Good Morning, Illini Nation: Words of wisdom
· Yahoo Sports
Sep. 20—Aidan Laughery was 13 years old when Brad Underwood was hired as the Illinois men's basketball coach. Laughery wasn't much of a basketball player growing up in Gibson City, but he was an Illini fan.
Laughery and Underwood's paths collided this weekend, with the latter named honorary captain for Illinois football's Saturday showdown with Southern Illinois. Underwood got to be on the field for the coin toss Saturday afternoon at Gies Memorial Stadium, but his most impactful moment came a day earlier when he spoke to the Illini football team.
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"The quote he had was 'Enjoy the thrill of an all-out effort,'" Laughery said after Illinois beat SIU 48-10. "I really liked that. I think the guys embodied that. Just enjoying the work not only on the field (Saturday), but our preparation all week. I think that's something we can keep building — especially this week enjoying the preparation in practice to have an all-out effort next Saturday (at Ohio State).
"To be honest, I ate that talk up. Obviously, I remember when he first got here when I was younger. It was cool to hear from him. I really liked what he had to say."