The Zooker Takes His Show on the Road

Ron Zook brought his young and talented Fighting Illini squad to Chicago’s St. Rita High School for what was termed “The Chicago Spring Game” on April 14th. A more traditional spring game was played at under-construction Memorial Stadium the following Saturday. The unique event in Chicago came on the heels of Zook’s remarkable recruiting job. His most recent class was ranked by Rivals.com 17th nationally and third in the Big Ten. That success has come after a two year stretch which saw the Illini win a measly four games. The Chicago Spring Game was hailed as a great recruiting ploy, however, being that NCAA rules prevented potential recruits from talking with coaches and players the event was most likely motivated more to appeal to Illinois’ large Chicago alumni base. Illinois paid St. Rita a nominal fee for use of facilities. The location choice was due mostly to St. Rita having a similar playing surface as Memorial Stadium.

While the recruiting motives for the event may have been modest, it nonetheless indicates something about Ron Zook and his recruiting ability. In the face of Zook’s recruiting success, he and his program was hit with allegations of cheating during recruiting. As of now, these allegations are merely a means to rationalize his success since no evidence of wrongdoing has been found. The Chicago event shows that perhaps Zook is thinking differently and being more creative in his efforts to promote his program and attract recruits than his competition.

At the epicenter of the recruiting allegations is wide receiver Arrelious Benn. Ranked as the nations number five wide receiver and 24th player overall by Rivals.com, Illini beat out Notre Dame for. Benn, an early enrollee this spring, has been nothing short of spectacular. He made many highlight reel plays in Chicago and dominated the spring game in Champaign by going for 145 receiving yards and 42 rushing yards. Count on Benn to make a tremendous impact next fall as he will be expected to be at the center of the gridiron resurgence Zook expects.

Despite only two wins in each of the last two years, Zook’s success has occurred not only with the peripherals. Zook, the former NFL defensive coordinator, saw tremendous improvement in his defense. His first defense allowed the most Big Ten play points in conference history. However, his defense improved by 159 yards per game and finished with the 33rd best defense in the country. Most notably, Illinois held Ohio State to 224 total yards, 20 second half yards, and 108 passing yards. All regular season lows for the Buckeyes. Florida’s defensive coordinator Charlie Strong bested the Illini’s defensive effort against Ohio State. Much was made about Florida winning the national title with a roster full of Zook recruits. Perhaps more should have been made out of Strong possibly talking with his former boss about defending the Buckeyes. While Zook’s recruits were clearly involved with Florida’s national title, perhaps Zook’s finger prints were on the defensive game plan that carried Florida to the title.

Illinois’ improvement from a year ago was not limited to the defensive side. They led the Big Ten in rushing and finished 10th nationally with 189 yards per game. That leaves the passing game as being the primary reason for why Zook did not win more games in his second season. His passing offense is his only unit which digressed in his second year. Blame for the passing game struggles can be largely placed on the shoulders of true freshman quarterback Juice Williams. Williams, while making the occasional dazzlingly play, completed a pitiful 39% of his passes. He threw nine touchdowns, but nine interceptions. Williams struggles were rooted in overthrowing and being frantic in the pocket. Williams' inconsistency has persisted as he struggled in Chicago but played well a week later in Champaign.

Zook is placing much of his fate in the hands of Williams. If Williams can progress in the coming years so will the Illini. If Williams’ career goes the way of former Georgia Tech quarterback Reggie Ball – a player with high expectations after starting as a true freshman only to digress as he aged – then Zook and the Illini will be in for a frustrating stretch. Ron Zook is putting Illinois in position to achieve great things in the coming years, but will Juice Williams respond to the faith the Zooker has in him?