Illinois was back out on the practice field this morning from 9 a.m. to 11:30. It was the first day of full pads.
* Walk-thrus, warm-ups, position drills then some one-on-ones (WR vs. DB / OL vs.DL). Linebackers worked on gap assignments and blitz packages. Ligashesky worked with the kick coverage team for about 15 minutes. Then 11 on 11.
* Sitting out today were LB Kahlan Tolson, OL Reuben Unije, FB Austin Roberts, DB Nick Walker, and LB James Knight. Unije was in street cloths.
* NFL scouts from the Rams and Jaguars were at practice today. They watched the defensive line a lot, then had a chat with offensive coordinator Rod Smith after practice.
* Rick Smalling and walk-on DB Nolan Bernat got in a minor scap and others joined in some pushing and shoving. Lovie stopped practice and made them run sprints.
* Good day for the defense. They're putting more stuff in, and the offense looked confused and erratic at times.
* This defense returns 10 starters in 2019 and adds LB Milo Eifler. They should be one of the better defenses in the B1G West.
* Offense is trying to pick up the tempo, so there are growing pains. They're starting to call plays from the sidelines now too.
* Practice on Thursday is at 9 a.m.
QUARTERBACK
* The QB's and WR's went through just about the entire passing tree during position drills, and they were pretty sharp overall. Rod Smith is working with them on setting up and getting the ball out quicker, and you see improvement.
* AJ Bush is getting more 1st team reps than Cam Thomas, and it looks like he has taken the lead in the QB battle. Neither guy was consistent during 11 on 11 today. You worry about decision-making with these two when plays break down. Bush throws it up for grabs sometimes & he's quick to tuck it and run, while Thomas takes too many sacks. Bush started off his first series 0-3 and looked bad, but he bounced back with a few good throws. Thomas is still getting some 1st team reps, but trending down.
* Matt Robinson is well ahead of Coran Taylor and MJ Rivers in terms of his accuracy, timing, and decision-making. He delivers the ball well on the short and intermediate routes, though he did toss a pick-6 to Del'Shawn Phillips today. There was no receiver in the area, and he threw it right to the linebacker. Freshman play. I would call Robinson the 3rd stringer right now.
* Hopefully, Illinois gets a big lead against Kent State and WIU and they can play multiple quarterbacks and see how it goes. I don't think they will know for sure what they have at the position until they play against competition.
RUNNING BACK
* The best look on offense is when Mike Epstein and Reggie Corbin are on the field together. Sometimes they're both in the backfield, and sometimes Corbin lines up in the slot. They can throw a lot of different wrinkles at defenses with that look.
* Dre Brown and Ra'Von Bonner are part of the sub package in the red zone. That's the main role both guys will play. The power running game didn't look very good, though. Defense clearly won the red zone stuff.
OFFENSE LINE
* Same starting five. Tackles Palczewski and Lowe, guards Allegretti and Green, center Kramer.
* Rough matchup for Palczewski against Bobby Roundtree. Palco is still learning the position, and he missed an assignment once or twice, and also just got handled by Roundtree a couple of times.
* The 2's and 3's are not good. Cerny is okay, and Larry Boyd is a starter when he's available, but the rest were dominated by the second and third team defensive line.
* Griffin Palmer comes in at H-back in the red zone as a 6th blocker.
WIDE RECEIVERS
* Dudek, Smalling, Mays, and Stampley stood out during one-on-ones. Dudek didn't play much during team.
* Best day so far for freshman Carlos Sandy. He's playing with more confidence, he just needs to be consistent catching the ball. He dropped one right at his numbers on a quick slant.
* Justice Williams is an interesting player. He's a play-hard guy and runs tight routes for a converted linebacker. I'm just not sure if he has the wiggle to get open vs. Big Ten competition.
DEFENSE LINE
* On the inside, your're starting to see a four-man rotation of Tymir Oliver, Jamal Milan, Kenyon Jackson, and Lere Oladipo. Solid group.
