Mike White made Illini football fun again

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Dec. 16—Loren Tate asked the perfect question Monday: If you dropped Mike White into modern-day college football, what would he become?

Short answer, a star. Or perhaps the Illinois version of Nick Saban or Ryan Day.

The leader of the last Illinois team to win its way to the Rose Bowl with a Big Ten title, Coach White made football a big deal again in Champaign-Urbana. He passed away Sunday at age 89, no longer in the community that embraced him, but never forgotten.

Coach spent eight years at the school in the 1980s, taking over a lifeless mess from Gary Moeller. He quickly energized the fan base with his personality and offense.

Thanks to him, the '80s did indeed belong to the Illini.

Within three seasons, Coach guided the team to the top, earning the 1983 Big Ten championship with a stunning 9-0 sweep of the conference. Home wins against Michigan and Ohio State remain on "best games ever" lists for Illinois fans more than 40 years later.

Team supporters tore down the goal posts at Memorial Stadium after both of those. And following wins against Iowa and Indiana, too. Fans took the field-storming on the road, tearing down both goal posts at Northwestern's Dyche Stadium after a lopsided win.

Though it is often overlooked, the '83 season opened with a fizzle for Illinois, a 28-18 loss at Missouri. That was the final disappointment of the fall as Illinois ripped off 10 wins in a row, including nine in the Big Ten.

Sophomore quarterback Jack Trudeau triggered Coach's offense, which featured star receiver David Williams, tight end Tim Brewster and tailback Thomas Rooks, who went over a combined 1,000 yards on runs and receptions.

Williams and his brothers Oliver and Steven arrived from California to play for White.

"When you can sell a kid from Los Angeles to come to play football in the snow for a team that hasn't won in 20 years, you can talk," Williams said. "He sold the program to my parents. He sold the program to my big brother. Once you got my big brother (Oliver), you got the rest of us."

Coach left a few details out as he described Champaign-Urbana to the Williamses.

"He didn't tell you you had to go to practice at 5 in the morning in February, walk in the snow freezing," Williams said. "He didn't tell you that part."

Williams appeared on WDWS' "Penny For Your Thoughts" on Monday with Tate and Brian Barnhart. He was joined by Coach White's son Chris, a kicker on the '83 title team.

The memories came rushing back. All good ones.

"It was a blast," Chris said. "The first couple years were a little rough. Then we had that Liberty Bowl year and then, of course the Rose Bowl year."

Bonus game

In the early 1980s, there weren't a gazillion bowl games like today. So, when the Liberty Bowl asked Illinois to meet Alabama, it was a big deal.

The game took on more significance because it was the final time on the sidelines for legend Paul "Bear" Bryant. He was Saban before Saban.

Chris experienced the rare chance to be coached by his dad. What was it like?

"It was great," he said. "I think it's kind of lucky that I played a subjective position. He didn't have to make a lot of decisions."

Chris established great friendships at Illinois during his playing days. Many of his former teammates have reached out this week, to share their feelings about his dad.

Unfortunate end

Coach would have stayed at Illinois forever.

"We loved living in Champaign," Chris said. "I really thought we were going to finish up in Champaign."

But what would be considered minor NCAA infractions today cost Coach his job in 1987.

He left the school a couple of gifts: a loaded team led by future College Football Hall of Famer Moe Gardner and a quarterback, Jeff George, who would be the No, 1 pick in the 1990 NFL draft.

Coach only got to work with George during the season he sat out after transferring from Purdue. John Mackovic inherited George in 1988 and enjoyed two bowl seasons with him slinging passes. The 10-2 team in 1989, which closed with a Citrus Bowl win against Virginia, is considered one of the best in program history.

Most of the key players from that team were Mike White recruits.

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