Preview series: Illinois raises its profile as Lovie Smith era begins
It's July already and college football is just around the corner. The Lovie Smith era kicks off at Illinois, and OrangeandBlueNews.com has all the coverage.
Over the next month leading up to summer camp, we preview the 2016 team, top returning players, newcomers, positions groups, and more.
Columnist John Supine gets us rolling with some thoughts on this new era of Fighting Illini football under head coach Lovie Smith.
CHAMPAIGN – Illinois football is already climbing the ladder, even though preseason camp is still more than a month away and the first snap in the season opener is more than two months down the road.
The game of preseason picks has already begun, and the hiring of coach Lovie Smith catapulted Illinois up the ladder of respectability, as college football writers have given a nod of approval for the Illini. As we watch summer recruiting and satellite camps, commitments and the 12-month recruiting cycle, all eyes remain on Smith, the former NFL coach who guided the Chicago Bears to two NFC championship game appearances and one berth in the Super Bowl.
The Sporting News ranked Smith as the seventh best coach in the 14-team Big Ten Conference and 44th overall in college football. I’ve got to admit, I don’t know where Tim Beckman or Bill Cubit ranked, but I’m pretty sure neither was quite that far up the list.
Beckman built a reputation for bungling that included a pinch between his cheek and gum in Ann Arbor, collisions with referees and mumbling through confusing press conferences.
This season, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer leads the Big Ten rankings when it comes to football coaches, followed by Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh. Like other national college writers, the Sporting News takes another look at Illinois just because of Smith’s hire.
According to the Sporting News “this might seem high given Smith has never been a head coach in the FBS, but we’re betting his NFL background – which included two NFC championship appearances and an appearance in Super Bowl XLI – carries over. Smith’s biggest test will be proving himself on the recruiting trail. If he can win in Chicago, then the Illini could become real intriguing real fast.’’
While Illinois is still in rebuilding mode and trying to regain respectability after the Beckman debacle sent Illinois reeling, college beat writers have an eye on the Illini and Smith. There’s curiosity about Smith’s actual interest in college football, his desire to recruit and perhaps a plan to return to the NFL.
Herb Gould, the former Chicago Sun-Times college reporter, remained skeptical because he’s seen the difficulty of building a consistent winner at Champaign-Urbana over his last two decades during his run as a reporter, and Gould also chronicled a program that’s had just two coaches leave town with a winning record as Illini coach in the last 60 years.
Yet Gould, like his counterparts, will keep an eye on Smith and his Illini.
“Hiring Lovie Smith was a great move,’’ Gould said. “He gives Illinois credibility, an identity. He puts some excitement and a positive spin on a program that desperately needed it. Obviously, the Bears connection will be greeted warmly in Chicago by potential Illini fans as well as diehard alumni.
“He’s off to a good start in terms of hiring a staff, getting to know the state’s high school community and setting some standards for his vision of the Illinois program.’’
But as we move away from Orange and Blue country, national writers from other regions of the country have the Illini on the watch list. Just ask Mark Blaudschun, who joined Gould in developing a website concentrating on college football coverage. TMGcollegesports.com will include columns from writers across the country.
Blaudschun, who spent more than two decades working at the Boston Globe, will be watching the Illini.
“The best word is curiosity,’’ he said. “The name recognition is there. It’s not a normal hire of a coordinator from another Big Ten school. That draws national interest. They want to see how invested he will be in it and what he will do.
“That’s the biggest things. Curiosity. No one is making a pronouncement that he will turn it into Ohio State or Michigan. Where does it fit into Lovie’s master plan?’’
Smith’s name recognition is a hook that will keep Illinois closer to the spotlight. As teams tip toe through the non-conference season in September as the season’s momentum slowly beings to gain shape, Smith gives college writers a reason to take notice.
“When you’re getting ready for the preseason, it’s not a top 5 or a top 10 question when you break down the leagues nationally,’’ Blaudschun said. “After you get past the Harbaugh and Urban Meyer (rivalry), it’s clearly the most interesting story (in the Big Ten). What’s going to happen at Illinois? They’ve been down a bit. Can he turn it around? What’s his goal?
“It’s raised Illinois. Had it taken an offensive coordinator from Michigan State, it would have been a one-liner.’’
Smith provides Illinois some cache it hasn’t had in decades. The instant name recognition is better than Ron Zook, the former Florida coach who brought his recruiting prowess to Illinois and lifted the Illini to the Rose Bowl in his third season here.
“The longer (Smith) stays, it becomes part of the fabric’’ of the Big Ten, Blaudschun said.
There’s the rub. College writers like Gould and Blaudschun are already wondering about Smith’s desire to stick around Champaign.
I’m suspicious,’’ Blaudschun said. “I’ve dealt with the Greg Schianos of the world. Once they go into the NFL and get the NFL bug, I think they want to go back. If the NFL season opens up and Tennessee Titans (head coaching job) eventually opens up and he’s had a decent year, then his name is going to be in the mix. Is he gone or not?’’
Smith will battle negative recruiting because of his NFL experience.
“It will be hard to recruit,’’ Blaudschun said. “He will be asked, ‘What is your commitment to the school? That’s the question he will be asked for a long time. That’s the way it is. Harbaugh even gets it.’’
From his spot on the East Coast, Blaudschun has his own image of Illinois football.
“Never quite met their expectations,’’ he said. “(Hiring Smith) will raise their recognition. They will get watched closely in the first couple weeks. If they pull off an upset or just win their first couple of games, that will start the pom pons going. It’s the nature of the beast.’’
And if that happens, there will be a momentum behind Smith and the Illini.
“People will gravitate to that story,’’ he said.
The Lovie Smith Era has already started. He’s bringing attention to the Illini well before preseason camp. With a win or two, the story will only grow. (Later this month, you can find the work of Gould, Blaudschun and former L.A. Times college writer Chris Dufresne at TMGcollegesports.com. Don’t be surprised if they mention the Illini and Love Smith. Like it is for other college writers, this is an intriguing storyline.)
John Supinie is a columnist for Orangeandbluenews.com. During the day, he’s an Audi Brand Specialist at Green Audi in Springfield. Call or text him at 217-377-1977 if you’re looking for an Audi, Volkswagen, Toyota or preowned car. Ask for the Illini deal.
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