CHAMPAIGN — Teko Powell was among the several hundred University of Illinois students who caught a glimpse of Lovie Smith during Smith’s first day on the job at Illinois.
Powell, however, had a keen interest in wanting to view the former Chicago Bears coach — who athletic director Josh Whitman tasked with trying to turn around a program that hasn’t produced a winning regular season since 2007 — in person again after first learning that Smith would coach Illinois earlier in the day on March 7 during an Illinois football team meeting.
He was set to play for Smith this season.