CHAMPAIGN – Through all the questions, the pleasantries and the subtle investigation after Rod Smith was hired as Illinois football offensive coordinator this weekend, the things that linger are the big picture questions.
Hiring Smith, the former Arizona co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, might seem like the step in the right direction. He put up the credentials in middle management with Rich Rodriguez for years, first at West Virginia and Michigan, then the last six years at Arizona. This past season, Smith was co-offensive coordinator as Arizona had one of the best offenses in the country. The Wildcats were fifth in the nation in scoring at 41 point a game. Their 489 total yards a game was 12th in the nation.
But for all those big numbers, the last thing anyone can remember about Arizona was the loss to underdog Purdue in a no-name bowl late at night on cable TV. (But let’s admit it, any bowl sounds so good these days, doesn’t it Illini fans.) Then came the messy end to RichRod’s days at Arizona, thanks more to scandal than football performance, I guess.
Smith has coached for 22 seasons and accompanied 10 teams to bowl games. The West Virginia native was a former quarterback under RichRod in his Division II days in West Virginia at Glenville State in the 1990s. Smith compiled decades of experience with the spread offense he plans to implement at Illinois. From this vantage point, it comes down to a couple things right off the bat.
Can you call the plays on game day and run the offense well enough to win games?
“More than anything, he was the quarterback coach,’’ said Matt Lev, the Wildcats beat writer for the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson. “Rich Rodriguez ran the offense and called the plays. He was really the offensive coordinator.’’
So, can Smith do it?
“Smith has something to prove,’’ Lev said. “Can he do that? Can he run the show? That remains to be seen.’’
Would you please find some capable quarterbacks to sit in the quarterback room with Cam Thomas, the only scholarship QB in the program when the Illini head to spring practice? Smith has contacts in Southern California, primarily San Diego and Orange County. He was the lead recruiter for quarterbacks at Arizona, according to Lev.
The Illini have MJ Rivers on the way. He’s the kid from Texas. Nothing is locked down yet on Coran Taylor, the Peoria star who apparently has academic hurdles.
Heading into the third year, Lovie made a key hire in his program. Former OC Garrick McGee was one of his cornerstone hires, a lead recruiter and the man who ran the other side of the ball for Lovie, a defensive mastermind. Lovie’s future at Illinois could greatly depend on Smith’s ability to run the offense.
“In my discussions with coach, he was basically telling us we have to get better offensively,’’ Smith said. “He was intrigued by the way we moved the football and scored points. He was interested in that style of football.
“I want to be a multiple spread type team. I want to spread teams out. I want them to cover the field, horizontally and vertically. The hardest thing in football is open-field tackling. We can get matchups, get the ball in space, create mismatches and play the tempo we’re looking for.
Two seasons into it, Lovie is truly banking his future on Rod, a guy who worked under a head coach who had his hands all over the offense. Reminds me a little bit of McGee and Bobby Petrino. After a long search, Lovie ended up with a guy who has plenty of experience, other than running the offense.
While under RichRod at Michigan and West Virginia, Smith helped develop two of the most explosive quarterbacks in Rodriguez’ tenure with West Virginia’s Pat White and Michigan’s Denard Robinson. But there’s the rub?
Where did Smith fit in?
“Coach Rodriguez being an offensive guy, he wanted to be involved,’’ Smith said.
But maybe this is the guy ready to step up and take charge. Somewhere along the line, a guy gets promoted from quarterbacks coach to coordinator. No matter his level of involvement, Rod Smith had plenty of time to watch how it was done by RichRod. This could be his big chance.
Of course, the Illini weren’t working from a position of power. With Illinois logging a 5-19 record in the first two seasons under Lovie and issues over recruiting, roster size and having enough quarterbacks to make anything meaningful in the spring, Illinois isn’t exactly beach front property. It’s a fixer upper, yet there are some really interesting pieces there.
“We’ve been successful every stop we’ve been,’’ Smith said. “I don’t see why it would be any different (at Illinois).’’
Well, get us a quarterback or two. Smith just might have someone in his back pocket, and there’s always the waiver wire known as fifth-year transfers. At this point, the Illini have Thomas, the guy who climbed the depth chart past Chayce Crouch and Jeff George Jr. Crouch said heck with it, retired from the game less than a year after beginning the season as a power 5 conference quarterback. George is the son of a legend who might end up in a lower division.
As he moved up in title, Smith’s job is simple. No matter the offense, whether you want to call it the spread or read option or pistol or whatever, just give us a quarterback worth watching on Saturdays and score enough points to make it interesting.
Yet it still comes down to this. Rod Smith was hired to run the offense and call the plays. He has plenty of hands-on experience in the spread offense and apparently made key recruiting decisions for the quarterback position. But it’s a big step up in responsibility, just like it was for the guy he replaced.
John Supinie is a columnist for Orangeandbluenews.com. During the day, he’s an Audi Brand Specialist at Green Audi in Springfield. Call or text him at 217-377-1977 if you’re looking for an Audi, Volkswagen, Toyota or preowned car. Ask for the Illini deal.
