Illinois Fighting Illini Football

Illinois right tackle Corey Lewis has long been a fan favorite in Champaign—a story of persistence through pain and of diligence through difficulty.

Granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA—the result of three ACL tears in his left knee during his time with the Illini—Lewis willed his way through the entire 2013 season, proving his ability to bounce back and stay healthy enough to play.

More impressive still: His ACL was apparently torn, for a fourth time, the entire campaign.

Per Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times:

Shortly after the season finale against Northwestern, Lewis had an MRI performed on his knee and learned that his ACL had completely torn again. Lewis had suspected the knee wasn’t healthy—since training camp, it hadn’t felt quite right—but had held off throughout the season on fully sharing his concern with coaches and the team’s medical staff.

The doctor who operated on Lewis’ six weeks ago, Thomas Klootwyk, an Indianapolis Colts team physician, believes Lewis played the entire season without an ACL.

According to his school bio, Lewis saw significant playing time in 2008 and 2009, earning academic All-Big Ten honors in his second season. But he was forced to miss all of 2010 and 2011 and the first eight games of 2012 after his sequence of injuries, finally returning for the final four games two seasons ago and expecting to be healthy, for once, in 2013.

He knew something was wrong with his knee all year but refused to get off the field. "I felt that if I could play, there was no reason to MRI it and get shut down," Lewis said, per Greenberg. "I just wanted to play my last season."

Though it's miraculous (to put it lightly) that Lewis was able to play his entire final season, this news still comes at a very bad time. Lewis was preparing for the upcoming Illinois Pro Day and the 2014 NFL draft, hoping to land an unlikely spot on a professional roster next season.

Realistic or not, that's still how he feels.

"[The NFL is] his drive and his dream," said head coach Todd Beckman, per Greeneberg. "That’s what’s great about Corey Lewis."

Teammate Steve Hull said Lewis is "able to push through a lot of things normal people wouldn’t," adding that his "heart breaks" for him to have to go through this again.

This isn't the first time Lewis has endured a setback, though, and it might not be the last. If he can play a full Big Ten season on a torn ACL, who is anyone to tell him the NFL is unrealistic?

I, for one, sure won't.

Follow Brian Leigh on Twitter: @BLeighDAT

On Wednesday, University of Illinois head coach Tim Beckman announced the signing of nine new players, but it was another announcement that stole the show. 

Beckman announced a raise and contract extension for offensive coordinator Bill Cubit. He'll be with the team through the 2015 season and is now making a shade over $500,000 per year. 

The raise puts Cubit inside the top eight of assistant salaries (based on this season's numbers). 

It was a well-deserved raise for perhaps the single most valuable coordinator in the Big Ten. Valuable enough that other schools apparently took notice, according to Mark Tupper of the Herald & Review. 

Cubit, the former head coach at Western Michigan, decided to stay loyal to a place he likes instead. 

“I believe in these kids and what we’re doing and I just wanted to be a part of it,” Cubit said in the Herald & Review article. “(AD Mike Thomas) was good to me and Beck was really good to me. I’m a loyalty guy.

“I’ve been dating the same girl since my sophomore year in high school. That’s just what I do. I’m really happy being here.”

Pop on a game from the Illini this year and you'll see exactly why Cubit enjoys it and why the Illini paid him handsomely.

Cubit made this offense very different than the anemic version that went out there in Beckman's first year. 

The numbers simply speak for themselves.

No one benefited more from Cubit's arrival in Champaign than senior Nathan Scheelhaase. He threw for 3,272 yards and 21 touchdowns, while completing 66.7 percent of his passes on the year. 

This season he set career highs in completion percentage, yardage, touchdowns, completions and attempts. In fact, his 3,272 yards are over 1,000 more than his previous career high at Illinois. 

Beyond the pure numbers, it was the near-instant belief in Cubit from the players that mattered most. 

Coming off a season in which the Illini won all of one game, belief in yourself and your teammates can be a fleeting thing. 

