An edited transcript of an interview with senior quarterback Miles Osei, who recently committed to playing football at the University of Illinois after previously committing to Northern Illinois University.  Interview by Mike Hammersley.
 
 
 
 

 
Why the switch?
“Obviously I was committed to Northern [Illinois University] and Illinois offered after that and I told them I was committed to Northern, but I wanted to make sure that whatever school I was going to sign with I was 100 percent, so I decided to look into Illinois and kind of see what they had to offer and see what the new coaches were like.  After a while, after talking to the coaches and I had already been on the campus so I knew what the facilities were like, the comfortable feelings I felt from both schools were very comparable so I sat down with … my family and the coaches too and really discusses what the advantages and disadvantages were.  I really felt like Illinois was the better place for me, educational-wise and football-wise.”
What can you get out of U of I that you can’t get out of NIU?
“Obviously you don’t really know what you’re going to experience, but I feel like the education at U of I is better for me, and then playing in the Big Ten Conference, playing against really good players, but obviously the MAC is very good too.  The chance to go to bowl games in the Big Ten is pretty good, I just like the overall experience, and to look at it as an observer I’d probably go to Illinois, so probably just the overall experience.”
How much of a factor was the prestige of U of I in this decision?
“It didn’t really factor into that much because I told both schools no matter how big or how small the school is, it doesn’t really matter to me I just wanted to make sure I was comfortable and that I would go to the best place for me.  Knowing the Illinois is Illinois, it didn’t have a factor with me, I just felt comfortable and that Illinois was the best decision overall.”

What was it like meeting Ron Zook (head football coach at U of I)?
“It was definitely cool, you hear a lot about him and stuff.  Meeting any head coach is awesome, especially for college football because they know a lot and they’re really experienced.  It was definitely really cool to have him come to the school.”
What’s [Zook] like in person?
“Very honest.  You’d think that he’d be kind of a celebrity type but he’s not at all, just a very average kind of guy.  Easy to talk to and stuff like that.”