Locksley at home with Illini for now

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- If you're wondering how long Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley has been on the coaching fast track, there's an expensive piece of evidence on his left wrist.

That's where Locksley wears the Rolex watch bought for him by Oakland Raiders running back LaMont Jordan.

Locksley served as Jordan's position coach from 1997-2000 when Jordan set multiple University of Maryland records, so Jordan rewarded his mentor after becoming a second-round NFL draft pick and striking it rich.

Now that Locksley has his multifaceted Illinois offense ticking like clockwork in his third year in Champaign, he's on pace to become a head coach before he's 40.

"And he'll do a great job of it," Illinois head coach Ron Zook said.

Locksley, who turned 38 on Christmas, said Friday that West Virginia contacted him last week about its open job, but nothing has come of it since.

That's just fine with Locksley -- who knows he'll have a chance to run a BCS program -- and definitely fine with Illinois.

He has a lucrative four-year contract extension to sign when the Illini return home from the Rose Bowl.

"What Coach Zook and the administration have done is given me the ability to work and not have to worry every year about someone coming in to coax me based on financial (terms) or years," Locksley said. "With the commitment the university made to Zook, myself and the rest of our staff, it makes it hard to have to leave Illinois other than for a head-coaching position."

That's a remarkable rise considering Locksley hadn't been more than a running backs coach prior to moving from Florida to Illinois with Zook in December 2004.

Zook tabbed Larry Fedora (recently hired as Southern Mississippi's head coach) as his initial offensive coordinator, but Fedora split for Oklahoma State within days after agreeing to be an Illini.

Locksley borrowed from Fedora's Florida schemes and Ralph Friedgen's Maryland systems to come up with the multiple sets that turned Rashard Mendenhall and Juice Williams loose.

"(Zook) has allowed me to put my personality on it, and what I was raised in as a coach was a multiple-style offense," Locksley said. "These players have given us the ability to be more diverse than we even were at Florida."

Locksley hopes that diversity pays off against a USC defense that doesn't figure to allow Illinois' Big Ten-best rushing attack to go for its customary 260 yards.

"We are going to have to find a way to manufacture some big plays," Locksley said, "in order to compensate and give us a chance to have some success."

And if Illinois overcomes its 13.5-point underdog status and pulls off a victory Tuesday? That'll make Locksley an even hotter coaching candidate.

Schools will be lining up to hook him as readily as Locksley lands recruits -- and lobster traps.

If there's a hole on his résumé, it's with the Washington-born Locksley's inability to fish. Goodness knows what might happen if school officials or influential boosters at his next stop hope he'll hang out on a boat with him.

"One time we were in the (Florida) Keys," Zook said. "It was early one morning and he was fishing, and he's from the city and doesn't know anything about fishing.

"He hooks what he thought was a fish. For 20 minutes, he's, 'Yeah, you got it! You got it! Reel! Reel!' And he's sweating like a blind mule.

"We were all laughing. He was hooked to a lobster trap."

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