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Feb. 16—CHAMPAIGN — Archie McDaniel understands the position he is now coaching at Illinois. And he’s got a reminder every day on the way into the office: the large bronze statue of legend Dick Butkus outside the Smith Center.
The former Texas A&M standout is Bret Bielema’s new linebacker coach, replacing fired Andy Buh.
McDaniel met with the media on Thursday in the squad room at Memorial Stadium. He was followed at the microphone by new wide receivers coach Justin Stepp.
During 15 minutes of questions and answers, McDaniel explained why the Illinois position interested him, who some of his mentors are and how he plans to help defensive coordinator Aaron Henry.
On the linebacker tradition …”You want our players here at the University of Illinois to be able to resemble great, championship caliber football,” McDaniel said. “When you come here and you are at this institution, I think that’s the standard. When a standard is set, you can either meet it or you don’t. Or you can exceed it, which I would love to do. That’s the plan.”
On his hiring …”The process was crazy,” McDaniel said. “The biggest thing for me is I have a ton of people that know Coach B., and through those connections, I just kind of happened organically. Me and Coach Henry have a ton of mutual friends, as well.”
McDaniel spent the past three seasons at Houston, which just moved to the Big 12 in 2023. McDaniel had never coached in the Midwest until now. When he came to Champaign-Urbana for his interview, he was immediately intrigued.
“Loved it. Loved all the people. Loved the surroundings, the environment. How everything felt,” he said. “Here I am today.”
The bulk of McDaniel’s time as a college coach has been in the state of Texas, with stops at Houston, Texas State, SMU and Texas Southern. He figures to recruit in the state for Illinois.
“Being a…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bob-asmussen-illini-assistants-jumping-154800212.html
Author : The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
Publish date : 2024-02-16 15:48:00
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