The new coach stepped to the center of the Assembly Hall court. Like he owned the place.

He pointed to one side of the arena and yelled "I-L-L." He pointed to the other side and shouted "I-N-I."

In an instant, with one gesture from a guy who was otherwise an outsider, Mike White became one of them.

It's been 32 years since White swooped in from California and won over the Illini crowd.

His passing offense helped. So did a 9-0 run in the Big Ten, the only time that has happened in the history of the conference. And a trip to the Rose Bowl for the first time in two decades.

But, ultimately, White wowed them with his personality. Upbeat. Charismatic. Approachable. The kind of guy you might see eating/drinking at Katsinas or shopping at Diana Foods or hanging out with neighbors at his south Champaign home. He was out there. In a good way.

Who you gonna call?

Sometime in the next week or so, Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas will announce Ron Zook's replacement. What's he looking for? Somebody who can turn the program into a consistent Top 25 team, earn bowl bids annually and compete for Big Ten titles. He would like the person to be of the highest integrity, with graduation rates and citizenship at the top of his priority list. He would like a coach who is involved with the community and Illinois fans across the nation.

This is a human we are talking about, right?

Though he is counting on opinions from friends in the business and administrative types at the school, Thomas also has received his share of advice from the outside. From folks who liked the way White took over at the Assembly Hall 32 years ago and want to see more of the same. Only, without the losing seasons and the NCAA issues.

Meet and greet

Champaign's mayor, the honorable Don Gerard, was an Illinois student during White's era. He remembers the Rose Bowl and White's influence on the community.

Now, Gerard wears a different hat. The mayor wants to see the team succeed for the sake of the community.

Those empty seats at the Illinois-Wisconsin game? Those are dollars that weren't spent in Gerard's city.

"Just bringing in that extra 10,000, that's a lot of steaks and baked potatoes and gasoline and potato chips and beef jerky," Gerard said. "It adds up pretty quick."

It's more than lost revenue to Gerard. It's lost opportunity. Those 10,000 who didn't make it for a football Saturday aren't likely to return another time.

But get them to town to watch a winning program and they also might discover Gerard's downtown.

"Outside the city of Chicago, there's nothing really like it in Illinois," Gerard said. "You'd be hard-pressed to find a downtown our size with so many bars, restaurants, cafes, all locally owned oftentimes using produce, dairy products and meats from the general area. We have something that is fantastically unique and a real gem."

So, building a successful football program at Illinois is important to the community.

"I've been watching Illinois football for 43 years," Gerard said. "We've seen guys who were good X's and O's. Guys who were great recruiters. Guys who were great leaders of men. You would like to see somebody roll all of that together and bring us some quality football, with some strong character and community and fill the stadium."

Gerard has a personality profile for his ideal coach: Bill Self.

"There's a guy who's just really a regular Joe," Gerard said. "We were lucky to have him. If we get someone even close to that coaching for us, we're in good shape."

State of recruiting

After saying "I do" to Illinois, the new coach might want to call Dan Sharp at Joliet Catholic.

"I'd like to see a coach recruit talent but also recruit character," Sharp said. "I think we've got a lot of kids in Illinois who have great talent. I think that's an area that's always important, especially today when you are seeing all of the things going on in college football. Recruit those team players."

Sharp happens to coach one of the top juniors in the country. News-Gazette All-State running back Ty Isaac ran for 515 yards and six touchdowns in the Class 5A state title game.

Isaac has offers from Illinois, Michigan, Notre Dame and others. After his performance in the state title game, he's going to hear from a bunch more schools.

Sharp said Isaac is open to any school, including Illinois. But the new Illini coach will have to convince the young star that the program is going to win at a high level.

"I don't see a timeline with him at this point," Sharp said.

"Other programs may seem more glamorous right now than Illinois. Maybe that just comes through winning."

