Here are three items Illinois coach Lovie Smith discussed in his weekly press conference that caught the attention of beat writer SCOTT RICHEY:
How times have changed
Lovie Smith spent the 1995 season at Ohio State coaching defensive backs under his college coach John Cooper. That was Smith's final season as a college coach until he took the Illinois job in March 2016. What he remembers most from his time in Columbus? Eddie George winning the Heisman Trophy. "I used to have hair back then and was a lot younger back then," Smith said. "Didn't have grandkids back then and I have 11 now.