contributing, Beathard is now working directly with Juice Williams.

"There was a pre-existing relationship between Juice and Beathard," Schultz said, "and Juice is a great young man who has made the transition easy for me."

Juice will be running many of the same plays he has known for three previous seasons, and won't be asked to make the kind of changes that confused previous seniors Verduzco and Johnson.

Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com.