Blood, sweat and tears paying off for Illini seniors

CHAMPAIGN -- Middle linebacker J Leman grew up within 2 miles of Memorial Stadium, so Senior Day provides a moment for blissful reminisce.

"Every time when you're a little kid playing out in the yard, you're imagining that you're playing at Memorial Stadium," Leman said. "That's the team you always dreamed of playing for, so it's kind of special."

But for senior safeties Kevin Mitchell and Justin Harrison, thoughts of Saturday's regular-season finale against Northwestern make them wince.

They transport themselves to the postgame locker room scene last year at Ryan Field, when the Illini capped a 2-10 campaign with a 27-16 loss to the Wildcats.

"Just having to look at Alan Ball's eyes, look at Sharriff (Abdullah's) eyes, and just knowing that they had bought into the program just like we had," said Harrison, referencing last year's senior cornerbacks. "They had made the strides just like we had, but the improvement wasn't shown in the record."

"I got emotional," Mitchell said. "I was more mad. Because I'm like, 'Man, all this work that we've done,' because I knew we were a better team than we'd showed.

"But like Coach (Zook) always says, 'You go by your wins. You can talk all that trash you want and you can almost win so many games …'

"But I was so furious after that game. I couldn't even talk, because I knew we had all summer again. I knew we had all these workouts and I was like, 'Man, something's got to give because we've been working too hard. We've been working too hard and been so close.' "

There will be no time budgeted for regrets during Saturday's pregame celebration -- because there will be no need.

With 8 wins in the bank, a potential Bowl Championship Series berth at stake, and the school's first win over a No. 1 team in 51 years fresh in their memories, Illinois' 22 seniors have more than made up for their years of woe.

Ron Zook says he's so grateful to this class, he's going to be make sure to be on the field for Senior Day recognition for the first time in his career.

"If you know me, you know I'm a loyal person," Zook said. "And it's important to me that we send these seniors out on the right note.

"Any success that we've had has had to do with the seniors (and) the guys that played for us the last two years that aren't here. … Because if they hadn't bought in to what our coaching staff was trying to do, then the young players we've been fortunate enough to get here wouldn't have come.

"They can leave here knowing that they had something to do with this program turning the corner a little bit. As I told them Monday, you can take that with you the rest of your life."

Harrison likes to credit Zook and his assistants for shoving the Illini in the right direction upon their arrival in December 2004.

"It was new. Everything we were doing was uncomfortable," Harrison said. "He made you do the things that you hated doing, and that made us all better at every aspect of football.

"So it didn't surprise me we're having success. It surprised me how much success we're having."

How much success has there been? The Illini have returned to the postseason and to the Top 25 polls for the first time since 2001. They've won as many games this year (8-3) as they did in the last four years combined (8-38).

That turnaround includes a home win over No. 5 Wisconsin -- the first win over a top-five team since 1989 -- and the unprecedented road win over a No. 1 team.

Senior guard Martin O'Donnell, lauded as the nation's top lineman while at Downers Grove South High School, can't believe the reception they received Saturday night at Willard Airport.

"I remember when we landed and we first saw them, people were like in disbelief: 'Is that the fans?' " O'Donnell said. "It was just great coming off that airplane and having all those people. I didn't know if they'd gotten lost or what, but it was pretty cool."

After all this winning, the seniors almost find a way to joke about the 6 a.m. workouts they won't miss -- emphasis on the word "almost."

"Those are the worst times there can ever be," said defensive tackle Chris Norwell, who'll make his 45th career start Saturday. "Waking up at 5 in the morning for two weeks straight and running until you can't feel your legs anymore, that's the worst time as a college football player.

"It's the middle of February. It's freezing cold when you wake up. It's dark. People just dread going to them."

"Especially when you're losing," Mitchell said. "That was tough. Man, that was tough."

Notice the past tense? These seniors aren't losers anymore.

"I don't think I could've asked for more, really," Leman said. "This is a great year, but up to this point. I want to make that point. I don't want to say that I'm satisfied because we've still got two more games to play.

"But up to this point, I've got no regrets and I'm feeling good about the year."