CHAMPAIGN — The bullet pass left the right hand of Illini quarterback Cam Thomas Tuesday and was thrown slightly behind a receiver. Rod Smith cringed when the ball bounced off the receiver’s hands and fluttered to the Memorial Stadium turf.
In Smith’s mind, there was no excuse for an incomplete pass on the first day of spring football practice. Because none of the passes were against a defense, a 100 percent completion percentage on short slant passes was not too much to ask.
As Illinois’ new offensive coordinator, Rod Smith is asking for more from an offense that has mostly sputtered and coughed in Lovie Smith’s first two years on the job.