No matter how you say it, it's been quite a year for Illini

After being voted by the media as the Big Ten Coach of the Year, Ron Zook was focused more on the future and present than the past.

"I'm completely content," Zook said Monday after learning of the award. "I've said this many times, I told (my wife) Denise when she was building the house, I said, 'Do what you want because I could see us ending up here.' I mean, we're not even close to where we're gonna be. There's no reason why we can't make the same amount of progress in the next two years that we've made in this three years."

That's Zook, always thinking ahead. While Illinois waits word on its immediate future -- its January bowl game and opponent -- let's take a look back at the 2007 season with the aid of some memorable, and telling, quotes:

Feb. 6, 2007

"It's kind of top-heavy with great players. But for them, with a 2-10 record, in 28 years of doing this I've never seen a team recruit like that. For a 2-10 team to do that is really a testament to their recruiting savvy and aggressiveness and ability to never give up."

-- CSTV recruiting analyst Tom Lemming breaking down Illinois' nationally ranked class, which included receiver Arrelious Benn and seven other newcomers who contributed this year

Aug. 3

"I just made sure I was full at all times. And then at dinner I made sure I was past full. A couple days I was kind of close to putting dinner back on my plate, but I managed to keep it down."

-- Offensive left tackle Xavier Fulton discussing his diet from the end of spring ball to the start of fall practice. Bulking up from 268 to 296 pounds, he switched from defensive line in the spring and became an all-Big Ten second-team pick

Sept. 1

"I'm judged solely on losses. And wins. There's no question in my mind we're better, but who's going to believe that if you weren't at the game? We've still got to go do it. But I feel good because I know we're still on the verge. That's a team that's going to help us be a better team this year because they are a good team."

-- Ron Zook after the 40-34 loss to Missouri in St. Louis

Sept. 8

"I kind of had problems as far as my reads and hitting the open guys. I left a bunch of plays out there. (The win) feels great, even though I'm down on myself a little bit. But I'm going to wash it off and you probably won't be able to tell I had a not-so-good game by tomorrow."

-- Illinois QB Juice Williams after struggling (12 of 24, 123 yards, 1 INT) in a 21-0 win over Western Illinois

Sept. 12

"I think the big thing with Rashard dates back to high school, and it's not a criticism. I think he was more of a guy who, when he got the ball, could do whatever he wanted. Reverse field whenever he wanted. He could just do some made-for-TV stuff. With him, it's just about being disciplined, being able to run between the tackles. And then, once you get into the open field, let your creativity take over. Just be a little more disciplined about hitting the right points."

-- Running backs coach Reggie Mitchell assessing Rashard Mendenhall, who rewrote the Illini record book with 1,526 yards and 16 TDs

Sept. 12

"If a guy gets behind you, it's a catastrophe. And I'm not into catastrophes."

-- First-year offensive line coach Eric Wolford explaining why he pushes so hard. His linemen surrendered 5 sacks in the first two weeks but only 6 more in the last 10 games to lead the Big Ten.

Sept. 22

"That's a good game."

-- Rashard Mendenhall after rushing for 214 yards with 2 TDs at Indiana as Illinois snapped a 13-year losing streak in Big Ten openers.

Sept. 29

"It was kind of talked up on the sidelines. We said we owe it to the fans. They've been waiting so long for us to beat a team like this. It was just great up there being up in the stands having everyone pat you on the back and tap you on the head saying, 'Good game.' "

-- QB Juice Williams explaining why players climbed into the stands to party with students after Illinois' 27-20 win over No. 21 Penn State snapped a 19-game losing streak vs. ranked opponents

Oct. 6

"This game was definitely a statement. Last game was a statement. I can't really say where everybody sees us, but we're definitely gaining respect. People are starting to see us as a legitimate program."

-- Rashard Mendenhall after accounting for 190 yards and 3 TDs in a 31-26 victory over No. 5 Wisconsin, snapping the Badgers' national-best 14-game winning streak

Oct. 14

"We got a few e-mails that I told my wife (Denise), 'Gosh, we're back in Florida.' "

-- Ron Zook the day after Illinois' 10-6 loss at Iowa, which included a few controversial penalty acceptances that helped Iowa rally to victory

Oct. 15

"Our football program has made considerable progress under his leadership and we look forward to working with Coach Zook and his staff to continue building the program."

