Illinois quarterbacks coach Ed Zaunbrecher has accepted a position at Purdue, Illinois, head coach Ron Zook announced Thursday, leaving offensive coordinator Mike Locksley to fill his shoes for the spring season.

“It just gives me a little more preparation to do as opposed to just worrying about the tight ends,” Locksley said after practice Thursday.Illinois quarterbacks coach Ed Zaunbrecher has accepted a position at Purdue, Illinois, head coach Ron Zook announced Thursday, leaving offensive coordinator Mike Locksley to fill his shoes for the spring season.

“It just gives me a little more preparation to do as opposed to just worrying about the tight ends,” Locksley said after practice Thursday. “I’ve got to prepare and install with the quarterbacks, so obviously I’ve got a little more time in, but other than that it’s not much different.”

The Illini will finish out the spring season with Locksley at the helm of both the tight ends and quarterbacks positions, waiting until after the April 22 spring game to announce a new coach. Zook said the staff will look at hiring both the quarterbacks and tight ends coaching positions.

“I think that anytime you coordinate an offense it’s a little easier, and that’s why I coached the tight ends, to be involved in both aspects,” Locksley said. “I think most guys would like to coach from the quarterbacks spot, but at the end of spring Coach will make a decision and we’ll go out and hire the best coach we can, whether it’s a tight ends coach or a quarterbacks coach.”

Zook said Locksley had expressed interest in becoming more involved with the quarterbacks, and that the temporary added responsibility comes naturally. While he joked that the offensive coordinator might ask for a pay raise, he said he has complete confidence in Locksley’s ability to handle a bigger role.

Zook said that while the timing wasn’t ideal, he was glad it happened at the beginning of the spring season than later on. He said his emphasis will be on finding a coach who best fits Illinois’ system.

“I think it’s important that we get the right guy who can come in here and recruit and just continue doing the things that we’re doing,” Zook said. “The mistake would be to rush into something. We’re fine; this thing is going to keep on going at the same speed. We’re not going to slow down a bit. I don’t foresee any change at all.”