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Unlike Gators, Illini Embrace Zook's Class Act

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By Joe Henderson, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 14, 2007

Updated: 11/13/2007 11:33 pm

Sometimes you don't have to say much for the message to come through loudly. So it was late Saturday afternoon, shortly after Illinois' 28-21 upset of top-ranked Ohio State was complete.

As the victorious Illini players celebrated around him, Coach Ron Zook was giving the usual postgame interview on the field at Ohio Stadium. As is his way, he gave credit to the players, credit to the fans, credit to just about everyone but himself. And then he said something else. He thanked Illini Nation for the way it had "embraced" him.

At Florida, he never got that embrace - just a shove toward the door from the moment he was hired until he was mercifully fired after losing to Mississippi State three years ago. You can't say the Gators made a mistake, not after what Urban Meyer has done. But if you're not happy for the goodness that has found Ron Zook, re-examine your life.

He handled his departure at Florida with a measure of grace that spoke loudly about the quality of the man. What he has done at Illinois spoke just as loudly about his strength as a recruiter.

But what he did Saturday in knocking off the Buckeyes proved that he can do more than just gather talent and slap backs. The man can get a team ready to play at the highest level.

Now, the Illini are the talk of college football. If they beat Northwestern, the Illini could tie for second place in the Big Ten. They are 8-3 overall and headed to a bowl game, and wouldn't it just be delicious if they could be matched against the Gators?

Not A Fluke

Before sending his team out for its first practice after the Ohio State game, the Zooker had a message for the players. And, no, it wasn't the ol' "that one is over ... focus on the next game" drill.

"I went back over some things," Zook said Tuesday at his regular media gathering in Champaign, Ill. "It was important ... we have accomplished some things. They just did something that is hard to do. It wasn't a fluke."

No, it wasn't - and maybe that's the best part of this story. With his legendary recruiting skills, Zook has fashioned a team that looks like something out of the SEC instead of the Big Ten. The Illini are loaded with speed and playmakers. They are also ahead of schedule. Zook had told people privately during the summer that he didn't expect his team to make a real splash until next season.

Zook never got that kind of patience at Florida. He recruited many of the players who won the national championship last season, but even that just enhanced his reputation as someone who couldn't be trusted to wear the headset. He could recruit, sure. But could he actually coach?

No one is asking that now. The only Web site associated with his name is the one off the official Illinois Web site: CoachRonZook.com. It's amazing how the change of one word in an Internet address sends out a whole new message about the man.

Imagine The Feeling

Hundreds of fans met the Illini at the airport when they arrived home after beating the Buckeyes. They were treated as heroes. It was just like Zook had told them it could be.

"I told them Thursday night to imagine the feeling and what it would be like walking around campus," he said.

He stopped there, but we don't have to. So let's imagine for a moment what it must have been like for him - hearing the cheers at the airport, feeling the love from students and alumni alike. And knowing that he has revived a program that was down about as low as it could go before he arrived.

It'll only get better now. Zook has assembled some of the best young talent in the land and beating Ohio State will only add to that.

"You don't have to explain to anyone who you are and where you are," he said.

Nope. This is Zook's team and Zook's time. It probably never would have been that way at Florida. Even if he had stayed, even if he had coached the Gators to a national title last season, was it ever going to be good enough? We'll never know.

What we do know is that a classy man has been embraced at last.

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