CHAMPAIGN — Jody Martinez has gotten used to the question fairly quickly. People have wanted to know if he’ll have any trouble hanging up his “head coach” whistle to be an assistant on Matt Bollant’s coaching staff at Illinois.
Martinez’s answer has been a resounding no.
To everyone.
From reporters to Illinois senior associate director of athletics Maria Ochoa Woods during his interview.
“That’s the No. 1 question people have been asking me,” Martinez said. “The thing to remember is I’m choosing this opportunity to be an assistant coach. I had already prepared myself mentally in the interview process for that question and that challenge.