Now you can add coach Ron Zook to that list. After saying the staff didn’t coach very well, he was asked to elaborate on the coaching errors that were made. This is what he had to say:

“A couple of things and the most glaring thing is tackling. And I’ll take responsibility for that. There are three things involved. We got into a point (in camp) where we were getting nicked up a bit and we pulled off. Maybe we should have continued to hit in camp and that would have made a little bit of a difference.

“I took the theory or philosophy that I wanted to take the guys to the game. Right, wrong or indifferent, that’s something we’ll get corrected, I assure you that. Defensively we did a little bit too much and may have tried some things to counteract formations that we didn’t need to do.

“The third thing is maybe … we got into listening to what people are saying and writing, and we’re going to correct that also.”

Huge murals for the great halls were not in place as of Tuesday morning. Concession stands were littered with tools. Flat-screen TVs were being attached to walls near premium seating and tables pieced together. At every turn I ran into workers, who seemed annoyed by the tour that was filing through various phases of the three-story addition on the stadium’s west side.

But this must be like one of those home renovation reality shows where the place is in shambles the night before the open house and picture perfect when the crowd shows up. Warren Hood, associate athletics director, wasn’t the least bit nervous when he said the stadium would be ready come Saturday morning when the doors open.

“If you’d seen it a week ago, you’d have said ‘no way,’ ” he said.

But with more than 400 workers at a time tending to details this week, the place is expected to be ready to show to more than 60,000 fans. They are working in shifts that cover 16 hours a day. And cleaning crews will be working from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. from now through Saturday to assure the mess is gone.

Looking at the three-story addition that stretches across the top of the stadium’s west side, this is how the pieces stack:

Below the addition is the 1,100-seat Colonade Club, which is topped by new balcony seating. The first level of the addition includes the 77 Club, which is flanked on both sides by eight suites. The second level contains 26 of the 42 suites. And the upper level consists of the press box and university suites.

The project was designed so that the three new levels are actually pushed closer to the field than the old press box. Hood said the new press box is closer to the field than any in the Big Ten, perhaps any in the country.

The 77 Club, complete with bookend murals of Red Grange, has sold out its 200 seats and 39 of the 42 suites have been sold, ranging in price from $45,000 to $50,000 per year depending on the length of the lease. Hood said that 90 percent of the suites were leased for the maximum of 10 years.

However, the average fan never will see those areas. The biggest impact for most will come when they enter the great halls. Once massive, sterile and dank, they have been beautifully renovated with brick walls and, we were told, will include banners from the school’s Big Ten championships and bowl games and assorted murals by Saturday.

The walking space has been reduced but the number of bathrooms has increased by 60 percent, Hood said. Fans won’t even remember what the old halls looked like.

Below the student seating section in the north end zone is a new 16,000-square foot weight room that is nearly complete. Coach Ron Zook said it will be the biggest all-football weight room in the country, and strength coach Lou Hernandez expects it to be fully operational by November.

“It’s just an upgrade in equipment completely,” Hernandez said. “Some of the stuff is the best in the world. There’s no question about it, it makes a statement.”

Above the weight room is a lounge for recruits when they visit along with a nine-foot by nine-foot video wall for their viewing pleasure.

The entire project is an impressive piece of work that came with an impressive price tag of $121 million.

Brit Miller is being held to high standards this season as the successor to All-America middle linebacker J Leman, and he’s holding himself to those standards as well. That’s why he apologized to the Illinois offense in the locker room Saturday night after the defense didn’t hold up its end of the bargain.

“I thought it needed to be said because the offense did a good job,” he said Monday afternoon. “They picked it up when they needed and they scored a lot of points. You hate to be that part of the team that let them down.

“There was a lot of confusion on our side and that was maybe a lack of leadership on our side. I put that on myself.”

Miller dropped a lot of weight and worked overtime during the offseason to prepare for his move inside. The job means that he’s playing almost twice as many snaps per game as he did as a junior.

He tied for the team lead with 12 tackles against Missouri, but Miller said that didn’t begin to tell the story of how he played. After watching tape, he said he counted at least five tackles that he missed, part of a team-wide plague of missed tackles on Saturday.

“That’s definitely one of the worst games I’ve ever been a part of, my performance as well,” he said. “Giving up that many yards hurts.”

But Williams rebounded from the slow start to throw for 451 yards and five touchdowns, and Monday he was named the Big Ten’s co-offensive player of the week. He shared the honor with Indiana’s Kellen Lewis.

Let’s be honest here, though. Williams should get top billing for posting his numbers against a Big 12 defense that returned 10 starters, including one or two All-America candidates. And he showed a deft touch on a couple of touchdown passes in particular, that mostly has been absent in his first two years.

