It's only early August. Illinois doesn't begin the grueling Camp Rantoul portion of training camp until Monday.
But senior defensive end Clay Nurse already is simmering.
He's sick and tired of the attacks on coach Ron Zook. Fed up with criticism of the program. Tired of losing. Intent on helping Illinois, stuck in an 8-16 rut since it went to the 2008 Rose Bowl, get rolling again.
''I understand that fans don't like our record or whatever,'' Nurse said at Big Ten media day last week. ''At the same time, you don't come after a coach and tell him he's not working hard. I'll challenge anybody to come to our office at 11 p.m. and see who's working hard.
''As a player, I don't want anybody coming after my coach, just like he doesn't want anybody coming after me. I'm not supposed to sit here and be happy that people are attacking my coach. I'd love to stand up for my coach and defend him the way I see fit. But people have their opinions, and you have to sit there and take it. You have to show you're a great representative of the school and the team.''
I don't know who has gone after Zook for not working hard. I certainly haven't. And while I was talking with Nurse, I had the feeling he would have liked to rough up the sportswriters gathered around him the way he treated the Minnesota offensive line last fall, when he sacked the Gopher quarterback four times.
But you know what? Nurse's seething might be a good sign. One reason Illinois overachieved to a 9-4 mark in 2007 is that it had intelligent leaders on its roster who played hard and played smart. A big reason Illinois has struggled since then is because it hasn't had players with those qualities.
In body language as well as words, Nurse makes it clear he understands that. And he's going to do everything he can to ensure that Illinois avoids that this year.
''You can have a chip the size of a boulder on your shoulder, but it doesn't mean a damn thing if you don't throw it at anybody,'' he said, adding that proving critics wrong is not his end-all be-all. ''You still have to come out prepared. There's no magical answer. You have to go out there and play ball. Run, block, tackle. It's as simple as that.''
Nurse is a big fan of Vic Koenning, but he indicated the new defensive coordinator's overall style, rather than fancy X's and O's, is what counts the most.
''I love the guy,'' said Nurse, hinting that reports of a 3-4 scheme have been exaggerated. ''It looks like a 4-3 defense to me. There's four guys down, three guys behind them. It looks the same to me.''
What matters is Koenning's emphasis on adaptability and intensity.
''He runs what he needs to be successful,'' Nurse said. ''He's never going to hold you back from making a play. He wants guys who are going to run around and make plays.''
Like many of his teammates, Nurse has the ingredients to excel. A native of Guyana, he played only two years of high school football after moving to suburban Washington, D.C. Smart, well-spoken and mature as well as athletically gifted, he has progressed to the point where an NFL future is very possible.
''He was very raw. He's worked hard, he really has,'' said Zook, grinning when told Nurse has a giant chip on his shoulder. ''They need to. They better. They're saying, 'You can't put it on the coaches. It's on us.' They've taken ownership. I've seen more leadership than ever this summer.''
The 6-3, 260-pound Nurse, who was honorable mention All-Big Ten last fall, acknowledged that locker-room leadership has been lacking lately at Illinois.
''It was a problem last year,'' he said. ''We didn't have anyone step up and be a leader. We didn't have anyone hold people accountable. We didn't have any igniters, any stabilizers, on our team. I'm going to step up and make sure the guys around me are doing it the right way.''
He's got all the tools to do that.
Photo: M. Spencer Green, AP / Ron Zook is 8-16 since taking Illinois to the 2008 Rose Bowl, ...; Photo: M. Spencer Green, AP / ...but Clay Nurse (inset) is sick of criticism of his coach.
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