Turnaround season for Illinois no surprise to Zook

Outsiders' pessimism was based on back-to-back losing seasons. But Zook said where others saw a rapidly approaching cyclone for the 2010 season, he saw a sunny sky.

"There was no question in my mind at the end of spring (practice) we were going in the right direction," Zook said. "Really, I felt like that at the end of recruiting last year, but a lot of things had to happen."

Shannon Ryan