Lewis, who I believe is one of the country’s most underrated quarterbacks, ran for touchdowns of 75 and 62 yards and had 185 yards rushing, but he did so against Western Kentucky. 

I just found out that Kaleb has a web site, so I thought I’d share:

http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/viewHome.do

But when Guenther talks, he offers plenty of fodder. And on this day he had much to say about his support of basketball coach Bruce Weber and what might happen when a decision is reached regarding the future of Assembly Hall.

The university has a ton of possible athletic construction in the next 10 years, from the current renovation of Memorial Stadium to Assembly Hall, a facility for the school’s Olympic sports and possible further renovation at Memorial Stadium. But the focus is on the aging basketball facility and whether it should be renovated or cast aside in favor of a new building for the Illini.

Whatever happens to Assembly Hall, Guenther indicated that Weber is in good standing and the upcoming season is not going to decide his fate after much grumbling among fans last season.

“I don’t think anyone is saying this is a critical year,” he said. “We’ll have a better basketball team this year than we had last year. We adjusted our recruiting. The staff understands how we got to where we are. … Every once in a while a program hits a down period. It had to do with recruiting and making reaches on some student-athletes that didn’t show up here for a variety of reasons. …

“I’ve been very supportive when you have a good coach and know you have a good program. The only time I’ve made  a change is when I’ve personally lost confidence that we can’t get it done and that certainly isn’t the case with coach Weber.”

Guenther said a decision should be made by January regarding plans for the basketball team’s home. Possibilities include a minor renovation, major renovation that could displace the Illini for a season, or construction of a new arena.

The key to renovation, he said, it to assure that the building can last another 45 to 50 years. At this point, it appears Assembly Hall can withstand that test of time. But Guenther didn’t discount any of the options.

“We’re just entering into financials,” he said. “There’s an economic climate that is challenging. I don’t like to stop any momentum in either direction until there’s a better understanding of how this thing is going to be financed and how costly it’s going to be.”

If the arena undergoes a major facelift, it could displace the team for a full season. Guenther said he would need “a lot of cooperative partners” to make it work. He mentioned Chicago, St. Louis and several locations in Illinois as possible game sites if the Illini are homeless.

After the arena issue is decided, the next project to be discussed is a facility for the Olympic sports such as volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics.

As renovation on Memorial Stadium comes to a close, Guenther looked ahead to future stadium changes. He said an alteration of the south end zone, known by some as “the horseshoe,” is likely within the next decade, calling that “a total guesstimate.”

Regarding the future of the football series with Missouri, Guenther said the schools have an agreement for 2011, which is the year after the current contract expires. He suggested that the schools might enter into a home-and-home series that year and plans to have discussions with Missouri athletics director Mike Alden next weekend in St. Louis.

So when left tackle Xavier Fulton had to be helped off the field, Zook probably feared the worst. But it was only minutes  later that he walked under his own power back to the opposite sideline, allowing Zook to exhale.

The first person to greet Fulton was quarterback Juice Williams, whose blindside is protected by the converted defensive lineman. Fulton sat the remainder of the night but Zook was told he would  be fine and felt better when he saw him walking around after the scrimmage. 

The Illini went through an array of situational drills, making the statistics difficult to analyze. For instance, sacks were handed out when defenders came close to touching a quarterback, so the defense was credited with 14 sacks and Williams had only four yards on eight carries.

Believe me, Williams and Eddie McGee, who faced the first-team defense, would have eluded the sack in most instances. But the Illini clearly have a pass rush to fear as McGee can attest after being credited with negative 41 yards rushing on 12 carries.

The Illini had three defensive ends in the game simultaneously at times.

“We’re going to have some guys that can rush the passer and some guys that can come off the ball,” Zook said. “You want to be able to put your four best guys out there and we have a lot of depth at defensive end position, not as much at defensive tackle.”

Williams came under less pressure from the second-team defense. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 150 yards and didn’t throw an interception. Most notable among the receivers on this night was Marques Wilkins, who had five catches for 48 yards.

He was not afraid to go high for a pass in traffic and held onto a ball despite a big hit by a defensive back. Tight end Michael Hoomanawanui also showed signs of becoming a bigger part of the offense with a pair of catches for 31 yards.

There weren’t any surprises in the first units on each side. With two openings at safety, Travon Bellamy and Bo Flowers currently hold starting jobs, and Josh Brent stepped in for injured Sirod Williams at defensive tackle.

The first three receivers were Benn, James and Jeff Cumberland but they did little on the night. The running back battle was interesting to watch as freshman Jason Ford impressed with his combination of moves and power. He was difficult to bring down and moved the pile for extra yards several times.

