For new Illini wide receivers coach Justin Stepp, coaching football has become somewhat of a family tradition. His father, Tim, was a long-time high-school coach in South Carolina. His twin brother, Josh, serves as the tight ends coach at Cincinnati.
Always aware of the career path he wanted to embark on, Stepp turned a successful playing career into a successful coaching career, and he brings 15 years of Division-I coaching experience to Champaign in his first season with the Orange and Blue.
Reuniting with Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr., with whom Stepp spent two years working alongside at Arkansas from 2018-19, the new Illini assistant is eager to hit the ground running this spring.
"I had gotten to a spot at South Carolina where I was not necessarily comfortable, but I felt like 'Hey, look, if God opens the door, maybe it's time for us to look at something else.' Not just anything, it had to be the right situation with the right people: That was the whole thing we had always talked about," Stepp said. "I had several opportunities to leave while I was there for other SEC jobs, and I didn't because it just didn't feel right.Â
"When Barry and I started talking, there was something about it that just felt right and clicked. Everything about this decision and this move has been smooth. I couldn't be more excited to be here."
Stepp spent the past three seasons with his hometown school, South Carolina, as the Gamecocks' wide receivers coach. Despite growing up in Columbia, S.C., Stepp's childhood team was Florida State. A fan of the Seminoles' offense, Stepp idolized the ACC powerhouse.
Given his father's status as a top high-school coach in the Palmetto State, Stepp attended South Carolina and Clemson games from a young age, which inspired him to reach that level.
Not necessarily as a coach, though. Seeing his dad thrive at the high-school level, Stepp envisioned himself following in his father's footsteps by eventually becoming a coach for kids closer to that age range.
"I knew I wanted to coach, but truth be told, I never dreamed about coaching college football," Stepp said. "I actually coached high school football for a year, but I had to teach elementary school. It took about three weeks off teaching kindergarten through fifth-grade PE that I figured, 'There's no way I can do this the rest of my life.' It was all part of God's plan for me, and it's all worked out."
Attending his dad's practices alongside his twin brother, Stepp knew he and Josh would both find themselves in the coaching sphere one day. Tim Stepp coached both basketball and football, but the pair knew the latter was the right fit for them.Â
Well, here they are now, both thriving as Power-5 coaches.
"We'd go to football practice in the fall, and then we'd go to basketball practice in the winter. We were just always around coaches," Stepp said. "When I look back at my life – outside of my father, who had the greatest impact on my life, the other guys were coaches. Both of us grew up around that, so I guess that's where it came from."
Playing his college ball at the FCS level with Furman from 2003-06, Stepp – a wide receiver and punt returner – earned all-conference recognition as both a junior and senior. Finishing his collegiate career with over 100 catches, 1,500 yards, and 10 touchdowns, Stepp pivoted into coaching soon after his playing days were over.
After his one year at the high-school level, Stepp took a risk – and an admittedly massive pay cut – and accepted a position at D2 North Greenville as the program's wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator. One season later, he worked as a graduate assistant at Clemson, with whom he spent three years.
Accepting his first full-time Division-I coaching job in 2012, Stepp remained in the Carolinas and moved to Appalachian State, working with the team's wide receivers. He also made stops at SMU (2015-17) and Arkansas (2018-20) before he transitioned to South Carolina in 2021.
Stepp has prioritized family and relationships at every stop along the way. The father of two kids with his wife, Brooke, Stepp knows the importance of trust when arriving into a new program and a new environment.Â
"The number one thing is being consistent and being the same guy every day. That's the hardest part of this job," Stepp said. "I'm a big relationship guy, and relationships mean a ton to me. I built those relationships at South Carolina. It's never easy to leave, but a coach once told me, 'If you're any good at your job and you have the right culture in your room, it'll never be easy for you to leave. If it's easy for you to leave, you're doing it the wrong way.' Every step has been tough to leave.Â
"The number one thing is being the same guy every day, being consistent, and showing them how much you care about them off the football field. It can't always be about football. You have to make sure you do a good job of talking about other stuff with them and actually truly caring. I tell my guys all the time, 'If all they do is get better at playing football, then I failed them. It's about a lot more than just ball.'"
Having seen multiple former players hear their names called in the NFL Draft, ranging from a first-round selection to the infamous Mr. Irrelevant, Stepp knows what it takes to reach the next level.Â
Despite the Illini losing their top two receivers from one season ago, Stepp is excited about where his unit stands this spring as they build and develop heading into the fall.
"There's some good young talent in there. Some guys probably haven't had a chance to prove what they can do, and they're getting that chance to spring," Stepp said. "I'm excited about the group, top to bottom. It's a really solid group. Two things that stood out to me about this group over anything else is how hard they work and how smart they are."
As a family man himself, Stepp has seamlessly integrated himself into the program's famILLy culture. Aiming to continue to grow close with his players and fellow coaches throughout the remainder of spring ball and across the next several months, Stepp is ecstatic about the future for his unit and for the Illini moving forward.
He is taking things one step at a time, day by day, just like he's done at every program he has worked at throughout his coaching career.
"Football is what I do, but it ain't who I am. I'm a husband. I'm a dad. I'm a brother. I'm a son. My family is my world," Stepp said. "I think that's the feeling you get from being in this building. You can say, 'My position coach is going to coach me hard. He's going to get me better, but he's also going to love me and care about me on the field.' That's what family is.
"Family is everything. These guys are like my family now. I absolutely love coaching this group, I'm so excited about what we could be, and I'm so excited to keep getting better every day."
