Illinois Football Magazine interview with Coach Tre Kelly

Illinois Football Magazine interview with Coach Tre Kelly



IFM: Coach Kelly everything is happening so fast one minute you are the offensive coordinator at Grambling State and the next Minute you are a head coach at Illinois

Coach Kelly: I know it went so fast. I didn’t know that Illinois was interested in me. I got a call from the athletic Director at Illinois and he said he wanted me to come in for a interview so I flew in the next day and 48 hours later im a head coach.

IFM: A lot of people don’t know much about you here in Illinois and they want to know who is coaching their boys.

Coach Kelly: Well I played Texas 5A Football for South Grand Prairie High. I was a All State RB and I attended SMU. From there I was hired to be the special teams coach down at Grambling State. After 2 years I moved up to Offensive coordinator . We were SWAC Champions in 05,06,and 08

IFM: What is your Coaching Philosophy?

Coach Kelly: Im a Offensive Guy. I Run a Balance offensive that gets all RBS and WRS involved in the offense. I don’t care about stats we just get the ball to the open man. And if I have to I can pound the ball at any time. We have a wide variety of plays and a few trick play thrown in. On Defense I like to work out of the 4-3. I like Bringing a 4 man pass rush with 3 LB’s. We love to blitz and make QB’s Uncomfortable.

IFM: What was your first impression of the team?

Coach Kelly: I see a great team that took two hard blows at the start of the season that’s ready to get back on track. Coach Zook did a great job with the boys and I see noting but great potential in this team.

IFM Which Players Stand out the most to you

Coach Kelly: Offensively I would have to say Juice Williams. A lot of people say that he should not be the starter but I believe in him. I see a lot of flaws in his game but I know we can help him fix it. He has a great arm and great speed. I think that Coach Zook didn’t use him right. I want to work with his Accuracy and decision making. When im done with him he will be a throw first QB instead of a Scrambling QB. Our running game stood out to me as well. We have 2 big RB’s ready to pound the ball away. Mikel Leshoure is a great RB with great vision. He see's the hole and he bust through it and delivers a blow after each run . Jason Ford is another big RB that likes to catch ball out of the back field and he too delivers blows after each run. And Last but not least I cant for get WR Arrelious Benn. He is a big and fast WR 6’2 220 is a great size and he runs a 4.39 40. You cant beat that. We will try everything possible to get him the ball. The Defense as a whole is a growing Defense. The one stand out player to me is CB Dere Hicks. This Defense looks to him for leadership. And he is the back bone of the defense.

IFM: Where do you see this team at the end of the season.

Coach Kelly: I see good things coming this way. This team needed a change and I think change is always good. We are coming with a different attack that has not been seen in the big ten. I see us winning out the season. I know we play Florida in week 13 but I think we have the right players to contest with everything they will throw at us. So they better not over look us when we come to play them in the Swamp!!!!

IFM Wow so your predicting a win against Florida?

Coach Kelly: Somebody has to beat them and hey why not us?

We Caught up with Coach Tre Kelly for a interview on Illinois Bye Week


IFM: How is the season going so far through your eyes?

Kelly: So far we are doing fine. We did loose to Cincinnati early but we bounced back and kept moving forward.

IFM Writers say that this years team has no offense to contend with the higher ranking schools. How do you feel about that?

Kelly : Well that’s why people say Defense Wins Championships. Our Defense has stood out on this team. We look to them to make big plays and get turnovers to put our offense in a good position. The Offense has struggled this season with the run game. We are ranked in the top 20 in passing but we are currently ranked 107 in rushing department. We are working on the problem. Mikel Leshoure has struggled because he is pretty much the only running back. Justin Green’s early injury really hurt our running game and Tory Pollard isn’t healty so Leshoure gets winded pretty quick with out a back up. But we will work with what we got and try to make the best of it.

IFM: Eddie McGee has played decent ball this season. What do you think of him so far?

Kelly: Eddie has a cannon for a arm but we are working with his accuracy. His decision making skills are getting better each day. That’s a lot of the reason why he didn’t start last year. But he has come along and showed me he can be a leader.

IFM: How is recruiting going this year?

Kelly: We are going great so far. We have not had a commitment yet but there are a lot of guys who currently have us as #1 on there top 3.

IFM: When you travel all over the county to visit these recruits what do you tell the parents to make them feel safe about sending their child to your school?

Kelly: Well I’m a straight forward guy so I don’t beat around the bush or tell lies to get guys to come to Illinois. I let the parents know that I will take care of their son. He will get the a great education from Illinois University and learn the sport of football in and out. I will give him all the tools to make it to the next level but its up to him to use the tools correctly.

IFM You have a tough 2nd half of the schedule left to play. Which teams stand out the most to you?

Kelly: Of course Purdue because they beat us last year. That game rally hurt this team last year so we look forward to getting them back. The other team that stands out is Ole Miss. Coach Macc is a great coach that always has his team ready to win. Their QB Cotton is really leading this team so we have to figure out how to stop his attack as well as stop Bolden from running all over us. We have to be on point when we play them.

IFM: What is your big goal for this season?

Kelly: Everyone’s goal should be win the National Championship. So that’s our goal. We know that we can do it but its going to take a lot of hard work but I think my team is up for the challenge.