Purdue Danny Hope - Illinois Week

Q.  Danny, I guess when you first look at Illinois, they're very strong in sacking the quarterback.  I think they lead the Big Ten and they're the national sack leader.  Can you talk about what in particular makes them so tough in getting to the quarterback.  

 COACH HOPE:  They have a lot of good athletes, and they bring a lot of pressure.  They probably bring some type of pressure or movement probably 85 percent of the time.  They take a lot of chances, and sometimes it pays dividends for them and they land.  They have a lot of good athletes that run very well, and they bring it with a lot of speed, and they come wide open. 
 Their style of play, along with what they have as far as the quality of the athletes to do it with, together it makes them very good at creating pressure and getting to the quarterback. 
 

Q.  And I don't know if I'm pronouncing his name right.  It's like Mercilus, their defensive end. 
 COACH HOPE:  Good as I can get it.  

 Q.  What's that? 
 COACH HOPE:  You said it right.  You're perfect.  

 Q.  What makes him in particular so tough to block?  

 COACH HOPE:  He has a really good motor.  They have him on the move all the time.  It's hard to stay in front of him.  They bring a lot of pressure, and he's part of it.  He jail breaks through there and makes plays.  He has a good eye, a good nose for the football, and they bring a lot of pressure.  He's a big part of it.  All that together with the motor that he has, it accounts for a lot of numbers on his part.  

 Q.  Offensively, a pretty good quarterback-receiver combination with Scheelhaase and Jenkins.  Can you talk about the problems they present.  

 COACH HOPE:  Their offense will be a huge challenge for our defense.  They're very good offensively.  They very good at passing the football and very good at running the football.  They spread you out to do it.  That can always create some challenges for your defense. 
 Scheelhaase is outstanding.  He's an excellent runner with the ball.  They throw it very well.  The receiver is a big time receiver.  Makes very good plays, has great speed.  And they have big time running backs.  So you're dealing with a double-edged sword.  Outstanding football team where the quarterback is playing outstanding.  He has great players around him, and they're good at both the run game and the pass game.  

 Q.  I just want to get your take, assess your pass defense, how do you think you stand against the pass so far this year?  

 COACH HOPE:  I think we started off really slow, and I think we've gotten better.  The last couple of teams that we've played, they were a lot more run oriented, and I think we've made some progress defensively.  I think we're a lot better football team -- or a lot better defensive football team now, total football team now than we were three weeks ago.  And our defense coming on is certainly a very big part of that.