Lovie Smith Week 2 Press Conference Recap

Illinois head coach Lovie Smith held his weekly press conference this week in advance of this week’s game versus Western Kentucky. Here are some of his comments and our analysis.

• “It’s a lot easier coaching with a win.”
• “A lot of young players got experience in their first college football game. We saw a lot of improvement with them.”
• “Now it’s on to another good football team (Western Kentucky).”
• On Nick Allegretti playing center... “We have options, we have about three guys who can snap the ball.”
• “Offensive line didn’t play as well as it needed to this week.”
• “A lot of games come down to guys stepping up and making plays. Dudek did that, and our fans got a chance to see what he can bring to the table.”
• “Malik (Turner) had fought injuries through training camp, and he stepped up.”
• On Mike Epstein... “When you meet him, you like him even more. He didn’t play like a freshman.”
• “There were critical plays at the end when we needed to fight through adversity.”
• “I saw we’re a big underdog (this week). They should have a pretty good feeling.”
• “First time out, good showing by Del’Shawn Phillips.” He finished with 16 tackles. “When you go the (Junior College) route, it’s a long way. He can handle a little adversity. Initially in spring ball, he hurt his ankle. Went down on the depth chart, but he worked and now he made plays.”
• “We play multiple running backs. Some day it isn’t there the way that you would like. Kendrick (Foster) is a good football player, but when you’re not at the top of your game, you have to look to option two. We play running back by committee around here. Option two was pretty good as Mike Epstein.”