CHAMPAIGN — After briefly letting the word slip, Jamal Woods quickly caught himself for a split-second correction.
The act of the defense intercepting the football, stripping it or recovering a fumble may well be referred to as coming up with a turnover in some football programs. Not in Champaign under Illinois head coach Lovie Smith. Woods knew he slipped up when he spoke to the media on Wednesday morning, calling it a turnover.
He quickly corrected to the more appropriate term around the Henry Dale and Better Smith Football Center: Takeaway.
"It's takeaway," Woods, a senior defensive tackle, said. "We're taking the ball away. ... That’s all Coach (Lovie) Smith preaches, ‘Take the ball away. Take the ball away every game. Every play. Every opportunity there’s a chance for you to take the ball away.’ That’s all he preaches. That’s what we try to focus on the most."
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Takeaways are a central tenet in Smith's defensive philosophy and, in turn, the philosophy he passes on to the defense. Call it "Lovie Ball." It started when Smith was a player at Big Sandy (Texas) High School and never left as he rose the ranks under coaching legends Monte Kiffin and Tony Dungy. When reporters ask about turnovers, Smith corrects them to call them takeaways. It's rubbed off on even the most veteran reporters, who know better than to call them anything but a takeaway.
“That’s a big part of it right there," Smith said. "The defense has to take the ball away. We can’t rely on turnovers. That’s in our DNA. Just because it’s in our DNA doesn’t mean it always comes out. We practice it. We preach it. We live it. I think in order to play good defensive ball, that’s a part of it."
A turnover implies the defensive was simply the recipient of a bit of luck. A takeaway implies intent. The Illini practice ripping, stripping, picking, yanking and pulling at the football. There's no luck involved in what they do and what they intend to do on Friday against No. 14 Wisconsin in the season opener.
“We preach every day in practice and taking the ball away gives our offense an opportunity to go score, if not us to go score," said Sydney Brown, a junior safety. "Takeaways win games and I believe we can do that as a defense this year."
Things clicked for Illinois on the takeaway front last year, in Smith's fourth season with the team. The Illini forced 28 turnovers (12 interceptions and 16 fumbles) in 13 games, which ranked fourth in FBS in turnovers gained. The Illini's 18 forced fumbles ranked fourth in FBS. Illinois forced at least one turnover in every regular season game in 2019. It was the third-longest streak in FBS until it was snapped in the Redbox Bowl.
Illinois forced at least two turnovers in seven of nine Big Ten games in 2019 and in conference play, it forced 22 turnovers, third-most in most in the nation and three more than any other Big Ten team in 2019. The turnovers helped cover some warts on defense, where Illinois ranked 11th in the Big Ten in total defense.
“I think it fits my character," said linebacker Delano Ware. "Everybody likes the big hits and sacks, but as a defensive player deep down inside, we want that touchdown. We want a pick-six, we want a sack fumble, we want the turnovers, we want the takeaways. I feel like that’s better on our stat sheet. They call it Lovie Ball with Coach Smith, we’re all about takeaways. I think I fit that character and for the rest of the defense, we fit that character of we want to score. That’s our plan, to score every time."
“We want that 𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙠-𝙨𝙞𝙭.
— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) October 13, 2020
We want a 𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙠-𝙛𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙡𝙚.
We want 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨.
We want 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨.
They call it #LovieBall.
But that’s what we’re about.
We’re about 𝙏𝘼𝙆𝙀𝘼𝙒𝘼𝙔𝙎.”
» LB Delano Warepic.twitter.com/ztXFuhUTVU
The Illini finished plus-10 in turnover margin during Big Ten play last season (28 forced and 18 committed), which was best in the league. They've forced at least one turnover in 36 of the last 39 games. Smith said the team goes in with a goal of at least three takeaways each game, and adjusts accordingly. The more, of course, the better.
Turnover margin is also predicated on the Illinois offense protecting the ball. According to a study from footballperspective.com, NFL teams that won the turnover battle from 2007-2016 won 78 percent of games. The more takeaways and fewer giveaways, the better.
“That determines the winner or the person that loses more than any other stat," Smith said. "You have to put a big emphasis on it. I think it helps to see what you can do in a game. Last year, guys got a chance to see what taking the ball away can do for your ball club."
Creating takeaways is a mindset in the system. Everyone on defense is bought into the idea and the proof that it worked was in the pudding last year. On Akron's second offensive possession of the season opener, linebacker Jake Hansen forced a fumble out of the hands of Akron quarterback Keto Nelson with Illinois leading 14-3 late in the first quarter. Illinois scored on the ensuing possession and the rout was on.
Hansen finished with seven forced fumbles to lead the nation in forced fumbles per game (0.78) — he missed the final four games with injury. That first one, though, opened the floodgates.
“Yeah, Coach Smith preaches it all the time, when you see someone do it like Jake did in that first game against Akron, we were like, ‘Yeah, it’s possible,'" said senior safety Tony Adams. "People started getting to the right place at the right time. ... You see somebody doing the right thing, you want to do it as well."
Said Hansen: “Always part of our game plan and part of our DNA. Our coaches make it a big, big point of emphasis for us."
There's a board inside the Smith Center that tallies points for takeaways and gives more points for defensive touchdowns. Getting on that board is meaningful and a way for competition. In the end, it comes back to phrasing. Taking the ball away is an intentional act. Inside the old meeting room at Memorial Stadium, a football extended out from the wall on the spring. Different phrases were painted above, below and to each side of the ball. They all centered around forcing it out of the hand of the offensive player.
“Our intentions are to get the ball," Ware said. "If I’m striving every play to get the ball out, that’s not luck, that’s what I’m trying to do. That’s what we work in in practice, to get takeaways, to forces fumbles, to get sack fumbles, to punch the ball out to strip. We practice on that daily, so that ends up becoming a skill, not just luck.
“We’re intentionally making these actions, intentionally trying to get the ball out. It’s not like I’m just wrapping him up and the ball just comes out. No. I’m punching the ball and I’m wrapping up as well and everybody else is doing that on the same person. It’s a skill."
🏈 32 historical Illini photos
Looking up
Good Block
Taking a Dive
On the loose
University of Illinois Football
Coming at ya
To run
Joyous
Lester
Sack attack
Waiting
A coming through
Sideline maneuver
Mowing them down
That's my buddy
1992
Traffic
Busting through
Final Exit
Scrum
On the run
Sack attack
Pileup
Take that
1991
Lean on me
Way to go
1991
The peoples' choice
It's good
Touchdown Hero
That's Six
Contact Joey Wagner at (217) 421-6970. Follow him on Twitter: @mrwagner25