Cubit made this offense look confident by the time it was unveiled to the public in a blustery and cold spring game. 

Scheelhaase looked different, throwing for 210 yards and a touchdown on 24-of-32 passing in horrible conditions. Additionally, the offense looked confident, and the defense couldn't stop them at any point in time.

That sounds a lot like what took place in a 4-8 season this year for the Illini. 

Cubit transformed not only the offense, but the mindset of the Illini in 2013 and was rewarded for that.

With Scheelhaase leaving, it will be on Cubit to make sure this offense isn't a one-hit wonder moving forward. 

*Andy Coppens is Bleacher Report's lead writer for the Big Ten. You can follow him on Twitter: @ andycoppens.

In many ways, senior quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase has been the face of Fighting Illini football since the beginning of his career.

After redshirting his freshman season, the Kansas City native got off to a fast start in orange and blue as he was named the team's rookie of the year, as well as earning multiple freshman All-American recognitions.

Off-the-Field Leadership

Even before Scheelhaase took over as the full-time starter for the Illini, he was already setting examples for not only his teammates, but his classmates as well. During his redshirt freshman season, Scheelhaase earned the Faculty Award for his leadership and exemplary actions in the classroom, community and field.

Some things never change.

Scheelhaase continues to be a leader for the Illini both on and off the field. Recently, Scheelhaase was named a finalist for the 2013 Wuerrfel Trophy. The official website for the Wuerrfel Trophy describes the honor as being presented "to the college football player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement."

Impressive play

His play on the field has been quite impressive as well. Despite the Illini having a 3-7 record heading into this weekend's game at Purdue, the Illini have remained competitive in many games. The Illini even posted 32 points against No. 25 Wisconsin and 35 against No. 3 Ohio State, largely due to Scheelhaase's efforts.

Scheelhaase was 20 of 27 passes for 249 yards in his team's loss to No. 25 Wisconsin and was 33 of 50 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday's loss to No. 3 Ohio State.

The Illini's most impressive win came in a 45-17 victory over Cincinnati at the beginning of the season. The Bearcats had received votes heading into the contest but were stymied by the Illini and Scheelhaase's 312 passing yards and four touchdowns.

Scheelhaase leads the Big Ten in total passing yards with 2,708 and is tied with Ohio State's Braxton Miller with 17 passing touchdowns. He is currently fifth in the Big Ten in quarterback rating at 139.6.

Consistency

Overall, Scheelhaase has been quite consistent this season. He has passed for more than 200 yards in all but three of his games this season (Washington, Nebraska and Michigan State).

His consistency has been one of the biggest factors in the Illini's competitiveness. With one of the worst defenses in the Big Ten, the Illini have had to rely on the offense—predominantly their passing game—to carry them through the season. The Illinois defense has allowed 372 points this season, better than only Purdue (380) and Indiana (388).

Positive Image

Scheelhaase's demeanor in front of the cameras in quite impressive. Over the years, he has become a veteran interviewer, answering reporters' questions with ease and poise.

Although often times overlooked, a player's image can contribute greatly to that of the team. In his five years, Scheelhaase's image has been quite valuable to the Illini and will be hard to replace.

Despite an incident in which the quarterback's father was arrested and thereby banned from campus following the Illini's game against Michigan State, Scheelhaase has been a positive image and leader for the Illini.

It's been 764 days since the Fighting Illini last won a football game against a Big Ten opponent. 

The last time the Illini were victorious in Big Ten play was October 8, 2011 against the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington, IN. Following their win, the Illini then lost their remaining Big Ten games in 2011 and went winless in 2012 in conference play.

Perhaps their best opportunity came just two weeks ago when the Illini fell to Penn State in Happy Valley in overtime.

Despite the embarrassing losing streak, the Illini have had quite a few chances to right the ship and post that elusive Big Ten win. Perhaps their best opportunity came just two weeks ago when the Illini fell to Penn State in Happy Valley in overtime.

