What Illinois Coaches Said About Indiana Football: 'Talent All Over the Freaking Place'

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Illinois football finished its final workouts Friday afternoon before taking the two-and-a-half-hour bus ride to Bloomington, Ind., where No. 19 Indiana awaits the No. 9 Fighting Illini for a 7:30 p.m. clash Saturday night inside Memorial Stadium.

During the week leading into Saturday's top 20 matchup — the first in Bloomington since 1987 — several Illinois coaches spoke to the media about Indiana, be it coach Curt Cignetti, quarterback Fernando Mendoza or broader takeaways on the Hoosiers' offense, defense and special teams.

Here's what head coach Bret Bielema, offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr., defensive coordinator Aaron Henry, linebackers coach Archie McDaniel and receivers coach Justin Stepp said prior to facing the Hoosiers.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema

General thoughts on Indiana

“A very, very good football team here. Obviously, a College Football Playoff team a year ago. I really didn't know Cig before before him coming in the league. Obviously, I'd heard of him, his name, and I really enjoyed the last year and a half with him in the coaches meetings. So we sat right by each other last year in L.A. spring meetings and had a chance to be around him.

"And this football team offensively, defensively and special teams, I think, are as well-coached as anybody we’ll see. They definitely have complimentary football written all over it. Just the way they play, the way they talk, the way they communicate. Just very, very impressive group to watch overall. So we got our work cut out for us.

"I'm excited to get over there and know it'll be a good environment. I think Brent gave me the stat. This is the first time that two ranked Illinois and Indiana teams have gone against each other since 1950. I was shocked at that. I remember being a player against Indiana. I think they had a running back named Thompson. Was a really good player. And obviously, when they had Antwaan Randle El, (he) was an exceptional football talent.

"So then the last time we went over there, obviously, the fallout from that game, you know, was one that really hurt us and stung. But hopefully we're going to be better prepared on Saturday. I think we got a lot of really good football players who know how to play and have been excited to start Big Ten play. And we'll get that going this Saturday.”

On Indiana’s running game and his history with Indiana offensive line coach Bob Bostad

“Different type of run game than we had when we were together at Wisco. But yeah, Bob Bostad is one of, in my opinion, one of the best assistant coaches I've ever had. When I was with him, when we were together, not only the coaching and the development of our current team, but he did an incredible job in recruiting, building that offensive line.

"We built a lot of really good players. There wasn't transfer players then. They were built from within, right? And Bo just really had a very good knack at taking a player that he saw a certain skill set and we got them in our program and our strength coach and our strength conditioning, the way we build them obviously led to a lot of success. And they're doing that same thing now.”

On Indiana and Illinois both being ranked, what it says about the college football landscape and their recruiting battles

“I think Indiana is a case in point. They've done a really, really -- obviously, he brought guys with him from JMU. But now you've seen the addition of some other guys that have come in, and he just, he gets a player that they want.

"I would say that we probably compete against Indiana in high school recruiting and portal windows as much as anybody else in the Big Ten. Just the kind of systems we both run and the kind of players I think we look for. So that's unique.”

On Indiana being well-coached

“Yeah, there's very few plays that you can tell there's a mental breakdown. Or we always say that more games are lost than won in our program, penalties, mental errors, and turnovers, and they just don't do those things, right?

"And I think a tell is always special teams. You can have a group that has a really good offensive unit, defensive unit, but when special teams falls in line with that, that's usually something that kind of just goes ding, ding, ding. This is a universal approach.

"And I think just the fact that those coaches have stayed with him right through everything. Obviously, he's kept putting his, everybody keeps getting bumped in salaries, which probably makes it a little easier too. But you just meet an Indiana coach and they love the game, right? I wasn't surprised, Bob Bostad, who he didn't know, right? He retained him, but Bo fits that DNA, right, of what it plays out.”

On Indiana and Illinois meeting as ranked teams

“I think it's just awesome. I say this all the time, just for college football to be at this point. I remember playing against Indiana, they had a really good running back. Antwaan, when he was over there, Antwaan Randel El was like the hardest offense I’ve ever schemed against. I remember that as a player and a coach.

