CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The friendly exchange of jabs between Illinois interim coach Bill Cubit and cornerback V'Angelo Bentley isn't exactly novel stuff.
You're short.
Yeah? Well, you're old.
When the Big Ten Network visited Illinois' camp in the preseason, Bentley followed Cubit for an interview on set.
"He told me he’d give me a booster seat," the 5-foot-10 Bentley recalled, smiling.
The retort? "He’s been here since earth was created, so …," Bentley said. "He's my guy, though."
Jihad Ward and had good relationships with veterans such as Bentley and linebacker Mason Monheim, who, according to offensive lineman Ted Karras, vouched for Cubit with the defense when he took over for Beckman.
"A lot of kids will come up and say, 'We’ve got your back,' mostly on the defensive side," Cubit said. "On offense, it wasn't an issue anyway. I just love it here. I think they see that."
Bentley said that even when Beckman was there, Cubit "created a culture where everyone knew who everyone was." Illini players knew about Cubit's previous head-coaching experience. Older players recall facing his final Western Michigan team in 2012. Appointing Cubit to the lead role was "a no-brainer," Karras said.
Although Cubit still calls offensive plays and generally leaves the defensive coaches alone, he attends more defensive unit meetings. His main goal is to boost morale. He took a similar approach with the offense, which ranked 119th nationally out of 120 teams in scoring the season before he arrived but improved to 61st in 2013.
"When I first got here, I told the offense, 'Everybody tells you you’re not very good. You believe it and you play like that,'" Cubit said. "I told the defense the same thing. It's been negative with the statistics, and you can build a case for it being negative. But you also can build a case where you can improve."
Cubit used 73 players in Illinois' opener at Kent State, which was postponed a day because of weather. He smiles when recalling the looks some players gave him: You want ME to go in?
Six Illinois players scored touchdowns, 10 caught passes and 26 recorded tackles.
"I had two parents text me and say they were crying," Cubit said. "They were so proud that their kid was out there. You can’t ask for any better than that."
Cubit and his staff haven't tried to treat players differently since Beckman's departure. If they didn't demand excellence, quarterbacks coach Ryan Cubit said, they would be harming players' ability to grow.
"But it's got to be done the right way," Ryan Cubit added. "I haven’t seen any issues as far as how we coach. The kids are believing in it. Something like this happens, you worry about that, how the team is going to react.
"But 100 percent kids buying in, it’s obvious."
Cubit has been pleased with the players' response, but wants to see how they handle real adversity in games, which likely will come Saturday at North Carolina.
"We've handled it as maturely as an 18- to 23-year-old group can do under such odd circumstances," Karras said. "It’s unprecedented. But there’s nothing that hints that we can't handle adversity."
You're short.
Yeah? Well, you're old.
When the Big Ten Network visited Illinois' camp in the preseason, Bentley followed Cubit for an interview on set.
"He told me he’d give me a booster seat," the 5-foot-10 Bentley recalled, smiling.
The retort? "He’s been here since earth was created, so …," Bentley said. "He's my guy, though."
Jihad Ward and had good relationships with veterans such as Bentley and linebacker Mason Monheim, who, according to offensive lineman Ted Karras, vouched for Cubit with the defense when he took over for Beckman.
"A lot of kids will come up and say, 'We’ve got your back,' mostly on the defensive side," Cubit said. "On offense, it wasn't an issue anyway. I just love it here. I think they see that."
Bentley said that even when Beckman was there, Cubit "created a culture where everyone knew who everyone was." Illini players knew about Cubit's previous head-coaching experience. Older players recall facing his final Western Michigan team in 2012. Appointing Cubit to the lead role was "a no-brainer," Karras said.
Although Cubit still calls offensive plays and generally leaves the defensive coaches alone, he attends more defensive unit meetings. His main goal is to boost morale. He took a similar approach with the offense, which ranked 119th nationally out of 120 teams in scoring the season before he arrived but improved to 61st in 2013.
"When I first got here, I told the offense, 'Everybody tells you you’re not very good. You believe it and you play like that,'" Cubit said. "I told the defense the same thing. It's been negative with the statistics, and you can build a case for it being negative. But you also can build a case where you can improve."
Cubit used 73 players in Illinois' opener at Kent State, which was postponed a day because of weather. He smiles when recalling the looks some players gave him: You want ME to go in?
Six Illinois players scored touchdowns, 10 caught passes and 26 recorded tackles.
"I had two parents text me and say they were crying," Cubit said. "They were so proud that their kid was out there. You can’t ask for any better than that."
Cubit and his staff haven't tried to treat players differently since Beckman's departure. If they didn't demand excellence, quarterbacks coach Ryan Cubit said, they would be harming players' ability to grow.
"But it's got to be done the right way," Ryan Cubit added. "I haven’t seen any issues as far as how we coach. The kids are believing in it. Something like this happens, you worry about that, how the team is going to react.
"But 100 percent kids buying in, it’s obvious."
Cubit has been pleased with the players' response, but wants to see how they handle real adversity in games, which likely will come Saturday at North Carolina.
"We've handled it as maturely as an 18- to 23-year-old group can do under such odd circumstances," Karras said. "It’s unprecedented. But there’s nothing that hints that we can't handle adversity."
