More mailbag…

Would we have the best DL in the country if Whitney stayed?
~Tom

Yes. Well, the best starters at least.

Three NFL players (plus Glenn Foster with a shot to hang on somewhere). Two of the top three defensive ends in the Big Ten. We were 6th out of 120 teams in sacks last season – you’d have to think we could be #1 had everyone returned.

It would be one of those topics where we’d throw out the stat in front of an Alabama fan and they’d LOLOLOLOL for a while and then we’d show them some draft guru’s rankings of Mercilus and Buchanan and Spence and they’d start to quiet down and then we’d show them last year’s sack and TFL totals and they’d stammer and grumble and him without hawing, finally mumbling “roll damn tide” and sulking away. Woulda been epic.

Alas, Whit is gone, so we’re, like, 9th best.

What do you think the biggest difference is between the Zook regime and the Beckman era? My impression was that the talented guys never fully blossomed because they always knew Zook had their back. Does Beckman et. al. seem to be the type to light someone up if needed?
~J.P.

Similar to the question from the last mailbag, but I like that this dicussed Zook as a “had their back” coach. TOTALLY true. He fancied himself as a father figure to his guys – the kind of father figure that cancels your grounding and hands you the car keys when mom goes to bed. He loved coaching young men and being there with an open office door. This was both a positive (look at his relationship with Eddie McGee) and a negative (as you mentioned, many players somewhat coasted with a coach who they knew would give them a hug when they came off the field).

I think it’s too early to say yet, but if I had to guess, Tim Beckman won’t be the “light them up” type. I could see him more as the organized father type. “Your father wants to see you in his office”. And then you walk in and he pulls out the code of conduct and lets you know exactly how you’re letting yourself down and your family down.

To your concern, I don’t think that will be an issue. Meaning, coasting players and undisciplined play because of a “we’re just one big happy family” head coach. I think Tim Beckman wants to build the depth to where you play because of your effort, not because you’ve earned it by being a junior or senior. Make a mistake, and it won’t be “we’ll get that fixed”; I think it will be “he’s not holding up his end of the bargain so he’ll sit at the start of the next game”.

What drills are being used to ingrain proper footwork with the quarterbacks? While this scheme would seem to prioritize quick decision-making and accuracy, could you comment on the drills being used to improve accuracy and velocity? (Hey, it’s memorial stadium; at some point, the QB’s gonna hafta drive the ball on a quick slant.)

If (or more accurately, “when”) Nate wins the starting job, are the coaches concerned about O’Toole transferring to a program that can offer him PT? If so, how do they intend to keep him “involved” in the offense in 2012-13?
~F.P.

Second part first. I really have no concerns about an O’Toole transfer. First, because I think we’ll use both quarterbacks and try to do different packages. Heck, we might see three quarterbacks used in one game, with a package for Miles Osei as well.

Second, if you follow our players on Twitter, you’ll see that Scheelhaase, Osei, and O’Toole are ridiculously tight. Best friends tight. Travel to Cedar Point to ride roller coasters tight. Tweet about a 2:00 am meal tight. Those three plus Ryan Lankford are apparently very close friends. I asked both Nathan and Reilly about it those four in Rantoul, and both of their answers were pretty much “cause we’re the four best friends that anyone could have”. When Nate comes out and Reilly comes in, I think he’ll legitimately be pulling for Reilly to go 7 for 7 and lead a touchdown drive.

As to the first part of your question, which I’m answering second, even though I opened the last two paragraphs with the word “second”, the first week of camp seemed to be specifically catered towards installing the offense. So the majority of the offensive drills seemed to be focused on “trips right, tight end in motion, you read the mike and the weakside DE to determine if…”

I did see several “here’s the footwork for this turn and fire” drills, though. Take the snap in the shotgun, footwork to load the arm, quick release. The quarterback who performed best in those drills? Miles Osei.

I would like to know if guys like Terry Hawthorne, Miles Osei, and Justin Green are taking snaps at the WR position. As you have well articulated many times, the Illini are thin at WR and I would like to know what the coaching staff are really doing beyond speculation.
~Andy

Osei? Absolutely. I saw him run through position drills with the quarterbacks, the running backs, and the wide receivers. I think we’ll see him all over the field.

Hawthorne and Green? Didn’t see a single drill or a single 7-on-7/11-on-11 formation where they lined up with the offense. Does this mean they won’t really be used there? Does it mean that the defensive coaches want to install the entire defense before they lose their fastest two guys to an offensive drill? Not sure. But if you went looking for guys at multiple positions this camp, you’d have seen Jon Davis and Miles Osei, not Terry Hawthorne and Justin Green.