2014 will hope to be a start of new beginnings and new winning for the Illini. Quarterbacks Aaron Bailey and Oklahoma State transfer Wes Lunt will likely be competing for the starting position following Nathan Scheelhaase's upcoming graduation.

In addition to Scheelhaase, the Illini will lose much of their receiving corps.

Key Needs

Receivers- Illinois' biggest loss will come to their receivers. Seniors Steve Hull, Ryan Lankford, Miles Osei and Spencer Harris will all be graduating following this season. Current junior Martize Barr will need to step up for the Illini, as well as sophomores Justin Hardee, Peter Bonahoom and Kenny Knight.

Offensive Line- Illinois' offensive line will likely have three seniors in 2014: LT Simon Cvijanovic, LG Michael Heitz and C Alex Hill. Current senior RT Corey Lewis will graduate in 2013. Sophomores Scott McDowell and Patrick Flavin will be competing for the starting job at RT next year.

Head coach Tim Beckman has yet to land a major commitment. Of the 11 non-junior college players currently committed, all are three-star players with grades in the 70s according to ESPN.com.

The Illini have already improved from last season, going 3-6 in their first nine games. A win in Big Ten play would be huge for the Illini as well as their recruiting. Beckman has yet to land a four-star recruit in his tenure at Illinois, and doing so would be a great boost to his resume. 

My, how times have changed.

Prior to Saturday's contest between the Illini and Penn State Nittany Lions, the Illini had won only two games against their Big Ten rival since 2002. They had been outscored 258-144 while being held to fewer than 14 points in five different games.

Overall, Penn State leads the all-time series 17-4 following their overtime win on Saturday. This win moved the Lions to 5-3 on the season, only one win short of bowl eligibility.

The Illini on the other hand suffered a huge blow to their slim hopes of reaching a bowl in 2013, falling to 3-5 on the season with four games remaining. They were also looking for their first win in Big Ten play since 2010, which came against the Indiana Hoosiers.

Illinois heads to Bloomington this coming Saturday to take on the Hoosiers and seek its first Big Ten win in 18 games.

With a 3-5 record and four games remaining, the Fighting Illini would have to win three of their last four games to be eligible for a bowl.

Possible? Yes.

Likely? Not so much.

The Illini head to Indiana before hosting No. 4 Ohio State on Nov. 16. A trip to Purdue is next (which is a very winnable game for the Illini), ending with a Nov. 30 contest against rival Northwestern.

Logic dictates that they won't beat Ohio State.

However, if the gods align right and the Illini play their hearts out, they could realistically beat Indiana, Purdue or Northwestern. However, beating all three is a huge stretch for a team that has not won a Big Ten game in 18 games.

Although the loss to Penn State was a huge blow to their bowl hopes, it was still a good sign to see the Illini put up such a fight against a solid team. Sure, Penn State is no Ohio State or Michigan. But it is still a team much better than the Illini.

Illini fans should be pleased with Saturday's game and have a right to be a bit optimistic.

After going 2-10 in 2012, Champaign was a very sad town during football season in recent times. However, following an upset over Cincinnati and a near upset of No. 24 Washington at Soldier Field earlier in the year, the overtime loss on the road to Penn State was a breath of fresh air for Illini fans.

Perhaps the program is heading in the right direction. Although Illinois will be losing senior quarterback and leader Nathan Scheelhaase, the team already has a replacement lined up in Oklahoma State transfer Wes Lunt.

The Illini knew that 2013 would be a year of learning on both sides of the ball. First-year offensive coordinator Bill Cubit implemented a whole new offensive system, and the defense had many starters to replace.

The home stretch for the Illini will be quite interesting. Any Big Ten win will help them in their recruiting situation, an aspect that head coach Tim Beckman hasn't exactly excelled in.

Buckle up and sit back, Illini fans. It may be a bumpy ride, but you have the right to be cautiously optimistic.