Clay Nure was credited with 3 1/2 sacks and Will Davis had three. Martez Wilson was also active from his linebacker spot and tied safety Nate Bussey for the team led with eight tackles.

So Miller went about dropping some weight during the offseason and started training camp this week in the 238- to 240-pound range. He has lost about 22 pounds since the Rose Bowl.

“I’ve leveled out now,” he said. “I’m getting my metabolism right again. I feel good, like a better athlete out there, like I can play a lot more ball.”

In the past, Miller would leave the game when the nickel package was inserted. Now he’ll be part of that package.

“Last year I was able to get as big as I wanted because I played a physical position,” he said. “I had to go against a lot of linemen.”

His next challenge is to take over for a consensus All-American who is in camp with the Minnesota Vikings. But as he chomped on a ham sandwich, Miller said he never considered taking over Leman’s diet, which included heavy helpings of raw eggs and olive oil.

“I don’t think my stomach would like me any more,” he said. “Oil and eggs are not for me.”

“He’s an awfully good player now,” coach Ron Zook said. “He’s going to be a heck of a safety.”

Zook said Illinois players have reported that newcomer Donsay Hardeman looked impressive during summer workouts. Also in the mix for the two openings are Bo Flowers, Garrett Edwards and Nate Bussey. …

The punting job apparently is incumbent Anthony Santella’s to lose. Said Zook, “I’m satisfied and feel confident we’ll be fine with Anthony.” Santella averaged 37.7 yards on 64 attempts as a freshman. …

After having seven months to ponder the Rose Bowl, offensive tackle Xavier Fulton said the Illini need to have a better focus the next time around and approach preparation more like a “business trip.”

“We looked at is as more of a vacation,” he said. “We were in California at the end of December and people are outside in shorts. It was kind of a surreal experience. Just the whole environment was counterproductive to what we were trying to do.” …

Offensive coordinator Mike Locksley included Chris Duvalt among the team’s top receivers with a shot at earning a starting job. Duvalt made the switch from defensive back and had an impressive spring. …

Defensive end Will Davis said he is shooting for 15 sacks this season after recording 9 1/2 in 2007. Davis didn’t earn a starting job last year until after he made three sacks against Indiana. …

Arrelious Benn is the frontrunner to return kickoffs and Zook will watch his progress before determining if the sophomore adds punt returns to his list of duties.

“The big thing Zook wanted me to do was work on catching punts,” Benn said of his summer routine. “You don’t know where the ball is going to fall and you have guys coming at you.” …

Zook reported that the Illini have no injuries and will be at full strength entering camp this afternoon.

Zook is a coach who has declined TV requests to wear a microphone.  So having cameras at practices and in the locker room almost every day during the upcoming season seemed an horrible violation of privacy.

He virtually squirmed in his seat when the topic was raised at Big Ten media day on Friday.

“If you know me,” he said, “you know that ain’t me at all.”

But the recent deal between the network and Comcast made Zook decide that the program might not be so bad. So it was that he agreed to the show, which will be called “Illinois football: The journey.”

The network is about to get widespread exposure via Comcast that it lacked a year ago. And to Zook, that means one thing: Recruiting.

“I wouldn’t have done the reality show if they didn’t have the Comcast cable deal,” he said. “All of the areas, for the most part, where we recruit are going to get it. Before, it wouldn’t have done us that much good.”

The film crew will arrive in Rantoul next weekend to start filming when training camp opens on Aug. 3. From that day forward, the network will have access to virtually every aspect of the team’s day-to-day activities.

Zook concedes that the agreement comes with potential pitfalls. What if a player gets in trouble? What if the cameras catch something negative in the locker room? But in a mind that never strays far from recruiting, Zook focused on the advantages.

“(The NCAA) won’t let me text message. Fine,” he said. “I’m going to get to them another way.”

The show will debut on Sept. 2 and will air every Tuesday at 8:30 central time. The network web site describes the show as “capturing the team’s activities on the field and beyond.” Zook has talked to his team already about being held to a higher standard with cameras ready to capture any misstep. That conversation figures to be repeated.

To get comfortable with the idea, Zook talked at length with Minnesota basketball coach Tubby Smith, whose team was the focus of the series last season. Smith told Zook he was apprehensive but ended up satisfied with the results.

Zook still seems to be apprehensive, but there is no turning back.

“I told the coaches it’s like having someone in your bedroom, but by the same token we don’t have anything to hide,” he said. “I think it will be a good experience for our players. The bottom line is recruiting and the exposure you get.”