Sharp doesn't tell his players where to play college football. But he wants to see the homestate school do well. Former Joliet Catholic star Josh Ferguson is a freshman at Illinois, sitting out the season after a nasty leg injury.

"Keeping the good players at home, that's definitely one of the issues," Sharp said. "Illinois is a great university. It's a wonderful place. A lot of our students go there. It would be nice to see some of the better talent in the state go there as well."

Listen up

To his credit, Ron Zook reached out to the former Illinois players. He wanted them to be a part of the program and to feel they could come back at any time.

What he didn't always do, at least according to some, was hear what they had to say.

College Football Hall of Famer David Williams, the best receiver in school history, suggested possible recruits to Zook from the Los Angeles area.

The recruits ended up at various Pac-12 schools, helping to build the Oregon program into a power and rebuild the NCAA-shattered mess at Southern Cal.

If only the past staff had tried, Williams said, the players would have considered going east.

"I could have got all of those kids to go to Illinois," Williams said. "They went to my high school, which is a quarter mile from my house."

When Southern Cal star Robert Woods was a sophomore in high school, Williams told the Illinois staff he "was the best football player I've ever seen."

White turned the Illinois program around with guys like Williams. He went to junior colleges and California high schools to find players who took the Illini to the Rose Bowl.

But there isn't a Californian on the current roster. That bothers Williams.

"You have to come out here," Williams said. "Everybody else does. We lost to Fresno State. Fresno State gets all of the kids from L.A. that none of the big schools want."

Williams and his former Illini buddies in California are willing to help. Within the rules.

"You've got to use us," Williams said. "We know what we're looking at. If I call you and tell you, 'I've seen some players who are really, really good,' you've got to listen. I want my school to be the best in the country. I'm not going to recommend some kid who I don't know."

Illinois could have used Williams to help with a Chicago-area recruit. Williams played with Bob Westerkamp, the father of two-time News-Gazette All-Stater Jordan Westerkamp. The younger Westerkamp, who just set a state record for receiving yards in a title game, has made a commitment to Nebraska.

"Call me and have me call Bob," Williams said.

Familiar faces

When Zook was hired in late December 2004, former Illini Dino Pollock wasn't happy about it.

He had another candidate in mind. Someone who knew about the history and tradition of the Illinois program: former receiver Kirby Wilson.

Wilson was interviewed for the job, along with current Vikings coach Leslie Frazier. But neither felt like they were taken seriously as candidates.

This time around, Pollock wants to see longtime NFL assistant Wilson get a serious look. Wilson has won a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers, helping Rashard Mendenhall's transition into the NFL. And he won a Super Bowl ring with the Bucs. "Kirby brings all of the intangibles that we would want in a coach," Pollock said. "He's got the pro coaching pedigree. He's worked under Mike Tomlin and Ken Whisenhunt. He's coached top players wherever he's been. He's an Illini guy. He understands the community. He understands the institution. He understands how to recruit the Midwest. Not only that, he wants the job. This is a destination for him. It's not a way station. It's not a steppingstone."

Pollock, now an attorney in Valparaiso, Ind., spoke to the school's Board of Trustees on Friday during a public comment session. He asked that the school consider African-American candidates.

"Let's make history not for the sake of making history but because it's consistent with the best of our values: diversity, inclusion and excellence," Pollock said.

Helping hands

A couple requests from the school's biggest fans — members of the Illini Quarterback Club.

First, they would like to see the next coach. A lot. At the weekly luncheons during the season and at a string of events in the offseason. Preferably, with the coach smiling, shaking hands and chatting up the members.

Second, they would like to see the Illinois players at as many events as possible. It didn't happen during the last regime, so they are hoping for a change.

"That's part of the reason why we do it," Illini Quarterback Club president Jim Vasica said. "We're here to support the coaches, but we're also here to support the players and have that interaction with them."

Club membership was already on the rise. Now, it will get a bump from interest in a new head coach and staff.

Vasica can't wait. Neither can the rest of East Central Illinois.