Lovie Smith takes a 'professional' approach with Illini
Some college coaches like to hang rivalry countdown clocks in the weight room. Others decorate the hallways with motivational phrases.
Lovie Smith made one aesthetic change when he took over at the University of Illinois on March 7.
A football, attached to a tight spring, was hung on the wall in the defensive meeting room. Any time the players walk past, they're supposed to punch or paw at it to keep the idea of forcing turnovers fresh in their minds.
Smith's hiring was a surprise, coming a few months after last year's interim coach, Bill Cubit, was hired full time.
But when new athletic director Josh Whitman started work, he thought the school could do better and made the switch to Smith, who took the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl in 2006 and most recently spent two seasons in charge of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Ever since the get-go, the team has really rallied behind him,” said fifth-year senior Joe Spencer, the team's starting center. “I think that's part in the way he carries himself, part in the way he's treated us, how he treats us like men day in and day out.
“I think everybody really appreciates and respects that.”
Plenty of successful college coaches are former NFL bosses, including two of the biggest names in the sport, Alabama's Nick Saban and Michigan's Jim Harbaugh.
But not many have taken as long a sabbatical as Smith. Though he has 13 years of college-coaching experience, Smith is back on a campus for the first time in 21 years, dating to his days as defensive backs coach at Ohio State in 1995.
Since taking the job, Smith repeatedly has insisted that football is football and there's basically no difference coaching in college or the NFL.
“I don't see a big difference right now,” he said. “In the NFL, of course, you have early meetings and now they're students early in the day. We knew that and we adjusted our schedule. Eventually, you get back to the football field and it's all the same.”
Things aren't the same for the Illinois players, who were generally shocked, then impressed, by the change of coaches. The Illini now boast of having more NFL experience on their coaching staff than any school in the country.
Asked what's different about the program since Smith arrived, Spencer fittingly used the word professionalism. He says Smith's practices start on time, end on time and are well-scripted.
“He does a great job of explaining why we're doing each situation, what effect it has on us going into the game, the advantages and disadvantages, and we go over it all on film very well,” Spencer said. “It's very precise, very to the point.
“I think Coach Smith from the time I've spent with him these last two months, precision and professionalism are two words that come to mind.”
Anyone who followed Smith's successful run with the Bears from 2004-12 knows he's not a fiery coach who gives impassioned speeches. Will his perpetually calm demeanor work with college athletes?
“He's not one to necessarily bark at you, but always one to take the moment to kind of coach you up, show you what you could have done a little bit better,” Spencer said. “The whole staff is like that. They're always on you for a reason.”
Expectations for this season are not particularly high, but Smith points to a quality group of seniors as a good starting point.
The strength of the team figures to be defensive line, where end Dawuane Smoot is projected by many as a 2017 NFL first-round draft pick. Two other starters return, Rob Bain and Chunky Clemons, plus top reserve Carroll Phillips and grad transfer Gimel President from Auburn.
The linebackers are new, and led by another grad transfer, Hardy Nickerson Jr.
At California last year, Nickerson was named the team's MVP and ranked third in the Pac-12 in tackles. His dad, the longtime NFL linebacker, is Smith's defensive coordinator.
On offense, senior quarterback Wes Lunt is a third-year starter. Smith compared Lunt to former Bears QB Kyle Orton, which is a nice compliment, all things considered.
The team's top rusher, sophomore Ke'Shawn Vaughn, is back, along with the second- and third-leading receivers, Malik Turner and Desmond Cain. Neuqua Valley's Mike Dudek, a 1,000-yard receiver as a freshman, is expected to miss his second straight season with another torn ACL in his right knee.
Three full-time starters return on the offensive line, Spencer and tackles Christian DiLauro and Austin Schmidt. Smith wants to reintroduce a fullback, but he had to convert a couple of players from the defensive side.
Smith held summer practices on campus and kept most of them open to the public. He welcomed a variety of celebrity guests, from ex-Bears cornerback Peanut Tillman to former Illini great Dana Howard and longtime basketball coach Lou Henson.
Whether Smith and his pack of NFL helpers can turn things around in Champaign is anyone's guess.
A low-level bowl game seems possible this year, but 247sports ranks the current Illini recruiting class as 12th out of 14 teams in the Big Ten.
The Washington Post ranks this year's team 81st in the country, just ahead of East Carolina and behind Central Michigan.
The Illini resurgence may take some time.
“People don't see the storm that's coming,” Smoot told the Bloomington Pantagraph last month. “They don't see what's going to happen. But we know.”
Illinois schedule
DATE: OPPONENT, TIME (TV)
Sept 3: Murray St., 2:30 p.m. BTN
Sept 10: N. Carolina, 6:30 p.m. BTN
Sept 17: W. Mich., 3 p.m. ESPNews
Oct 1: at Nebraska, 2:30 p.m.
Oct 8: Purdue, TBD
Oct 15: at Rutgers, 11 a.m.
Oct 22: at Michigan, 2:30 p.m.
Oct 29: Minnesota, 11 a.m.
Nov 5: Michigan State, TBD
Nov 12: at Wisconsin, 2:30 p.m.
Nov 19: Iowa, TBD
Nov. 26: at Northwestern, TBD