“When you don’t win, you’ve got to look yourself in the mirror and figure out how to help the kids, because you’re all in it together. Coach talks about family, and we are a family. I’m not saying, ‘Hey, my kids can’t play.’ Shoot, I’ve got to coach them better.” — Tim Banks, Illinois defensive coordinator, following a 56-32 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday.

“Guys need to grow up.” — Houston Bates, Illinois LEO after the loss to Wisconsin.

You can’t make anyone grow up faster. Of the 11 starters on the Illinois defense, only senior linebacker Jonathan Brown and junior cornerback Earnest Thomas III had started more than half a season’s worth of games coming into 2013.

Everyone knew the defense would be young. They’ve known it since January. But what could they do about it?

In a major power conference, a young defense often means a bad defense. Tim Banks’ unit has been one of the worst in the nation in numerous defensive statistical categories. 

Banks said after Saturday’s loss, when Illinois gave up 56 points and 478 total yards, that the players needed to play better, but the coaches also needed to coach better.

Although Banks is thinking about coaching better, frustrated fans of the program might be thinking about better coaches. Head coach Tim Beckman did what he felt he had to do last year after a dismal season offensively — he fired offensive coordinators Chris Beatty and Billy Gonzales.

But the difference was last year’s offense had experience and several veteran leaders, two things this year’s defense has little of.

“Inexperience is starting to show it’s ugly face,” said Brown, one of only two senior starters on defense. “It’s one thing to have a lot of young guys that can play. It’s another thing to have a lot of seniors that can make the plays.”

Banks has been successful as a defensive coordinator. At Cincinnati (where he was co-defensive coordinator in 2010 and 2011), his defenses improved drastically in the two years he coached there. In Banks’ final season in Cincinnati, the Bearcats defense ranked 20th nationally in scoring defense, sixth in rush defense, second in sacks and ninth in forced turnovers.

The 2011 defense was also anchored by four senior and five junior starters. Illinois’ 2013 defense has a fair number of academic upperclassmen. But there’s no replacement for on-field experience.

“It always starts with the kids,” Banks said. “It’s our job to put them in the positions; it’s their job to go out and execute. I had really good kids, a little bit older kids, at Cincinnati.”

The Illini don’t compare themselves with other teams. They don’t pay much attention to what’s going on outside Champaign. But junior defensive lineman Austin Teitsma said they do compare themselves with past Illinois defenses — most notably the 2011 Illini defense.

Those Illini ranked seventh in the nation in total defense. They featured four future NFL starters (and possibly a fifth in Brown). They gave up more than 30 points only twice all season.

So if the 2011 Illini defense is what the 2013 Illini aspire to be, what did the 2011 defensive line do that the 2013 one isn’t doing?

“Tackling,” Teitsma said. “That’s it.”

Washington revealed Illinois’ biggest problem, and Nebraska and Wisconsin have exploited it: tackling — or, more appropriately, the lack thereof.

Illinois is youngest in the secondary, and it shows. Thomas is the only one who started more than two games back there for the Illini last season, and everyone else seems to be snatching at air. When sophomore cornerback V’Angelo Bentley went down with an undisclosed left leg injury against Wisconsin, a young group might have gotten younger.

“We’re not having busted coverages for the most part,” Banks said. “We’ve had some here and there, but it wasn’t that we didn’t know where we needed to be, it’s just that we weren’t able to get where we needed to be.”

It comes down to executing, and the Illini haven’t executed.

Beckman wasn’t happy with the performance of his cornerbacks last week. No one on defense “graded out.” In other words, no one played up to the expectations the coaching staff demands.

It’s easy to point at the cornerbacks, but the defensive line has been invisible most of the season. Beckman admitted that the line might be the most difficult part of any defense to build. Big, skilled athletes don’t come along too often.

Banks isn’t using that as an excuse.

“If you don’t inherit them, you’ve got to develop them,” Banks said. “You’ve got to find a way. And it does take time. I mean it really does, but once you got it, you’ve got your program right where you need it.”

When asked which unit on defense he was happy with at the midway point in the season, Banks didn’t point to any one group. Everyone has had ups, and everyone has had downs.

He and Beckman have seen improvement, often small, but improvement nonetheless. Is he happy with the progress? No. 

“We’re never happy as coaches. We want it to be right now,” Banks said. “To say that they’re makings strides is accurate. I think our guys are getting better; I think they’re getting more confident.

“It’s just a work in progress. I wish I could tell you something different, but it’s not. It’s a work in progress.”

How long it will remain a work in progress is the question. Despite a promising 3-1 start, it’s likely this year will become just another year in the rebuilding process. For the defense, that means rebuilding back toward 2011.

Brown knows. He was there. He was the younger guy on that squad. He’s been in his teammates’ shoes.

Does he feel pressure as the senior leader of the defense? He doesn’t see it as pressure.

“I see it as an opportunity each day to just lay the foundation for the future,” Brown said. “If it doesn’t happen this year, I know that this group of guys will mature and they’ll be a good team.”

Sean can be reached at [email protected] and @sean_hammond.