Nathan Scheelhaase makes a name for himself as Illinois' new playmaking quarterback
Illinois redshirt freshman quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase is coming off his best outing as a starter, earning The Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors.
Associated Press
Nathan Scheelhaase doesn’t aim to be the next Juice Williams. The Illinois football coaches aren’t looking for that, either.
Williams finished his career at Illinois last season with 8,037 passing yards and 2,557 rushing yards. Scheelhaase, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound redshirt freshman, is eight games into his first year as a starting Big Ten quarterback. He is thriving in new offensive coordinator Paul Petrino’s pro-style offense that’s similar to the one Scheelhaase ran in high school.
Scheelhaase has completed 61 percent of his passes (102-for-166, 10 touchdowns, seven interceptions) and is Illinois' second-leading rusher with 538 yards.
Last week against Purdue, Scheelhaase missed on just four of his 20 passes, throwing for 195 yards and four touchdowns while covering another 118 yards on the ground in a 44-10 victory. The effort earned Scheelhaase the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors.
"Things have been clicking more and more as the season has gone on, and I think that's something that's natural for any first-year quarterback," Scheelhaase said in a phone interview Tuesday. "(The more he plays) The more comfortable you're going to feel going out there."
In eight starts, Scheelhaase has faced eight different defensive schemes. When Illinois faces Michigan (5-3, 1-3 Big Ten) on Saturday (noon, ESPN), he will take his shot at a much-maligned Wolverines unit that struggled another young quarterback - Penn State's Matt McGloin - in a 41-31 loss last week.
Scheelhaase works within an Illinois offense that has had opposing defenses guessing all season. The Illini have cracked the 40-point barrier in each of the last two wins, moving Illinois to within a game of bowl eligibility at 5-3 overall, 3-2 in the Big Ten.
In last week's win over Purdue, each of Scheelhaase’s four touchdown passes went to different receivers.
"The thing I like about this offense is that it has a lot of variety and it keeps the defense guessing, it keeps them on their toes," Scheelhaase said. "We change a lot of things week to week, but we also have our base stuff that we feel will work against any defense we play.
"If you're a quarterback that doesn't mind thinking, doesn't mind doing a lot of things, it definitely works to your advantage."
Scheelhaase enjoys planning for games. Going back to his days when he used to watch video of his Pop Warner games with his father - former Iowa defensive back Nate Creer - Scheelhaase's ability to make changes week to week has played into his development.
When Petrino joined the Illini staff, he sat Scheelhaase down, providing his quarterback with visual evidence from his days at Arkansas and Louisville of how his offensive scheme looks when properly executed.
Over the past two months, Scheelhaase has blended his own playmaking ability with what he's learned under Petrino, helping turn an Illinois team around that wasn't expected to do much under the first-year quarterback.
He has proven impressive every step of the way.
"It's not only his athletic ability, because he can tuck it and run, but he makes great decisions," Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said Tuesday. "You see him making audibles and checks and getting them in certain plays. He’s doing a tremendous job for them."
Which takes us back to the comparisons. On Saturday, Scheelhaase won't allow the pressure of going against Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson to change his approach.
While Scheelhaase appreciates the play-making ability of a fellow versatile playmaker, he said he can't let Robinson's big-play potential concern him.
"Obviously, we know their offense has done some good things and Denard Robinson has really been able to get that offense going," Scheelhaase said. "But if we focus on what we need to do offensively, we'll be all right without worrying about what they're doing."
Jeff Arnold covers sports for AnnArbor.com and can be reached at (734) 623-2554 or by e-mail at jeffarnold@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreyparnold.
Comments
saginaw
Thu, Nov 4, 2010 : 12:28 p.m.
Illinois is over-rated. They had a nice win in Happy Valley, when PSU was totally banged up. MSU beat Illinios 26 - 6. Illinios peaked in the PSU game and then played some really crummy teams, after their MSU game. The Illini D-Line is good, but they have never faced the speed of D Rob.
ThoseWhoStayUofM
Thu, Nov 4, 2010 : 11:54 a.m.
