2001: 10-2, 7-1 in the Big Ten (1st)
Coach: Ron Turner, 26-31 in 5 years at the school
Returning starters: 15 (7 offense, 7 defense, 1 specialist)
Top returnees: WR Brandon Lloyd (65 rec., 1,062 yd., 10
TD); WR Walter Young (50 rec., 890 rec., 8 TD); CB Eugene Wilson
(70 tackles, 6 int.); LB Jerry Schumacher (125 tackles)
Outlook: In most circles, the Illini are getting no respect
despite last year’s league championship run. But they have
a solid corps of returnees on defense and boast one of the top wideout
combos (Lloyd and Young) in the country. If a decent replacement
is found for quarterback Kurt Kittner, Illinois could repeat.
Soundbite: “Our team motto this year is ‘Take
another step.’ We did some great things last year but we didn’t
get where we wanted to go because we didn’t win the last game
of the season.” — Ron Turner
