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| Kurt Kittner will be in the chat room Thursday, Oct. 22, starting at Noon CT. |
Here's your opportunity to ask questions of former Illini and Chicago Bears quarterback, and current Illinois football radio color commentator Kurt Kittner. He will be in the chat room Thursday, Oct. 22, starting at Noon CT. Send in your questions today.
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| Moderator: Hey everyone, thanks for coming by today's chat! Kurt has a few obligations so the chat will start at approximately 12:40. Keep the questions coming! |
| Moderator: Kurt is with us in the chat room, so we're ready to go! |
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| Tom (Chicago): First off, HUGE fan Kurt. I'm an '08 finance alum and haven't missed an Illini football game since junior high. What is the most memorable game of your collegiate career? I know you had the bowl games and the '99 Michigan win, but I will never forget being at the '01 Wisconsin game. |
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Kurt Kittner: Tom, thanks for the kind words! My two most memorable games are the '99 game against Michigan because it really was my first significant win as a college QB and the 2001 Penn State game at home. That was a come-from-behind victory and a night game in Champaign. |
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| Andrew (Kansas City): Kurt, what do you think is the biggest reason for the Illini's struggles? Is there anyway you can petition the NCAA for a 5th year of eligibility? |
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Kurt Kittner: Andrew, I'm not sure if my body can handle taking the hits I took from the ages of 18 to 21. Two back surgeries later and the fact that I'm 29 really reduces my desire to be hit like that again! As far as this year's team, I think it's inconsistency. And overall, the team hasn't seemed to jell together to put together the product we all thought that we would see. It's the ultimate team game and so far we've only be successful in parts and never at the same time. |
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| j. berg decatur: hi kurt k. first of all, thanks for so many great memories as well as your illini play by play commentator work. just outstanding! one question? it seems to me opposing defenses can take chances on juice because they know he has a run first mentality. does it make sense to make him stay in the pocket and throw the football to either his 1st,2nd, third option like you were so good at? i'm tired of seeing him have more rushes than the better backs that we have. thank you for being an illini. |
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Kurt Kittner: J. Berg, we are a spread offense and we depend on having a successful running game. Establishing the run game early typically helps make the passing game easier, so I don't think making Juice stick in the pocket is beneficial either to the offense or the passing attack. |
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| Jeff (Mesa, AZ): What are the reasons for so many struggles in the red zone this year? This has certainly affected the outcome of our games. |
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Kurt Kittner: Jeff, I don't believe our struggles have been in the red zone as much as getting to the red zone. We're actually in the top half of the Big Ten in converting points once we get in the red zone, or have been much of the season. |
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| Duane (Fairview Heights): Hey Kurt! I graduated in 2002 as you did. Do you have any advice for the current Illini football team? ou bounced back from a HORRIBLY called Michigan game in your junior season and ended up leading U of I to the Sugar Bowl in your senior year. I believe this year's team has the same talent. What do you believe is missing? Go Illini! |
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Kurt Kittner: Duane, my advice would be to trust your teammates and trust the system. A coach has never missed a tackle, dropped a pass or missed a block. The onus is on the players to make the plays. |
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| kornbread: Who would you say is the best third string qb turned WR, that wore the #19? |
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Kurt Kittner: Hi, Mark, I think you are! I also remember you as one of the slowest receivers in the Big Ten at the time. I've never seen a punt returner wave for a fair catch before the ball got off the punter's foot! Just kidding, you were the most dependable receiver on the team who always found a way to come down with the ball. |
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| Jim: From what you have seen with the Illini and other college teams why do you think we struggle to incorporate the TE into the offense? It appears to be a key weapon with most teams and our TE seems to be open and if memory serves me he is a big target, usually open, doesn't have any drops and it usually takes 3 or 4 defenders to bring him down. Doesn't the short game open up the long game? |
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Kurt Kittner: Jim, we struggle to incorporate the tight end because we're a spread offense and we're focused more on getting the ball in the hands of the wide receivers to allow them to make plays in the open field. We've also been hindered a little bit by Uh-oh's ankle injury. Some of the teams now have tight ends who aren't traditional tight ends, they're more receiver-like, and Hoomanawanui is definitely a big, physical tight end. |
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| Mark (Rantoul): What was your best memory as an Illini? |
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Kurt Kittner: Mark, my best memory as an Illini was definitely winning the Big Ten championship and having the trophy presentation on our home field. Also, the summer football team softball league between my junior and senior years was a lot of fun! |
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| Jim (Mattoon): Do you think this year's teams can recover and get some wins in the second half of the season? |
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Kurt Kittner: Jim, yes, I think the team is very talented, it's just a matter of them putting it all together in a game and not being crippled by penalties, turnovers, dropped passes or giving up the big play. |
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| Tim Wittenberg, Kokomo,Indiana: Hi Kurt, I was wondering what you feel is the problem with Juice this year. He seems to be putting alot of pressure on himself and not taking what the defense gives him? |
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Kurt Kittner: Tim, I can understand the amount of pressure Juice would put on himself as a senior QB and four-year starter. I remember in my senior year I was doing whatever I could to make sure we went out on top and it's a lot more pressure than the year before. With that being said, he has to remember that he's not going to win or lose a game on his own. |
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| Joe S. Seattle: Do you think the fact that there is not a strong RB/FB(like a Mendenhall) to run the option has caused Juice's inability at Quarterback this year? |
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Kurt Kittner: Joe, I would disagree with you. There aren't a lot of Rashard Mendenhalls out there and the running backs we have all have the speed and athletic ability to be successful in this offense. |
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| Bob Hazel Green, WI: What is the purpose of using so many running backs this season? It seems we do better by sticking with one guy instead of rotating many. |
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Kurt Kittner: Bob, I would say the purpose is that in my opinion we have a lot of talented running backs so they're trying to get all of them on the field. Last week at Indiana, it seemed like Coach Zook was sticking with Mikel Leshoure for a bulk of the carries and using Daniel Dufrene to spell him until Leshoure tweaked his ankle. That might be a sign that he's leaning in that direction for the rest of the year. |
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| Gene Olsen (Chicago, IL): Hey Kurt, I was there when you played at Illinois. Thank you for those great years and games! With what you have learned playing football though your career, do you see yourself ever getting into coaching? If so, possibly with the Illini? |
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Kurt Kittner: Gene, coaching is a very difficult profession, especially at the college level. There's a lot of pressure and if you look at the resume of just about any coach, you see that they have moved a lot over the course of their career. I did consider getting into it after my playing days were over, but those are things that pushed me away from becoming a coach and I also didn't want to be a graduate assistant. It's also tough on your family when media are criticizing you and even calling for you to be fired. I can handle that stuff, but I don't think it's fair to my wife and future children. |
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| Moderator: That's all Kurt has time for this afternoon. He has to get back to his day job before he heads to Purdue tomorrow night! |
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