* Oladipo may have the highest ceiling out of those four. He's a long athlete, but he keeps his pads low and gets good leverage. And he uses his hands well. Two good practices in a row for Oladipo.
* As I said, Roundtree dominated vs. Palczewski and spent a lot of time in the offensive backfield. He's using more bull rush since he packed on size in the off season. Pro scouts were watching him.
* It's still a battle for WDE between Isaiah Gay, Ayo Shogbonyo, and Owen Carney. All three guys will play. Gay is the most complete player out of the three, but his status for game 1 is still unknown. Shogbonyo is still getting 1st team reps.
* Calvin Avery was dominant vs. the 2nd and 3rd team offensive line. His get off is just too quick for those guys, and once he gets his hips through he makes a quick burst to the quarterback. He blew up a few plays. Shed a few pounds, and this guy is ready to go.
LINEBACKERS
* With so much nickel defense, there aren't a big number of guys who are going to play. It's Del'Shanwn Phillips at the Mike, Jake Hansen at the WILL, backed up by Dele Harding and James Knight.
* Hansen stood out today. He doesn't wow you with physicality, but his vision and ability to read and react are good. He needs to get better at shedding blocks, though.
* Phillips had the pick-6.
* They're giving transfer Milo Eifler some reps. He's a beast physically and should be one of the leaders of the defense next year.
SECONDARY
* A lot of guys are rotating in. The staff is obviously trying to create some competition. I think the starters will still be CB's Hobbs and Adams, Safeties Williams and Green. But all four are rarely on the field together right now.
* Tough day for CB Cameron Watkins. He's been running with the 1's a lot, but took a step back today.
* The staff likes what they have in freshmen CB's Jartavius Martin and Ron Hardge. Both were solid in one-on-ones and showed the ability to flip their hips and run with guys like Dudek and Smalling.
* Freshman Delano Ware got second team reps at strong safety. Physical kid who runs better than expected.
Your questions?
* Walk-thrus, warm-ups, position drills then some one-on-ones (WR vs. DB / OL vs.DL). Linebackers worked on gap assignments and blitz packages. Ligashesky worked with the kick coverage team for about 15 minutes. Then 11 on 11.
* Sitting out today were LB Kahlan Tolson, OL Reuben Unije, FB Austin Roberts, DB Nick Walker, and LB James Knight. Unije was in street cloths.
* NFL scouts from the Rams and Jaguars were at practice today. They watched the defensive line a lot, then had a chat with offensive coordinator Rod Smith after practice.
* Rick Smalling and walk-on DB Nolan Bernat got in a minor scap and others joined in some pushing and shoving. Lovie stopped practice and made them run sprints.
* Good day for the defense. They're putting more stuff in, and the offense looked confused and erratic at times.
* This defense returns 10 starters in 2019 and adds LB Milo Eifler. They should be one of the better defenses in the B1G West.
* Offense is trying to pick up the tempo, so there are growing pains. They're starting to call plays from the sidelines now too.
* Practice on Thursday is at 9 a.m.
QUARTERBACK
* The QB's and WR's went through just about the entire passing tree during position drills, and they were pretty sharp overall. Rod Smith is working with them on setting up and getting the ball out quicker, and you see improvement.
* AJ Bush is getting more 1st team reps than Cam Thomas, and it looks like he has taken the lead in the QB battle. Neither guy was consistent during 11 on 11 today. You worry about decision-making with these two when plays break down. Bush throws it up for grabs sometimes & he's quick to tuck it and run, while Thomas takes too many sacks. Bush started off his first series 0-3 and looked bad, but he bounced back with a few good throws. Thomas is still getting some 1st team reps, but trending down.
