Illinois football is going in the right direction.

Don’t look at Lovie Smith’s record. Don’t look at bowl game appearances. Don’t look at overall season ticket numbers.

Just look at Illinois’ new $80 million Smith Football Center.

That’s what former Fighting Illini running back Howard Griffith did this week and he was exceptionally pleased with it:

“I couldn’t wait until today to get in there,” Griffith told Illini Inquirer. “I had to go last night I was so excited to see it. It’s a beautiful facility. I think it’s exactly what Illinois needs. I think there are other programs with a lot more money that could’ve done different things, but I think this is perfect for Illinois and puts them right in the mix. No one’s ever going to say, ‘Illinois football is not committed to winning and putting their players in the best position possible.’ It is really a neat facility. As you saw with some of the online videos, the young men are really excited to have that facility.”

Griffith’s positives words didn’t stop there. He talked about the facility in regard to other facilities in the Big Ten.

“If we’re talking football-only buildings, it’s on par with Iowa, maybe not quite what Penn State is, but to me, they’re in the upper echelon,” Griffith said. “I don’t think you can call them No. 1, but they’re definitely not 7, 8 or 9. Again, I think the benefit of this facility is it’s what’s best for Illinois football right now. It’s always going to be an arms race. Somebody’s doing something to a new facility every year. There’s another school in the West that’s probably going to be building a monstrosity here soon. So it’s one of those things, but it’s going to be great for them.”

He backed up his thoughts by going a step further:

“Minutes after the phone discussion, Griffith messaged Illini Inquirer: ‘The more I think about it Illinois may have the best football-only facility in the conference!!'”

RELATED: Illinois receives $20 million donation toward Smith Football Center

Griffith is certainly excited about what’s in Champaign, and so should Illini fans. Will it equate to wins?

We’ll be able to tell soon enough.