Coordinator corner | 'An incredible amount of composure'

Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. provides perspective from his side of the ball before the No. 19 Illini face No. 9 Penn State on Saturday night in State College, Pa., courtesy beat writer Scott Richey :

What improvements did you see from the offensive line in the run game last week at Nebraska?

“Obviously, they take a great deal of pride. Our team is only going to go as far as they take us. They’ve had some real bright moments this season, but I thought (at Nebraska), I thought they really rose to the occasion against a really tough defense, a tough scheme that just causes a lot of headaches for the O-line. I’ve been a part of teams against that particular scheme that have been beaten before they got to the game because of all the twists and the different fronts. I thought our guys just had an incredible amount of composure going into the week. I think it being a short week was kind of a blessing in disguise because we didn’t have a lot of time to think about it.

“To be honest with you, early on in the year, some of the challenges were created because we were probably running into a little bit too heavy of a box. We started to use RPOs more to lighten that. I think the first play of overtime really represents that. The boundary safety, he’s sitting back there making sure we can’t pop up an RPO in there, and all of a sudden, the ball bounces off the shelf and (Kaden Feagin) had a lot of running space. The line did a great job there, but if the safety was down at 4 yards, nobody would have thought the line did a good job there. He would have made the tackle.”

How did the touchdown pass to Brandon Henderson develop?

“Brandon’s pass was really a build off a run we didn’t even run. We had a two-play set, and I was kind of on the fence whether I was going to go with the run or the pass in that particular time. Obviously, it worked out in a good way. It was a recurring theme throughout the day is our guys just made plays — play after play after play. It’s fourth-and-2. I think putting the ball in the quarterback’s hands on the edge is a good thing. It turns out putting the ball in his hands on the edge with big Brandon on the edge is a good thing, as well. It was fun to see them pull that off in that moment, and it was critical to our success.”

In what ways has sideline technology helped this season?

“You get the chance to quickly review what just happened: ‘Hey, we’re going to come back to this. Hey, that was a really good decision. Hey, we’ve got to get this ball here.’ There’s real-time feedback that brings clarity to all of us as a coach and a player to understand what we need to come back to.

“Sometimes, in a game you’re like, ‘We shouldn’t come back to that. That stunk.’ You continue watching the real-time feedback on the iPad and you’re like, ‘All we’ve got to do is tweak this or if we get the right blocker or run the right depth or if you see this the right way we can come back and do that again.’”

Is there a difference in the Penn State defense with former Indiana coach Tom Allen at coordinator?

“That’s one of the things you’re always trying to wrap your mind around. About him being a defensive coordinator and what he took over and how he’s blended his beliefs and his schemes to what was previously there.

“When you watch them play, you see a little bit of Coach Allen’s personality that I’m just loosely familiar with. I’ve got a great deal of respect for him as a coach and a man. His guys play really hard and play fast. They get up there and really challenge you. I think that falls right in the wheelhouse of who he represents as a coach.”