* Matt Robinson is well ahead of Coran Taylor and MJ Rivers in terms of his accuracy, timing, and decision-making. He delivers the ball well on the short and intermediate routes, though he did toss a pick-6 to Del'Shawn Phillips today. There was no receiver in the area, and he threw it right to the linebacker. Freshman play. I would call Robinson the 3rd stringer right now.
* Hopefully, Illinois gets a big lead against Kent State and WIU and they can play multiple quarterbacks and see how it goes. I don't think they will know for sure what they have at the position until they play against competition.
RUNNING BACK
* The best look on offense is when Mike Epstein and Reggie Corbin are on the field together. Sometimes they're both in the backfield, and sometimes Corbin lines up in the slot. They can throw a lot of different wrinkles at defenses with that look.
* Dre Brown and Ra'Von Bonner are part of the sub package in the red zone. That's the main role both guys will play. The power running game didn't look very good, though. Defense clearly won the red zone stuff.
OFFENSE LINE
* Same starting five. Tackles Palczewski and Lowe, guards Allegretti and Green, center Kramer.
* Rough matchup for Palczewski against Bobby Roundtree. Palco is still learning the position, and he missed an assignment once or twice, and also just got handled by Roundtree a couple of times.
* The 2's and 3's are not good. Cerny is okay, and Larry Boyd is a starter when he's available, but the rest were dominated by the second and third team defensive line.
* Griffin Palmer comes in at H-back in the red zone as a 6th blocker.
WIDE RECEIVERS
* Dudek, Smalling, Mays, and Stampley stood out during one-on-ones. Dudek didn't play much during team.
* Best day so far for freshman Carlos Sandy. He's playing with more confidence, he just needs to be consistent catching the ball. He dropped one right at his numbers on a quick slant.
* Justice Williams is an interesting player. He's a play-hard guy and runs tight routes for a converted linebacker. I'm just not sure if he has the wiggle to get open vs. Big Ten competition.
DEFENSE LINE
* On the inside, your're starting to see a four-man rotation of Tymir Oliver, Jamal Milan, Kenyon Jackson, and Lere Oladipo. Solid group.
* Oladipo may have the highest ceiling out of those four. He's a long athlete, but he keeps his pads low and gets good leverage. And he uses his hands well. Two good practices in a row for Oladipo.
* As I said, Roundtree dominated vs. Palczewski and spent a lot of time in the offensive backfield. He's using more bull rush since he packed on size in the off season. Pro scouts were watching him.
* It's still a battle for WDE between Isaiah Gay, Ayo Shogbonyo, and Owen Carney. All three guys will play. Gay is the most complete player out of the three, but his status for game 1 is still unknown. Shogbonyo is still getting 1st team reps.
* Calvin Avery was dominant vs. the 2nd and 3rd team offensive line. His get off is just too quick for those guys, and once he gets his hips through he makes a quick burst to the quarterback. He blew up a few plays. Shed a few pounds, and this guy is ready to go.
LINEBACKERS
* With so much nickel defense, there aren't a big number of guys who are going to play. It's Del'Shanwn Phillips at the Mike, Jake Hansen at the WILL, backed up by Dele Harding and James Knight.
* Hansen stood out today. He doesn't wow you with physicality, but his vision and ability to read and react are good. He needs to get better at shedding blocks, though.
* Phillips had the pick-6.
* They're giving transfer Milo Eifler some reps. He's a beast physically and should be one of the leaders of the defense next year.
SECONDARY
* A lot of guys are rotating in. The staff is obviously trying to create some competition. I think the starters will still be CB's Hobbs and Adams, Safeties Williams and Green. But all four are rarely on the field together right now.
* Tough day for CB Cameron Watkins. He's been running with the 1's a lot, but took a step back today.
* The staff likes what they have in freshmen CB's Jartavius Martin and Ron Hardge. Both were solid in one-on-ones and showed the ability to flip their hips and run with guys like Dudek and Smalling.
* Freshman Delano Ware got second team reps at strong safety. Physical kid who runs better than expected.
Your questions?
