Illini coach Ron Zook put together one of the best recruiting classes in the Big Ten. AP
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But the numerous errant throws -- which were often due to the pace Williams put on the ball (he says he was last clocked at 88 mph as a sophomore pitcher in high school) and a penchant for bailing on a play too early and creating with his legs.

"A lot of things that happened last year, I panicked and just fired the ball out to get it out of my hands," Williams said. "Now I have more of a relaxed feeling, trusting my line to protect me. Now I can just relax and throw accurate balls. That comes from watching film and knowing where to go with the ball, not trying to rush things."

Williams rushed for 576 yards and two touchdowns last season, including 145 yards against Purdue and 103 vs. the Spartans. Most of those gains came on plays that weren't designed as quarterback runs. "It's mostly bad reads [and] not knowing where to go with the ball, panicking, looking at the refs, trying to escape out of the pocket most of the time," he said.

Although the Illini pulled off a come-from-behind win over Michigan State and put a serious scare into then-No. 1 Ohio State, they suffered heartbreaking losses to Indiana and Ohio (both were decided by field goals in the final five seconds). Illinois also lost to Wisconsin after blowing a 14-point halftime lead and fell to Penn State and Syracuse despite outgaining both opponents.

Following the regular season, Williams worked hard to get a better grasp of Illinois' no-huddle shotgun attack, which is designed to catch opponents off guard. Locksley says the QB's development is very noticeable.

"I think the game has really slowed down for him," Locksley said. "Case in point: We're in the middle of a practice situation, the wrong formation is signaled in, we call the play. Last year he wouldn't have been able to fix the formation or fix the play. This year he stops, 'Hey, we can't run that out of this formation.' I think he understands what we want to do on offense and it's a little bit more clear."

But is he ready to become one of the Big Ten's top quarterbacks? To take that step, he'll have to do something that Illinois has not consistently done since Ron Turner led the Illini to the 2001 Sugar Bowl --- win. Illinois is 11-35 since that last bowl appearance and has just five winning seasons since 1990.

Williams says it's all in the attitude. "[Before] last year we just wanted to play the games close and make them respectable," Williams said. "[Now] it's let's get out there and win now. We all know that we can play. We have that drive now that we gotta win, we gotta win, we gotta win."

The biggest win of the last year didn't come on the field, it came on the recruiting trail where the master salesman Zook (who signed 20 of the 22 starters on the Florida national championship team) pulled in a class ranked 17th by Rivals.com and headlined by five-star recruits Arrelious Benn (wide receiver) and Martez Wilson (a defensive end who will likely move to linebacker).

But the high point of the Zook Era didn't come without its frustrations.

In a New York Times story, former Michigan State coach John L. Smith questioned how a two-win program could land such high-profile players, saying, "If they had a winning program and all of that, it would be a different deal. If they had the greatest facilities in the world, then maybe they could sell them. But what are they selling?" Smith added: "Where there's smoke, there's probably fire."

"At first I didn't even think about it," Zook said of Smith's statements. "We have a program that has everything that everyone else has. We have a good academic institution. We have good facilities. The reason we were able to have the good recruiting year was our people. Your players are your best ambassadors.

"Then you start thinking about it and it starts to upset you a little bit. I think anytime you're changing the landscape of recruiting, people resist change. 'What are they doing over there?' We're not doing anything except developing an attitude of guys that want to be part of something special."

"Illinois football" and "special" have been an oxymoron for so long one can't help but wonder: Is this team for real?

The Illini just may be. They return a stout defense -- headed by the conference's leading tackler, J Leman that improved from 115th to 33rd nationally in total defense last season -- as well as the Big Ten's top running attack (188.8 yards per game), which was 10th in the nation. The addition of Benn, an early enrollee who is already working out with the first team, could give Williams the big-play receiver he's been missing.

Last year's team was young -- 16 true freshmen played -- and that experience is likely to pay dividends as the Illini attempt to end that bowl game dry spell. The potential is there, no question.