By Sean McDevitt
FightingIllini.com

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Joy. Pure unadulterated joy.

That was the feeling everywhere as the players, coaches and support staff of the 2007 University of Illinois Fighting Illini football team came together at Memorial Stadium for their 10-year reunion.

It was evident in small moments.

The moment Rashard Mendenhall saw Ron Zook and the two men hugged and laughed.

The moment J Leman stood on stage and realized the love from the coaching staff back then was as real as it was now, even though he couldn't understand it then.

The moment the entire group posed for a photo on the field and the smiles plastered on their faces gave way to awe and appreciation as it was the first time many of them had stepped back on the field since their playing days.

Ten years ago, a group of young men were the 13th ranked football team in the country meeting sixth ranked USC in the "Granddaddy of them All," the Rose Bowl. Although the team came up short, it was still an incredible accomplishment and a testament to the season.

Reunions are the perfect opportunity to remember the good times. Reminisce about the old days, catch up, and, for many, the opportunity to give back. Last night saw it all.

"A lot of these guys still look like they could get out there and play."

For taking Illinois to the Rose Bowl a year after going 2–10, Head Coach Ron Zook won both the Big Ten and national coach of the year. Just four years after the remarkable 2007 season, Zook was let go and until last weekend had not returned to the University.

As each player, coach or support staff came over to get a hug or a photo, Zook had nothing but good things to say about the team and the successes they've had since the magical 2007 season.

"It's great to be back," Zook said. "It's great to see the players. It's great to see them all successful. They all probably appreciate what they did going to the Rose Bowl now more than they did at the time. It's been just great to hear all the stories. I'm proud of them, I really am."

The 2007 team's sophomore quarterback, Juice Williams, thinks several members of the Rose Bowl team could still suit up. "First thing that jumps out to you is a lot of these guys still look like they could get out there and play today."

In 2007, Kevin Mitchell was the co-captain of the Rose Bowl team and was a three-year starting safety. When asked what it means for this group to come back together he was at a loss for words.

"To be honest, words can't describe it," said Mitchell. "When I see some of these guys that I haven't seen in ten years, you really can't describe the feeling. It's just phenomenal. When you look at this group, I see all the blood, sweat, tears. All the laughs. That's what this is today. If you walked into the middle of that group you'd feel that energy."

"Adversity makes or breaks you."

The University of Illinois 2007 Football team had high expectations. Even when the rest of the country had difficulty seeing a program that had only won four games the previous two seasons as a program on the verge of breaking out.

After starting the season with a loss to Missouri, Illinois won their next five games. Overall, the team won nine games including an upset victory of the #1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and, of course, a trip to the Rose Bowl.

During the festivities in the Colonnades Club at Memorial Stadium, Director of Athletics Josh Whitman called the team special.

"There were four years of my life when I came out of that tunnel and looked at that Rose Bowl sign on the wall and thought about how badly I wanted to play in that game," said Whitman. "And you had a chance to do it. I hope you appreciate everyday what that meant to the people here, to the people of this university, and the entire Illini Nation. Just three teams in 60 years have gone to the Rose Bowl and you are one of them. This team left a legacy that this program continues to strive for."

Mitchell believes what made the 2007 team so tough was going through the first few hard seasons and coming together as a team.

"You have to think about what we went through starting in 2003," Mitchell said. "I tell people all the time, my first four years we won a total of eight games. My last year it was nine. We grew tighter as a unit. Adversity makes or breaks you. We chose to use it as fuel and we continued to work."

Williams reiterated the same thoughts about the team.

"I feel it was a combination of some of the older guys being fed up and saying this is going to be our year to turn things around and we're not going to do it in some sort of modest fashion," Williams said. "We were going to go all in. It was their leadership combined with raw talent being able to take the next step."

Big Ten Player of the Year in 2007, Rashard Mendenhall, who had a 79-yard run for a touchdown in the Rose Bowl knew the '07 team was going to be good in '06.

"That year was a culmination of all the believing and all the work we put in a few years before," Mendenhall said. "It's funny because that '06 team the year before, we had to be the best 2-10 team of all-time. So close, right on the verge. But whatever we couldn't figure out then, that next year with that year of experience getting that close sparked it for us and we knew we could be good, and the next year we were."

Coach Zook praised everyone from the staff to support to the players, "We stayed together. We loved them and the players really loved each other. It was just one of those things where we were not going to let them go backwards, we pushed them forward."

"...the most important thing we can bring to the current team…"

Whitman sees parallels between the current squad and what Coach Lovie Smith is building with the 2007 team. In fact, several members of the 2007 team spent some time with the 2018 team and he thinks the sharing of wisdom and insight can keep the momentum going.

"They need to understand the path the current team is walking is a lot like the path you guys walked," said Whitman addressing the 2007 team. "You remember there weren't a lot of people on the outside who believed in what you were doing. There weren't a lot of people outside of that locker room who had faith in what was happening with Illinois football. And we're experiencing a lot of those same things now, but we know what good things that are going to take place on this field starting next Fall."

One of the keys to building and maintaining a winning culture at Illinois is to engage former student-athletes with the current ones. Kevin Mitchell was excited to talk to the current team.

"Yesterday we collaborated with the football team," said Mitchell. "Antonio Steele, Juice Williams, Eddie McGee, just a bunch of us were able to speak to the team and talk about transitions in life and we told them we were here for them. To use us because we'd been through it. It's the most important thing we can bring to the current team... just being there."

In addition, Coach Zook emphasized giving back to the program as a way of saying thank you, but also as a way to stay involved and enthusiastic about Illinois athletics.

"Best thing I can say to the guys is to get behind the program because it is their program."