Chase Me: Illini Coaches Admit Usage Level of Chase Brown Has Been Too Low

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- It seems like a consensus opinion on the Illinois coaching staff that Chase Brown is the most dynamic tailback on their roster.

The area of debate seems to be how to most effectively and consistently deploy those skills in an actual game.

The sophomore transfer from Western Michigan has only been on the field for 90 of 191 snaps this season (47.9 percent) and totaled only 181 all-purpose yards in those three Illinois losses this season.

If Illinois head coach Lovie Smith and offensive coordinator Rod Smith are to be believed, these numbers are going to change starting this weekend when the Illini (0-3) travel to Rutgers for an 11 a.m. kickoff on BTN.

“He’s definitely a guy that, I think, we need to get more involved,” Illinois offensive coordinator Rod Smith said. “It’s what we’re doing and that’ll be the plan moving forward. We talked about that last week and I think we have to try to expand that some more.”

With the two leading rushers on the roster leaving via graduation, it was assumed by all involved and surrounding the Illinois football program that the 5-foot-11, 195-pounder from Ontario, Canada would get his opportunity to be a showcase tailback during the 2020 season.

"These next games, as we start making our climb, he can be a big part of that." - Illinois head coach Lovie Smith

Before last week’s debacle loss to Minnesota, Brown said he was “getting more comfortable with the offense” and contributed the fact he got only 10 snaps of offensive work in the opener at Wisconsin to “having my tempo off where I would (in practice) hit the holes too fast and not let the plays develop in front me”.

When Rod Smith saw the box score of the 41-14 loss to Minnesota last weekend, one of the disappointments (among several to pick from) was the inability for the Illini to get Brown more than his four carries for 31 yards.

“We definitely need to get Chase the ball more,” Rod Smith said Monday. “He’s a guy that, to me, has a home run type of ability. Once he hits a crease, there’s a good chance that he’s not going to get caught.

Usually if a player isn’t recording massive stats, it’s because of a production problem either in practice or in the course of a game. However, Brown has shown his ability to be a gamebreaking option in the backfield by averaging 6.44 yards every time his hands touch the football on an offensive play.

“I can see why you would ask that question because when he touches the ball...when Chase has the ball in the open field, he can make you miss in the open field,” Lovie Smith said. “He can run with power inside. These next games, as we start making our climb, he can be a big part of that.”

Thanks to a near career-high performance by Mike Epstein last week (108 yards on 11 carries), Illinois ranks seventh in the Big Ten Conference in rushing offense to counter a passing attack that sits dead last in the 14-team league.

In his first attempt Saturday, Brown executed a beautiful spin move on a 16-yard run on a first-down play after he was subbed in for Epstein. Of the 15 rushing plays of 10 yards or more this season, Brown already has four of them and currently leads the Illini in all-purpose yards per play with 7.5 yards per touch (23rd in the Big Ten).

“As a person who wants to have a big role in this offense, I need to slow down and let holes develop before I jump into a lane,” Brown said. “If you go out there and hit the hole too fast before it develops and letting the lineman make their blocks doesn’t allow for the play to happen because the blocks won’t be there.”

It appears during Minnesota that the plan by the Illinois coaching staff was to swap Epstein (who has started each of the first three games) with Brown by possessions. However, Brown didn’t receive a single carry in the second half in which Illinois attempted 19 run plays and 12 of those were either designed or RPO runs by quarterback Coran Taylor.

“The way to get everybody involved and get more touches is to get more plays and have more sustained drives,” Lovie Smith said Tuesday.