Illinois looks to regain
confidence, winning form
Editor's Note: This is part two of a 10-part series examining every
football team in the Big Ten other than Purdue. The Purdue preview Tailgate
Guide will appear Aug. 31.
By Paul Trembacki
Sports
Editor
Illinois lost three games in the final minutes
last season, changing a promising season into a disappointing one.
When looking for one reason to explain that phenomenon,
Illinois coach Ron Turner didn't blame the referees, didn't blame the
grip on the ball and didn't blame himself.
He said it was all about "swagger."
"Swagger is like cockiness," Turner said. "It's
that combination of confidence and cockiness, that sense of 'I want
to do it; give me the ball.'"
His team had a swagger when it went 8-4 and beat
Virginia 63-21 in the Micronpc.com Bowl in 1999. But in 2000, when Illinois
was supposed to be better, that swagger was absent. The result was a
5-6 season and a tie for ninth place in the conference.
Therefore, an attitude change is necessary, Turner
said.
 "Last
year our players seemed to look around and ask, 'Who's going to make
the play?'" Turner said. "Our focus this year is regaining that confident
swagger to win close ball games. We have to find a way to make plays
in the fourth quarter of close ballgames."
Illinois started 3-0 last year but lost its fourth
game 35-31 to Michigan on a questionable fumble call toward the end
of the game. The call killed what appeared to be a game-winning drive
for Illinois. The referees issued a public apology the following week,
but that didn't help Illinois from losing three of their next four games.
"The Michigan game had a big impact on the way
the rest of our season went," Turner said. "I think our players lost
a lot of confidence in themselves."
After a solid spring, a successful summer conditioning
program and the return of several healed players on offense and defense
have brought a renewed confidence to Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
On defense, the Fighting Illini have installed
a blitz package to complement the speed of the athletes. That has players
such as safety Bobby Jackson excited.
"We know we're strong and fast, even up front,"
Jackson said. "Our strength is our secondary coverage, but the team
is a nice circle. We need all the pieces of the circle to make it work."
Defensive tackle Brandon Moore, for example, weighs
286 pounds and bench presses 495, but he was quick enough to make 55
tackles and three sacks last season.
Jackson said the team wants to have fun and play
with confidence, and he believes that arrogance is somewhat of a necessity.
"Last year, some of us had it, but not enough,"
Jackson said.
The offense shouldn't have as hard a time regaining
confidence this season. Labeled as a Heisman Trophy candidate and "one
of the best quarterbacks in the country" by Turner, senior Kurt Kittner
is entering his fourth year and hoping to get Illinois back into a bowl
game.
Most of the best games of Kittner's career were
in 1999 when he threw for 2,702 yards and 24 touchdowns. Last year he
threw for just 1,982 yards and 18 scores. His interception total last
year — eight — was a career-worst, and he's ready to put last
season behind him.
"We had a great spring and that brought back a
lot of that confidence and swagger," Kittner said. "We're back into
it and ready to score some points."
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