Illinois practiced on Friday from 2:30pm to 5:00pm. It was unseasonably cool in Champaign, and breezy. Shoulder pads, helmets, and shorts again today. Full pads on Saturday.
Out today: Reggie Corbin (limited), Larry Boyd (left shoulder), Vederian Lowe (knee), Jaylen Dunlap (knee), Austin Roberts, Christian DiLauro (hamstring), Dre Brown (knee), Stanley Green.. Scheduled day of for Mike Dudek. Sam Mays fell on the ball during 7 on 7 mid-way through practice and sat out the rest of the day.
AD Josh Whitman was at practice today, as were former Illini Pat Flavin and Reilly O'Toole. Quite a few fans as well.
OFFENSE NOTES
* Rick Smalling was back on the practice field. He looked great in position drills. He's so quick in and out of his cuts. Smalling has to follow NCAA mandated protocol. Two days with helmet only, then he's good to go. I talked to Andrew Hayes-Stoker after practice, and the staff sees Smalling being a big part of what they do in the passing game this year. Very talented kid.
* Boyd's injury doesn't appear like something that will keep him out long. The trainer was looking at his left shoulder or neck area on Thursday and he was in some pain but finished practice. They held him out today.
* The offensive line can't afford injuries. They struggled mightily today with both Boyd and DiLauro out. Those are the only two legitimate tackles on the team. There was a strong pass rush off the edge during 11 on 11, and that's not Lawrence Taylor that Illinois is lining up with on defense. There was over a 1,000 pounds of offensive linemen not practicing today.
* They ran some red zone offense today, and the running game struggled. Just not much movement up front or cut-back lanes for the backs. The inside runs, quick traps, etc. went nowhere more often than not. Foster bounced a couple of runs outside and scored. When Epstein gets around the corner, he turns on the gas. Ra'Von Bonner has to learn to take what the defense gives him at times. When there wasn't any running lanes, he would try to pick his way Le'Von Bell style. That's not going to work for him.
* The running game is something to watch the first game vs. Ball St. I don't care about the 70 yard TD's like they scored last year against Murray St. Bad teams will give that stuff up to Power 5 opponents. I want to see a consistent ground game and sustained drives. If they can't dominate the line of scrimmage against Ball St....
* Freshman Cam Thomas continues to make strides every day. It's only 5 practices, but you see him taking in the instructions from McGee like a sponge and he looks more comfortable in the pocket. He's not nearly there yet when it comes to reading defenses, though. Thomas took 2 snaps with the first team offense. Can you infer anything from that? Probably not, but it shows they want to see what he can do.
* R-Fr. placekicker James McCourt looks much better this year. The previous staff gave McCourt a scholarship coming out of St. Thomas Aquinas, and that looked like a big mistake. McCourt might challenge Chase McGloughlan, who is accurate but doesn't have a huge leg. McCourt was consistently making 40-45 yard FG's into a stiff wind.
DEFENSE NOTES
* I spent a lot of time watching the linebackers today, and I talked to Hardy Nickerson after practice. Nickerson really likes what he's seeing from the starters: MLB Tre Watson, SAM Julian Jones, and WILL Jake Hansen. Dele' Harding gets a lot of snaps too. Linebacker and wide receiver are the best position groups right now. Jones is one of my breakout candidates. Nickerson said Del'Shawn Phillips missed a lot of time when he was injured in the spring and hasn't caught up. He's a 3rd stringer right now.
* No changes in the secondary. Still a bunch of guys rotating in at corner. Coaches will watch a lot of film over the weekend, and think we will see some changes with the depth chart. Freshman safety Bennett Williams played well again. He's a keeper.
* Everyone got in on the party rushing the quarterback, and that includes the 1's, 2's, and 3's. James Crawford, Sean Adesanya, Tymir Oliver, Owen Carney, Isaiah Gay, Bobby Roundtree - they all spent time in the offense back field. As I said, the O-line can't afford any injuries.
What are your questions?
Out today: Reggie Corbin (limited), Larry Boyd (left shoulder), Vederian Lowe (knee), Jaylen Dunlap (knee), Austin Roberts, Christian DiLauro (hamstring), Dre Brown (knee), Stanley Green.. Scheduled day of for Mike Dudek. Sam Mays fell on the ball during 7 on 7 mid-way through practice and sat out the rest of the day.
AD Josh Whitman was at practice today, as were former Illini Pat Flavin and Reilly O'Toole. Quite a few fans as well.
OFFENSE NOTES
* Rick Smalling was back on the practice field. He looked great in position drills. He's so quick in and out of his cuts. Smalling has to follow NCAA mandated protocol. Two days with helmet only, then he's good to go. I talked to Andrew Hayes-Stoker after practice, and the staff sees Smalling being a big part of what they do in the passing game this year. Very talented kid.
* Boyd's injury doesn't appear like something that will keep him out long. The trainer was looking at his left shoulder or neck area on Thursday and he was in some pain but finished practice. They held him out today.
* The offensive line can't afford injuries. They struggled mightily today with both Boyd and DiLauro out. Those are the only two legitimate tackles on the team. There was a strong pass rush off the edge during 11 on 11, and that's not Lawrence Taylor that Illinois is lining up with on defense. There was over a 1,000 pounds of offensive linemen not practicing today.
* They ran some red zone offense today, and the running game struggled. Just not much movement up front or cut-back lanes for the backs. The inside runs, quick traps, etc. went nowhere more often than not. Foster bounced a couple of runs outside and scored. When Epstein gets around the corner, he turns on the gas. Ra'Von Bonner has to learn to take what the defense gives him at times. When there wasn't any running lanes, he would try to pick his way Le'Von Bell style. That's not going to work for him.
* The running game is something to watch the first game vs. Ball St. I don't care about the 70 yard TD's like they scored last year against Murray St. Bad teams will give that stuff up to Power 5 opponents. I want to see a consistent ground game and sustained drives. If they can't dominate the line of scrimmage against Ball St....
* Freshman Cam Thomas continues to make strides every day. It's only 5 practices, but you see him taking in the instructions from McGee like a sponge and he looks more comfortable in the pocket. He's not nearly there yet when it comes to reading defenses, though. Thomas took 2 snaps with the first team offense. Can you infer anything from that? Probably not, but it shows they want to see what he can do.
* R-Fr. placekicker James McCourt looks much better this year. The previous staff gave McCourt a scholarship coming out of St. Thomas Aquinas, and that looked like a big mistake. McCourt might challenge Chase McGloughlan, who is accurate but doesn't have a huge leg. McCourt was consistently making 40-45 yard FG's into a stiff wind.
DEFENSE NOTES
* I spent a lot of time watching the linebackers today, and I talked to Hardy Nickerson after practice. Nickerson really likes what he's seeing from the starters: MLB Tre Watson, SAM Julian Jones, and WILL Jake Hansen. Dele' Harding gets a lot of snaps too. Linebacker and wide receiver are the best position groups right now. Jones is one of my breakout candidates. Nickerson said Del'Shawn Phillips missed a lot of time when he was injured in the spring and hasn't caught up. He's a 3rd stringer right now.
* No changes in the secondary. Still a bunch of guys rotating in at corner. Coaches will watch a lot of film over the weekend, and think we will see some changes with the depth chart. Freshman safety Bennett Williams played well again. He's a keeper.
* Everyone got in on the party rushing the quarterback, and that includes the 1's, 2's, and 3's. James Crawford, Sean Adesanya, Tymir Oliver, Owen Carney, Isaiah Gay, Bobby Roundtree - they all spent time in the offense back field. As I said, the O-line can't afford any injuries.
What are your questions?
