After one year as a the director of football student-athlete development, Illinois is giving Ryan Cubit a promotion. Cubit has officially been named the quarterbacks coach on the coaching staff by head coach Tim Beckman. The school made the staff announcement Friday.
“Ryan has been working toward a full-time coaching role for several years, first at Western Michigan, and the last two years here at Illinois,” Beckman said in a released statement. “The administrative experience he picked up the last two years, along with his on-field coaching experience at Western Michigan, made him a great candidate for our open position. I’ve watched how he interacts with our student-athletes, along with the prospective recruits who visited our campus, and he is extremely prepared for this role. He’ll be able to fit in immediately.”
The Illinois football coaching staff is beginning to be a family affair of sorts. Ryan’s father, Bill Cubit, is the offensive coordinator for Illinois. Just last March Ryan Cubit was sentenced to two years of probation following a DUI. He was forced to wear an alcohol-monitoring device for three months after pleading guilty to the charge.
“Coach Beckman has instilled a family culture within our program that has created close bonds and a positive atmosphere,” Ryan Cubit said in his own released statement. “These are great kids that work extremely hard and I’m excited to play an integral part in helping them grow as football players and men.”
Another staff change made official by Illinois was moving Alex Golesh to special teams coordinator with tight end and specialists coaching duties, but his recruiting coordinator responsibilities will now be placed in the hands of the younger Cubit.
With the addition of Ryan Cubit, his father, Bill Cubit, will remain as offensive coordinator while also coaching running backs. Alex Golesh will take over as special teams coordinator while also coaching the tight ends and specialists. The younger Cubit takes on the recruiting coordinator role.
Illinois showed some promise under Beckman last season, but also showed there is still a lot of work to be done to turn the Illini into a formidable threat in the Big Ten. Illinois was second in the Big Ten in passing offense, but sixth in passer rating. Only Ohio State had a higher completion percentage than Illinois among Big Ten teams in 2014.