Tom Brattan has a 37-year coaching career and experience working with two other Illinois coaches. So hiring him as Illinois’ new offensive line coach made perfect sense on paper. However, the timing didn’t leave much room for dragging out the pleasantries.

He was announced to the position on July 17, and with fall camp sstarting two weeks later, the transition for Brattan was, as he described, “fast and furious.”

Replacing A.J. Ricker, who left to be the offensive line coach at his alma mater, Missouri, Brattan was a late find, but one that has already proven his worth to Illinois.

He comes off 13 years as the offensive line coach at Maryland, where he helped the team to eight bowl games. Before that, he worked at Stanford and Northwestern.

“I think he’s a great hire,” head coach Tim Beckman said. “Blessed that he was available, because he’s a winner wherever he’s been at. He coached at places and really took that program to another level. He has built great relationships with our players. Our O-Line is mature because they’re older, so I think they grasp that a little bit easier than if they were a bunch of freshmen or sophomores. So he’s done a phenomenal job.”

It helps that Brattan worked with Illinois defensive coordinator Tim Banks and outside linebackers coach Al Seamonson during his time at Maryland. The pair have eased Brattan into Champaign, with Seamonson’s wife even joining them for dinner in town.

As Brattan has adapted to life back in the Big Ten, he has also modified his coaching to fit the Illini. It’s been all about dialogue for both coach and players as they adjust. 

Each side is learning how the other talks and Brattan has been tweaking his language to become Illinois-proficient. For him, the Illinois offense has been well coached and those first weeks were more about polishing fundamentals.

But he has seen a drive in the Illinois players that, at times, has been absent in other programs. 

“You look for things,” Brattan said. “‘Are there discipline issues in the summer?’ I didn’t see any. ‘Are the youngsters not going to class in the summer?’ Didn’t see any. ‘Are the youngsters setting PRs in the weight room?’ A lot. 

“All the little things you have to have in order to win — I think they’re there.”

As the players adjust, they are learning from Brattan as well.

“You know he’s a tough old-timer coach,” offensive lineman Ted Karras said. “He brings a mentality that’s tough and he’s tough on you. He’s not going to beat around the bush and he’ll tell you straight up what you need to do to get better. I think that’s great. He’s a good man and a good coach for that.”

Experience and friendships combined, Brattan has made his first few weeks count. He has watched film and demonstrated to the players that he knows what they need.

And while his abundance of energy is leaving some players double-guessing his age, it’s leaving offensive coordinator Bill Cubit much happier.

“He liked me coming on the staff cause now he’s not the oldest one on the staff,” Brattan laughed. “So he’s more than happy to have that.”

Charlotte is a sophomore in Media. She can be reached at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @charlottecrrll.