Denard Robinson passed and rushed for 190/190 last week and recorded 3 rushing TDs and 1 passing TD. Why was he not Big Ten's Offensive Player of the week? Those stats are better than Illinois' QB. I guess you could make the argument that his passing percentage was better... but then again, he didn't run the ball nearly as well and played a significantly worse defense than Penn St. I guess winning is all that matters. That's why Pryor is somehow still in the Heisman race despite being terrible.
Jaime
Thu, Nov 4, 2010 : 11:06 a.m.
Too bad we couldn't play them early in the season before they figured things out. Could be a lot of scoring in this one. No mistakes on offense. We have to expect them on defense. Michigan will need to score on almost every they have the ball.
Sevans68
Wed, Nov 3, 2010 : 10:08 p.m.
The injury to Floyd will hurt, he wasn't great but was the best we had. The Defense will make every big ten quarterback look great (see McGloin last week). Having said that I still hold out hope. I don't think Illinois has the running attack of MSU, Iowa or PSU (but it could wake up against our D). If Michigan can score 40+ I think they win. I'm hoping the D shows some spirit and makes a couple of stops & forces some field goals instead of touchdowns. I calling in Michigan 45 Illinois 38. I just hope I'm right.
lawrencelaundry
Wed, Nov 3, 2010 : 7:13 p.m.
60% of passes completed means 90% of 3rd down conversions result in 1st downs for Illinois. Another lose for michigan because of poor play calling by RR.
lawrencelaundry
Wed, Nov 3, 2010 : 7:13 p.m.
PU MSU I don't think running V. Smith down the middle on 3rd and 1 or 2 is a great play call. This happened several times this yr. Defense is the main reason,but its RR 335 is kinda a play call. How's that working out?
Jaxon5
Wed, Nov 3, 2010 : 6:03 p.m.
I don't know if some people posting here have actually seen Scheelhaase play. Michigan would be lucky and fortunate to have a quarterback as good as Scheelhaase.
racer
Wed, Nov 3, 2010 : 5:50 p.m.
Tater, Illinois 3 losses were to Missouri, Ohio State and Michigan State. 3 teams currently ranked in the top 20, and with a combined 3 losses between them. I don't think your comparison of 5-3 teams hardly applies in this case.
lawrencelaundry
Wed, Nov 3, 2010 : 4:57 p.m.
PU MSU I don't think running V. Smith down the middle on 3rd and 1 or 2 is a great play call. This happened several times this yr. Defense is the main reason,but its RR 335 is kinda a play call. How's that working out?
81wolverine
Wed, Nov 3, 2010 : 2:31 p.m.
A hot QB who can run plus a solid defense don't bode well for Michigan on Saturday I'm afraid. If Michigan gets behind by 2-3 scores at halftime again, it will be over unfortunately. Our offense is definitely better than last year's, but our defense is worse. At least last year we had Brandon Graham to put some heat on the QB. Michigan wins this game ONLY if we can put up a lot of points on Illinois.
P U MSU
Wed, Nov 3, 2010 : 1:39 p.m.
Sean, Have to disagree with you here. Iowa's front 7 is better and we managed to put up some good offensive numbers on them. Even before Tate came into the game. Our own mistakes have been the only thing to shut the offense down.
Sean T.
Wed, Nov 3, 2010 : 1:09 p.m.
Illinois' front seven are as athleteic as anyone in the country and will probably shut our offense down unless we can pass the ball. (TATE F.)
wvtroll
Wed, Nov 3, 2010 : 12:36 p.m.
Should say "both ways" not "both was"
wvtroll
Wed, Nov 3, 2010 : 12:34 p.m.
tater, Maybe the juggernaut/terrible labels have to do more with the B10 record of 3-2 for one team versus 1-3 for the other. Creampuff wins don't earn much respect. You're either playing in a tough conference or you're not. Can't have it both was.
P U MSU
Wed, Nov 3, 2010 : 12:28 p.m.
"Another lose for michigan because of poor play calling by RR" Seriously? Try this - "Another loss for Michigan because of a bad defense." This would at least make sence.
lawrencelaundry
Wed, Nov 3, 2010 : 12:17 p.m.
60% of passes completed means 90% of 3rd down conversions result in 1st downs for Illinois. Another lose for michigan because of poor play calling by RR.