OrangeandBlueNews – Isaiah Gay putting it together at outside linebacker – Rivals.com – Illinois

Illinois outside linebacker Isaiah Gay didn’t return to Illinois for a fifth season and expect things to be as difficult as they have been.

In a perfect world, Gay would have come back to Illinois with his free year of eligibility from the NCAA and he would have played his best season and gone straight to the NFL. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been that easy.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound edge rusher started the Illini’s first few games but was eventually replaced by redshirt-freshman Seth Coleman in the starting lineup after the Illini’s first couple of games.

Gay, who for the first four years of his Illinois career was a hand in the ground defensive end, moved to a rush linebacker role that required him to do things he hadn’t ever been asked to do before in an Illinois uniform.

All of a sudden, Gay was dropping into pass coverage and rushing from a two-point stance. He’s not afraid to admit that those things were difficult for him to grasp at first.

“I think it was a growing pain, stuff like that,” Gay said on Thursday. “Because at first, it’s going to come anyway in life, on the field, off the field. I feel like as a player, as a mature older player, you have to take those pains and just keep going. Once you look at it from a personal standpoint, you tend to think about all of the things that kind of slow you down and stuff like that.”

Learning an entirely new scheme with a new coaching staff and tons of new responsibilities wasn’t easy for Gay – that’s largely why he struggled early in the season. But defensive coordinator Ryan Walters and outside linebackers coach Kevin Kane were slowly, but surely able to get Gay to trust the process. Once that happened, things really started to click for the North Carolina native.

“I think he has grown the most when he has completely trusted the process,” Walters said on Tuesday. “Isaiah is as talented a guy as we have on our roster. When he made the decision to just be mature and trust the process and trust what we were preaching, he’s really started to flourish.”

Last week, against then No. 20 Minnesota, it all came together for Gay. In what was a defensive battle – Illinois upset the Golden Gophers 14-6 – Gay was one of the brightest stars for the Illinois defense that went 55 minutes without allowing a point.

Gay’s burst off the edge helped him total six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, which also included a hurry against Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan. Gay finally put it all together.

“I think it’s just like those prayers have been answered,” Gay said. “I’ve had faith throughout those gays. I didn’t see a lot of success in the season, but I kept going, kept practicing hard, kept believing and it’s starting to pay off. I’m just going to fly around and keep it going.”

Added Walters: “You saw the things he was able to do on Saturday and it was just him doing his job’ nothing more and nothing less and obviously taking advantage of some one-on-one matchups. I couldn’t be more happy for him. I know he’s worked really hard at it and he really embraced the culture, the program and what [Coach Kane] and Coach Bielema have been teaching them.”

Really, that’s what it all comes down to for Gay – being coachable. When talking to Gay, it’s easy to see that he has a lot of energy. He often has a smile on his face, and he seems genuinely happy to engage in a conversation.

But just like everyone else, he gets frustrated when things don’t go his way – or in this case – how he planned for his super senior season to go. Kane has helped him get through that frustration as much as anyone.

“I think me and Coach Kane’s relationship has helped grow even through the times,” Gay said. “We working out a player, working out the reads and stuff like that and I think that relationship part is so big because without our relationship, he could have easily went the other way or it could have gone another way. … I just think me and Coach Kane’s relation is crazy because his personality actually matches mine.”

Gay has two more games – both rivalries – guaranteed in an Illinois uniform against Iowa and Northwestern. If Illinois is able to win those two games and end the year on a three-game winning streak, they will have clinched bowl eligibility for the second time in three seasons. For Gay, it’s about continuing to put it all together in hopes of having three more games left.

“When these big weeks coming up in November,” Gay said. “We want to make a statement in November. We need these wins and stuff like that, so we need the defense to play up. It’s time for the defense to play out ball, be ourselves, have fun out there and I think it will all work out.”