-- Athletic director Ron Guenther on Ron Zook's contract extension, which jumped his annual pay from $1,050,000 to $1,505,000

Oct. 20

"Obviously Kyle's a Division I player and he's capable of making the play. It was a costly turnover, but you know what? That one play didn't cost us the game."

-- Offensive coordinator Mike Locksley's advice for punt returner Kyle Hudson, whose muffed fair catch with 8:58 left led to Michigan's winning score in a 27-17 loss at Memorial Stadium

Oct. 24

"The worst are the eggs. They eat so many and they pile up so fast, the shells get everywhere. Then they get smashed into little tiny pieces on the floor that are impossible to pick up."

-- Special-teams ace Drew McMahon selling out housemate J Leman, among others, for his eating habits in their ramshackle off-campus home known as "Fort Monk"

Oct. 27

"It's amazing. It's been a long five years -- a LONG five years. I made sure I went up to all the seniors. We've worked long and hard for this. I'm also just real happy for our fans, just so they can walk around wearing Illinois stuff with pride."

-- All-Big Ten guard Martin O'Donnell after Illinois became bowl-eligible for the first time since 2001 with a 28-17 win over Ball State

Oct. 27

"I just want to know and just try to make the best decision. You can't play football for a long time. It's going to end, so you've got to try and weigh all options. The coaches and my family, we try to keep all that separate. We've got a season to play. After the season, there's going to be plenty of time to decide what we're all going to do."

-- Big Ten offensive player of the year Rashard Mendenhall's first public comments regarding his chances to turn pro after this year

Nov. 3

"It was a little bit intimidating last time. But when you're prepared, things don't seem as daunting. Hopefully we'll go out there ready to go. We're not going to be intimidated by anyone."

-- Linebacker Brit Miller discussing Ohio State and its stadium, minutes after Illinois beat Minnesota 44-17

Nov. 10

"They were running run stunts inside where they were blitzing their inside linebackers. And that shut off every gap inside the box. The plays we were able to get outside the perimeter, we didn't execute our blocking as well. So we had to come up with another adjustment.

"We said, 'Let's come off (the ball), play action and get those linebackers to suck up. We put them in run/pass conflicts and Juice found the open receivers."

-- Offensive coordinator Mike Locksley explaining the X's and O's of Juice Williams' career-high 4 touchdown passes in Illinois' 28-21 upset of top-ranked Ohio State

Nov. 10

"That's the first time I've even approached Coach Zook. He kind of stuck close to me and he said, 'Get it or I'm going to hurt you.' So that motivated me even more to get the first down."

-- Juice Williams on the defining play of the Ohio State win, when he changed Ron Zook's mind during an OSU timeout with 6:53 left and turned a punting situation into a successful sneak on fourth-and-an-inch. The Illini ran out the clock from there as Williams converted 3 third downs with his feet.

Nov. 10

"The first time we went to work out in the summer, we said, 'Is that guy in college?' But dude can play."

-- J Leman's recollection of freshman cornerback Miami Thomas, who showed up in June weighing 154 pounds. He was worth that in gold against Ohio State when he subbed for injured all-Big Ten corner Vontae Davis. Thomas's first career pass breakup became an end-zone interception by Antonio Steele, then he got his first career interception to set up Illinois' game-ending drive.

Nov. 13

"The magic answer is time. As a coach, you always have to have the patience that, at some point, the light switch goes on."

-- Mike Locksley explaining Juice Williams' remarkable finish. His pass-efficiency rating in Illinois' first nine games was 104.2, but it zoomed to 163.2 in Illinois' final three games. He had 339 of his 774 rushing yards in the last three games.

Nov. 17

"The stuff we've been through has been tough. But walking off the field at 9-3 was all worth it."

-- J Leman summing up his final steps at Memorial Stadium after Illinois' regular-season-ending 41-22 win over Northwestern

Tale of the tape

If you're wondering why Illinois went from 2 wins to 9 wins (and No. 100 to No. 17 in the BCS ratings), check out these numbers:

Seasons 2007 2003-06

Games 12 46

Record 9-3 8-38

Record vs. ranked opponents 3-1 0-15

Turnover margin +1 -48

Games Illini won turnover battle 5 6

Sacks margin +27 -45

Special teams touchdowns margin +1 -4

Defensive touchdowns margin -2 -7

Times outrushed opponents 11 18

Big Ten first-teamers (by coaches) 3 0

Games allowing 400-plus yards 3 25

Weeks receiving AP Top 25 votes 7 0