He marched with his team in a peaceful protest during the summer.

“As I told our guys, to peacefully protest one time is good. That’s a start,” Illinois coach Lovie Smith said Monday. “Anything you do to bring about change is good. It’s a lot bigger than that.

“Every one of our athletes is registered to vote. That’s where true change happens. If there’s something you don’t like .. at the ballot box from the top down. That’s what we’re about.”

Smith is encouraged by the level of participation.

“It was really good to see everybody be a part of that,” Smith said. “Sometimes, maybe something isn’t affecting you. But you’re a part of a team. If it’s affecting one of your teammates, it should be your problem, too. And that’s definitely what we have here.”

You can fully expect Smith to support the players with any kind of on-field actions they take this season.

“To me, what would be appropriate is what our guys would like to do,” Smith said. “Our program is about acceptance.

“Every major thing we do, the team talks about it.”

The players haven’t gone to Smith yet with any suggestions. He will listen when they do.

“I’m sure there’s something our players will want to do, which is good,” Smith said. “Just one step at a time. We have time before we are on public display. I like what I see behind the scenes on a daily basis.”

Senior cornerback Nate Hobbs said the team hasn’t talked about its plans for the season opener on Oct. 24 at Wisconsin and beyond. A three-year starter, Hobbs is one of the Illini leaders.

“I think my job is to get a gauge on what we want to do as a team as a collective effort,” Hobbs said. “I definitely have ideas.

“I definitely think we should do something to commemorate Breonna Taylor, Dave McAtee, George Floyd and everybody else,” Hobbs said. “And shed a light on what is going on right now because it’s bigger than football.”

Time to prep

Less than a month before Smith and his team play their first game at Wisconsin, the fifth-year Illini coach met with the media Monday on Zoom. He laid out the team’s plans for its interrupted training camp. On Wednesday, the Illini are allowed to put on pads for the first time. The team has been in jerseys and helmets for an extended period.

“We’ve been getting some good work done,” Smith said.

Most coaches want more time to teach. The unusual run-up to the 2020 season gave them that opportunity.

“To be able to teach where you’re not rushed,” Smith said. “It seemed like every year I’ve been in coaching, before you go into the first game, there’s never enough time. We’ve had a lot of time. We’ve had so many walk-throughs.”

Smith and his staff have been able to fully evaluate the athleticism of the younger players. And they’ve been able to install the offense, defense and special teams in great detail.

Big fans

While the ACC, Big 12 and SEC have been on the field throughout September, Illinois and the rest of the Big Ten have been cooling their jets.

It was a major frustration for players and coaches until the Big Ten reversed course and announced its return to the field earlier this month.

Now, the players can see others play the game without the logical jealousy. The ACC, Big 12 and SEC are where the Big Ten will be in less than a month.

Delayed is so much better for the Big Ten than canceled.

“You learn an awful lot when you’re watching other people play,” Smith said.

The Illini certainly noticed the early upsets in the Big 12 and SEC. Oklahoma and LSU both got taken out — at home — on Saturday.

If you are Ohio State or Penn State, it provides a reminder that anybody can lose. And if you are Illinois, it serves as inspiration that upset wins are possible.

Illinois will be a heavy underdog at Wisconsin on Oct. 24. Just like the Illini were in 2019 at home against the No. 6 Badgers.

Can history repeat? Of course.

Because of its overall experience, Smith figures this Illinois team will be ahead of where it has been for past season openers.

Well, he hopes that will be the case.

“Our preparation has been a lot more geared toward eliminating a lot of those first-game inexperienced mistakes you make,” Smith said. “We’re a senior ballclub. We have guys that have played a lot football. You expect to not be where we were two, three, four years ago, and we’re not.”

You again

It will be 1 year, 5 days between Illinois-Wisconsin games.

Illinois rallied to pull off the shocker last Oct. 19, with James McCourt hitting the game-winner in a 24-23 win that sent delirious Illinois fans flooding onto the turf at Memorial Stadium.

The Badgers are not the same team, losing superstar tailback Jonathan Taylor — who left a year early to the NFL — three offensive line starters and two of the top three tacklers on defense.

Just a hunch, but there are some backups in Madison waiting for their turns. Expect a similar, run-first offense from Paul Chryst. The names change, but the style remains the same.

The Illini understand the Badgers. The trick is figuring how to stop them.

“They know what we’re going to do. We know what they’re going to do,” Smith said. “It’s just going to be about execution and who does their job better on that day.”

The Badgers are No. 19 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 that was released Sunday. Same old, same old.

“We’re looking forward to that challenge,” Smith said. “I know that they’re ranked and we’re not.”

Bob Asmussen can be reached at 217-393-8248 or by email at asmussen@news-gazette.com.