Editor's note: Part 8 of a series previewing each Big Ten Conference football team (scroll to bottom for complete schedule). Coming Monday: Purdue and Northwestern.

There was a time when you could get better odds on Ron Zook, the over-caffeinated Illinois head coach, standing in place for 50 seconds than you could get on Juice Williams, the scatter-armed quarterback, completing 50 percent of his passes.

Two years ago, Isiah John Williams -- the aforementioned Juice, who was tagged with his nickname at birth for being a big and "juicy'' baby (13 pounds, 8 ounces) -- had one of the most dismal completion percentages in college football.

39.5.

It got so bad during his freshman season that the coaches on the sidelines were not only sending in plays, but they were using hand signals to tell Williams where he was supposed to throw the ball and to whom -- even at the risk of tipping off the defense.

"That first year I was thinking too much and the play clock was always getting down to about two seconds when the ball was snapped," he said. "I struggled knowing where to go with the ball and with just knowing where the guys were going to be.

"As time went on, and I watched more film, I started to see the open spots in the defense. Whether you're the best passer in the country, or the worse, you're always looking to get better. That's always the challenge.

"Since then, I've grown and matured, and the coaches have more confidence in me."

Williams admitted that he's still adjusting to the pre-snap reads and learning the nuances. "At quarterback, you have a checklist for about eight different things, and everything happens within a few seconds," he said.

That would include knowing the defensive front and coverage in addition to knowing the line protection and the play. Who's going to be open? Who's not? Plus, there's another factor. "We want to play fast," he said.

That's a reflection of Zook's spread offense and Zook's ultra-hyper personality. "One day," Williams recalled with a smirk, "he told me to sleep fast."

If anybody could pull it off, it would be Williams, who can exploit a defense with his feet or his arm. Last season, he rushed for 755 yards and seven touchdowns. He also completed 57 percent of his throws for 1,753 yards.

But don't label him a running quarterback. "That's not me," he protested. "When you're a quarterback, you're a passer first, and that's how I want to be known: as a passer with running ability."

Tell that to the University of Wisconsin defenders who were repeatedly out of position whenever Williams ran the option in last year's 31-26 win over the Badgers in Champaign, Ill.

"The way you defend the option is with the safeties and corners, and we had a good day against them," said Williams, who rushed for 92 yards. "Rashard had a big game, too."

That would be tailback Rashard Mendenhall, who accounted for 160 yards and two scores against Wisconsin. Is there a chance that Williams will run more this season without Mendenhall?