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Illinois suffered a loss to No. 16 Michigan this past Saturday, only proving that this team isn’t as developed as the Illini made everyone think.
On Michigan:
“Don’t like the way we started. Of course you go into every football game wanting to win the football game.”
“If we show up like that (in the second half vs. Michigan) in the second half of the football season, we will be celebrating a lot of victories.”
Isaiah Williams had a small appearance on Saturday, but exited with a late injury. When asked on his development so far, Smith said, “When you’re a freshman there’s no substitute for experience. And he (Isaiah Williams) was able to get that Saturday.”
On Wisconsin:
“Of course we have history with the University of Wisconsin. (We) Know what they’re gonna bring.”
“Our back up quarter back (Matt Robinson) played well for parts of the last game. If our starting quarterback is ready to go he’ll play.”
“That’s hard to do. Pay 6 games and have four shutouts.”
“They’ve been good for a period of time.”
“First off, you have to start with Jonathon Taylor, he’s arguably the best player in college football.”
“Seems like they’ve been running the same kind of scheme for years. People come and go but the scheme remains the same.”
“We’re going to try to do everything possible to have successful plays.”
On Ireland:
“As we go out recruiting, theres a lot of things you want college athletes to be a part of. Of course see the world.”
“We’re a melting pot, team-wise. For our guys to see another part of the world should be pretty exciting, down the line.”
“For college guys they’re excited about that. They understand what this trip means.”
Offensive Coordinator Rod Smith:
On the run game: “Obviously you want more production out of it...it’s not like we forgot how to run an block.”
“If we can get ourselves to execute for four quarters like we did in the second and third quarters (against Michigan) then we’re going to come out smiling.”
“Isaiah (Williams) is such a talent we want to keep getting him reps and getting him ready.”
On Matt Robinson: “He’s a confident kid. He knows what we’re doing. The biggest thing for him is to keep getting reps and keep learning.”
On whether or not Illinois plans on Isaiah Williams being a redshirt or not: “If he can help us win the game he’ll play and we’ve told him that.”
“I don’t want to say we did a lot different, but we executed a little bit better in the second and third quarter. It was a lot of the same stuff being called... made some adjustments because Michigan was stacking the box, which they hadn’t shown before.”