Nathan Scheelhaase was a revelation for Illinois last season. As a redshirt freshman quarterback, he threw for 17 touchdowns and rushed for five more, and led his team to victory in the Texas Bowl. Scheelhaase got better as the season went along and had a 13-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in his final seven games as the Illini offense hit a new level.

Head coach Ron Zook and offensive coordinator Paul Petrino have raved about Scheelhaase's work this offseason. I recently caught up with the second-year quarterback as he and his teammates prepared to open the season against Arkansas State at home.

Your coaches have gushed about your development this offseason. How do you feel about your progress as a quarterback and a leader?


Nathan Scheelhaase: It's been exciting for me, too. Last season, with 13 games and getting that under your belt, you learn a whole lot about the game, about the conference and about what it takes to win games. In the offseason, I wanted to focus on becoming as good a player as I can. So it has been exciting, whether it's developing as a quarterback and being more consistent and working on different passes. Then also as a leader, and being that guy on our team.

How much more comfortable are you heading into this second year with the same offensive system and coaches?


NS: It's been great being able to work with Coach Petrino a second year. He's a guy who definitely has a great sense of the game, a great football mind. With us being more on the same page this year, I've been able to learn more about how he's thinking, from game to game and from call to call during the game. Any time your quarterback and offensive coordinator are thinking on the same level and the same page, I think it helps your offense.

A quarterback always has to lead the team, but it's sometimes tricky when you're a freshman. How much easier is it to lead now?


NS: That comes with the territory of having more experience. You're going to feel more comfortable leading the guys around you when you feel more comfortable with what you're doing. So I think that helps. They look at me as a guy who started 13 games as a quarterback, who won Big Ten games and a bowl game. And that's important for not just the leading part, but the following part. All great leaders, they have to have great followers. And I think our team has that.

What happened in the middle of last year that helped you really take off as a quarterback?


NS: Coach Petrino just reminded me right during the midpoint of the season, we had a talk during the middle of the week, and he said, 'Remember what won you the job and what got you here. Remember why you're our starting quarterback.' I just went back to the basics, what I was comfortable with in my style of play and what things I can do. Obviously, after you've played six or so games and they are your first six games, you're going to feel better about what you're doing on the field. You're going to make better decisions and put the ball in the right places more often. That's what happened. It was just constant repetition, constant film study that helped me develop into a more efficient quarterback.

What aspects of your game did you focus on this offseason?


NS: Throwing the ball was something I wanted to improve on and take strides in, and I think I have done a good job with that. I feel like our receivers have done a great job, too. We've worked a lot on our timing and our routes, and we all feel more confident in each other. And when you have that kind of confidence brewing around between a quarterback and his receivers, you're going to make more plays. That's when you start to get an offense really clicking.

People have said they've seen more zip on your passes this summer. What would you attribute that to -- just getting stronger and older?


NS: A part of it is getting stronger. Lou Hernandez, our strength coach, has done a good job of working with me. And it's not only getting my arm stronger, but a lot of the power is generated from your legs. So it's making sure that base is there. And part of that is being more confident. When you know your plays and your reads and know where the ball should go, you put more zip on it because you're not doubting yourself. So it's probably 50-50 those two things.

It seems like I've seen your touchdown run against Baylor 100 times this offseason. How many times have you watched it?


NS: I've definitely watched it. The first time I saw it was when I was watching highlights that night back in the hotel room with my family. I watched the film of that game, obviously, and they'll show reruns of the game on the Big Ten Network whenever it's Illini day. Whenever you have games like that, it's exciting to be able to reflect on that and see it again. Because as an athlete, you remember those moments like it was yesterday.

That was the past. A new season starts this weekend. Can your offense pick right up where it left off, or will it take a while to get going?


NS: We definitely plan to pick up where we left off. There's no reason why we shouldn't. We've got a lot of great players at a lot of positions, and whenever you have that experience and talent spread across the field, you've got a chance to do things. We feel like the sky is the limit. The way we worked and prepared this offseason, we're planning for it to pay off. We look forward to getting the season going and showing where we're at.

With the home schedule you guys have this year, how much can that help the team get off to a strong start?


NS: I definitely think it will help us out. We love playing in front of our home crowd. Just having that home environment, where you don't have to worry about traveling and missing classes and different things like that, you can really just focus in on the game. I feel like if we're a strong home team, not only with those first five games but the eight home games, that will really do us a big favor when it comes to our end-of-season record. We plan to be strong at home and plan on it being an advantage.

Finally, fans and the media and everybody else can't wait for the season to get going. What's the excitement level like at this time for you as players?


NS: This is what we wait for. Football is a unique sport where you spend a huge amount of time on preparation, not only in the offseason but from a week to week standpoint. So we look at this as our payday. We finally get to go out there and play against somebody else who's not wearing orange and blue for the first time in a while. We're excited about the things we can do and the people we can shock this season. We feel confident and ready to go.