Former North Carolina State offensive line coach Jim Bridge was hired by Illinois football for the same position Wednesday, filling the last of two vacant positions on head coach Tim Beckman’s staff. Bridge will serve under Bill Cubit, who was introduced as offensive coordinator Jan. 14.

Bridge will take the reigns from Luke Butkus, who coached the Illinois offensive line for one season. Butkus left the Illini to join his former coach Ron Turner’s staff at Florida International. Bridge will inherit an offensive line that gave up more sacks than any other team in the Big Ten and will lose two key seniors in center Graham Pocic and left tackle Hugh Thornton.

“I’m very excited to work with an outstanding coach and man in Tim Beckman,” Bridge said in a statement. “Illinois is a great fit for me, personally, and Coach Beckman has assembled an outstanding staff.”

The 2012 Illini ranked next-to-last in the Big Ten in both passing and rushing offense. A large part of that inefficiency can be laid upon the offensive line, despite frequent injuries. As a team, Illinois averaged just 3.5 yards per carry, ranking last in the Big Ten. If the Illini want to turn things around in 2013, it has to start with the front five.

That burden will lie not only on Bridge, but also on Cubit, the former Western Michigan head coach who was fired Nov. 17 after a 4-8 season. Cubit replaces ousted co-offensive coordinator Chris Beatty. With the hiring of Bridge and Cubit, the Illini coaching staff appears to be complete. Illinois retains its entire defensive staff from 2012, headlined by defensive coordinator Tim Banks.

In 21 years of coaching, Bridge has been either a tight ends coach or an offensive line coach. He coached the NC State offensive line for two years and coached the tight ends for four seasons prior to that. Before his stint with the Wolfpack, Bridge coached the Boston College tight ends from 2003-06.

Bridge is also an experienced recruiter, being named one of the top recruiters in the nation by Rivals.com in 2008. From 2009-12, he coached four All-ACC players, and in his final year at NC State, the Wolfpack averaged more than 420 yards per game.

“As a coach, you always look forward to competing in a premier conference like the Big Ten,” Bridge said. “I can’t wait to get started with the members of our team and especially our offensive linemen.”

Bridge and Beckman spent one season together at Bowling Green in 2000 under head coach Gary Blackney. Bridge served as the tight ends coach while Beckman was the defensive coordinator.

“I was extremely pleased to find a coach of Jim’s caliber to join our staff during this search for an offensive line coach,” Beckman said in a statement. “He has coached at several very productive and successful programs. Jim will be a great fit at Illinois as an on-field coach and as one of the nation’s top recruiters.”

Sean can be reached at sphammo2@ dailyillini.com and @sean_hammond.