For years, Illinois has been trying to escape the shadows of the Big Ten giants on its way to recapturing the national prominence the program enjoyed in the early 20th century.
Ron Turner just may be that special coach to lead them to the promised land.
For years, Turner had lived in the shadow of his older brother Norv. Now, both Turner and his program seem to be on the verge of breaking through.
Inheriting a program in a downward spiral in 1997, Turner is on a five-year roller coaster that has his team at 8-1 in 2001 and ranked No. 12 going into tomorrow’s showdown with Ohio State.
Still, the respect that normally goes with winning has yet to arrive in Champaign. The Illini remain the lowest ranked one-loss team from a major conference and also rank below a two-loss team, one of those Big Ten giants, Michigan.
“We can’t concern ourselves with that stuff,” Turner said. “We have to do what we can, and that is to win.”
Despite his recent success, Turner hasn’t done that consistently at Illinois. And that is what he is striving for.
Illinois had gone 2-9 under Lou Tepper in 1996, then fired Tepper to bring in the great offensive mind that Turner was acclaimed for. Turner promptly went 0-11 in 1997, with his team held under ten points on five occasions. In 1998, Illinois went 3-8 and were held to single digits six times and shut out twice.
Doubts surfaced about Turner and his offense, a pro-style attack he developed while coaching in the NFL.
Much of the offense was constructed in a similar fashion to what current San Diego coordinator Norv Turner had done as an offensive coordinator in the pros with the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas and as head coach with Washington.
“The impact Norv had on me was that you have someone to bounce ideas off of,” Turner said. “He’s a brilliant offensive mind and I really took things scheme-wise from him. The philosophy he used at USC and later in the pros are very similar to what we do here.”
Turner’s time in the NFL also impacted the development of an offensive philosophy. He served as the offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears from 1993-96, working under current Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt, who was the defensive coordinator in Dallas when Norv was running the Cowboy offense.
“My four years in the NFL taught me how to create match-ups and study personnel better,” Turner said. “I’ve tried to carry that with me.”
He knew his offense would come around at Illinois.
What was missing was the quarterback he wanted. And he got it in Kurt Kittner. Success would soon follow.
“In any program, you have to have a quarterback,” Turner said. “He doesn’t necessarily have to be a star. But he has to be a leader and he has to function efficiently for you to succeed.”
It was no coincidence that with Kittner’s breakout season as a sophomore in 1999, came the fruition of Turner’s plans. In 1997 and 1998, Turner had shuffled quarterbacks with his leading passers from those two years combining for 1,811 yards through the air.
Kittner passed for 2,702 yards in 1999 and the Illini established themselves as an offensive juggernaut, going 8-4 and scoring over 40 points five times, including a 63-21 drubbing of Virginia in the Micronpc.com Bowl. Turner also became the first opposing coach to earn wins at The ‘Shoe and The Big House in the same year.
All seemed to be well, the team was young and confident with a plethora of stars returning.
Then complacency set in.
Illinois sustained injuries, Kittner’s numbers fell and the Illini stumbled to a 5-6 mark. But while the play on the field wasn’t there, everything else within the program stayed on course.
“We had a very good year recruiting and it had been a year since the bowl game,” Turner said. “Nobody knew going into it what to expect. But the down year didn’t have that much of a negative impact.”
The program has bounced back to match their win total from 1999 with two regular season contests and a bowl game to come.
Kittner, again, is the key.
“The guy is a senior, he’s a great football player and he knows how to win,” Turner said.
Turner is gaining credit as not only a quality offensive mind but a great developer of quarterbacks. In Turner’s career, Kittner is just the latest in a long line that includes Jeff Garcia, Erik Kramer, Jim Harbaugh, Rodney Peete and Dave Kreig.
“There may not be a better place for a young quarterback to learn and grow than at Illinois,” said Joel Buchsbaum of Pro Football Weekly.
He’ll have to develop another one next year, but his plan seems to be falling into place. The Illini have built a strong talent base and now dominate the Land of Lincoln in recruiting and have made inroads nationally.
Still, for Illinois to gain the respect it may have been denied this year, consistency is the key. Turner isn’t getting heady over this year’s resurgence. He knows how quickly things can change, and he has the memories of the 2000 season around to remind him of how quickly it can all change.