"So to see both those teams, I know proud fan bases. I know Indiana, when you saw those, we didn't cross over them a lot last year to watch them even though obviously we didn't play them. But you saw that atmosphere, you saw the environment, you hear Cig talk about his program. In recruiting, we were going against them quite a bit.

"So it's cool to see a fan base get ignited like that. And much to the same thing we're seeing here. I think that's one thing about this conference, like fans can get feisty with one another. But I think there's a mutual respect, especially in Indiana, Illinois, that not just traditional blue blood, that now they're both playing well.

"So a lot of fun things to show up on Saturday. I'm sure it'll be a live crowd, 7:45 at night. Everybody's going to have an opportunity to hydrate properly, I'm sure, in the audience. So, it should be a good environment for everybody.”

Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr.

On the challenges posed by Indiana's defense

"Well, they're very confident. They're very experienced. The scheme is a challenging scheme, and a very impressive defense. I mean, that's what stands out. I mean, it's obviously the way they played defense over the last year and a half, or year and a third, is very impressive."

Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry

On Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza

"I think Mendoza is another one of those guys who I believe is gonna play on Sunday. He has a live arm. I've been watching this young man for a while back at Cal. I mean, he makes some throws, you're like, 'My goodness.' I mean, his arm is as live as live can get. I mean, he has a nice, beautiful ball he throws, right?

"I think his downfield vision, his progressions that he make when he's in a pocket is absolutely incredible.I mean, I think this dude's an NFL quarterback for a bunch of different reasons, but his ability to throw the ball is absolutely incredible."

On the rest of Indiana's offense around Mendoza

"I think it also helped that he has some really, really good playmakers to throw the ball to, right? Elijah Sarratt, I mean, I think that young man is, I mean, if he ain't the --- I think he's one of the best receivers in the Big Ten, right? Going off of last year, coming into this season, I know he probably obviously wants more throws.

"I know they got Omar Cooper Jr., who's also a very significant threat I mean, you got Sarratt and you got Cooper Jr., I mean, both those guys are as good as any tandem of receivers in the Big Ten.

"And so we got a tough challenge ahead of us, on top of having some really -- they pride themselves on running the football on top of having a really, really dynamic run game and a very, very impressive O-line. And so I think anytime you get into Big Ten play, I mean, this is what you're gonna face from here on out. And so we got a tall task, again.

"But I'll tell you one thing, they do a phenomenal job at running the ball. Obviously, the O-line coach Bob Bostad, he was our O-line coach when I was back at Wisconsin with Coach (Bielema). So, Coach Bostad's a gritty dude, he's going to have them dudes ready to play. And so we gotta make sure we do a really, really good job of making sure that we eliminate the explosives and try to do the best we can to stop the run.

"Because the run game, it just opens up everything they do in the pass game with RPOs and the down the field throws. I think it's one thing identifying something. The other thing is how to be able to stop it. I mean, they got an incredible-looking offensive line. Those guys play physical, right?

"You can tell they're well-coached, and what they do up front, and how they climb on the second level, and how they double-team guys.

"I think it's going to be a really, really great game, and a phenomenal, phenomenal atmosphere."

Illinois linebackers coach Archie McDaniel

On the keys to Indiana's success in the run game

“No. 1, they're efficient, they got talent all over the freaking place. They're very well coached, and they do a great job of having answers to all the looks you give them. They do a great job with their physicality in the run game, and they're very, very versatile. So you can tell they have a very systematic approach to what they do, and they're really, really good.

"And the thing that always stands out to me is they have answers. I think part of coaching is being able to recognize something that could be problematic and then having an answer to fix it in an in-game situation, which is very impressive.”

Illinois receivers coach Justin Stepp

On Indiana's defense and secondary

"They're very multiple. They do a lot of stuff on the back-end -- there's some of the stuff they do that's kind of similar to what our defense does. They're very well-coached. That's one thing I was saying a minute ago, I can't say enough about how well these guys are coached on defense, not just in the secondary, but the whole defense in particular. And they play really hard.

"We'll have a really good challenge, but man, as a competitor, that's what you want. You want to go on the road and play a good team in an awesome environment, and that's what we're going to have on Saturday night."