Illinitalk

Coach Ron Zook's Fighting Illini looked really good as they devoured the first two cupcakes of the season. The win over #18 Arizona State was much sloppier, but it was still a big win.

Though my schedule has limited my time to write, I've still managed to watch the Illini so far this season. They have plenty of room for improvement, but there has been a lot to like.

Here are a few of my favorite things from the season so far, in no particular order:

• Jason Ford's running game. Ford rarely is stopped on first contact. He keeps going forward. He plows through tackles. He is fun to watch. And, he has good potential to overtake Howard Griffith at the top of the most touchdowns scored for the Illini list. Ford has been waiting for his opportunity to shine, and this could well be his year.
• Interceptions. The Illini D has at least one reception in every game. And a few of them have been very impressive. Trulon Henry picked one off of an Arkansas State receiver and the ground. Against Arizona State, Glenn Foster caught a nice ricochet off the back of a Sun Devil. Good stuff.
• Tackles for loss. Vic Koenning's defense has done a nice job getting behind the line of scrimmage. In fact, they have 26 TFLs in 3 games, including 11 sacks, for a total of 96 negative yards for opponents. While quite a few players have gotten in on this fun, the Illini are led by Jonathan Brown with 4.5 and Whitney Mercilus with 4. This could bode very well for the conference season.
• Nathan Scheelhaase under center. Scheelhaase continues to prove he can run the ball, but his passing is improving, as well. He did much better in the first two weeks against weaker opponents. He was exposed a bit against the Sun Devils with a couple interceptions, but he still is showing progress from his redshirt freshman season. He is getting more consistent with his favorite target, A.J Jenkins, but he needs to spread the love a bit for the Illini to strengthen the passing game inside the Big Ten.
  
• Memorial Stadium. The Illini have a very, very favorable schedule, with eight home games. Memorial Stadium is a great place for these boys to play, build confidence, and build excitement around a team that could prove to be a surprise Big Ten contender.
  
• Wide receivers A.J. Jenkins and Darius Millines. These boys have done a very nice job hauling in passes and picking up yards after the catch. Jenkins has become the most likely third down target.
• Promising young players. From the freshman running backs that have take a few carries to Reilly O'Toole getting his feet wet, and even punter Justin DuVernois showing improvement from game to game, the future of the Illini program has promise. Yes, DuVernois has a long way to go, and special teams in general are nerve-wracking, but the fact that he is improving is encouraging.
• 3-0. That's a beautiful record to start the season. The Illini have great potential, a couple years under Koenning and Paul Petrino, plenty of home games and a relatively gentle conference schedule.

I'll save the points that need vast improvement for another day. Go Illini!

Labels: Illini football