The Illini practiced in full pads today 9:45-noon. They went through position drills, one-on-ones, 7 vs. 7, then a lot of team stuff. Light practice this evening at 5:00 pm in shorts.
TE Andrew Davis was in the red jersey today. Adesanya, Nelson, and Fotu were still out. Kendrick Foster was back in, then got dinged again and he put on a green jersey (no contact).
Cubit put in more of the offense and they worked on the passing game vs. the dime package. Wes Lunt was very sharp again, and he showed some decent mobility moving out of the pocket to make a few throws. Lunt, Crouch, Fitzgerald, and George all got a bunch of reps. Crouch is showing some signs – he had a really good throw on the run for long gain – but is still inconsistent throwing the ball.
Lunt missed G-Mo wide open on a deep route when Darius Mosely fell down. That's a play Lunt will connect on after some more reps. Nice ball, just overthrew him. He also made some of his signature throws on the deep outs that make you go whoa. Not many college kids can make those throws with Lunt's accuracy.
Standouts on offense today were Lunt, Dionte Taylor, Geronimo Allison, Joe Spencer, Ke’Shawn Vaughn, and Zach Grant.
Bill Cubit commented after the practice that this might have been DJ Taylor’s best practice since he’s been part of the program. He was really good on the quick stuff – slants, quick outs, etc. He and Lunt had a nice rapport going on the timing routes. Taylor looks like the top guy in the slot right now with Dudek out. Also a good day for freshman Desmond Cain.
You can see Vaughn getting more comfortable in the offense every day, and it allows him to just play free and loose and run to daylight. He’s a stud – complete package of vision, balance, quickness, speed, and the ability to bounce off of tacklers. The best play of the practice was a 65 yd TD run by Vaughn on a sprint draw.
Top players on defense were Jihad Ward, Carroll Phillips, and Clayton Fejedelem.
Ward is just a mismatch. I watched the D-line today, and Mike Phair really works them hard. Everything they do is fast – getting off the ball, explosive contact with the OL, get the hips through and run to the football. He pushes them hard.
Phillips ran a lot at the WILL in the dime package. That’s a good look against the pass, with Phillips, Smoot, Ward, etc. all chasing the QB. Phillips is the fastest guy they have coming off of the edge. He's the No. 2 LEO so should see the field a bunch.
DT Jamal Milan is another kid who is catching on. He’s figuring things out in terms of where to line up, etc. and is just playing football. He’s quick off the line and really strong. With Fotu out, Milan is the fifth DT in the rotation right now behind Clements, Powell, Bain, and Odenigbo. I think he will work his way up though if they decide to play him this year.
Back seven 2-deep
CB V’Angelo Bentley / Jaylen Dunlap
WILL Mason Monheim / BJ Bello
MIKE TJ Neal / LaKeith Walls
STAR James Crawford / Eric Finney
CB Easton Spence / Darius Mosely
SS Taylor Barton / Caleb Day
FS Clayton Fejedelem / Jevaris Little
TE Andrew Davis was in the red jersey today. Adesanya, Nelson, and Fotu were still out. Kendrick Foster was back in, then got dinged again and he put on a green jersey (no contact).
Cubit put in more of the offense and they worked on the passing game vs. the dime package. Wes Lunt was very sharp again, and he showed some decent mobility moving out of the pocket to make a few throws. Lunt, Crouch, Fitzgerald, and George all got a bunch of reps. Crouch is showing some signs – he had a really good throw on the run for long gain – but is still inconsistent throwing the ball.
Lunt missed G-Mo wide open on a deep route when Darius Mosely fell down. That's a play Lunt will connect on after some more reps. Nice ball, just overthrew him. He also made some of his signature throws on the deep outs that make you go whoa. Not many college kids can make those throws with Lunt's accuracy.
Standouts on offense today were Lunt, Dionte Taylor, Geronimo Allison, Joe Spencer, Ke’Shawn Vaughn, and Zach Grant.
Bill Cubit commented after the practice that this might have been DJ Taylor’s best practice since he’s been part of the program. He was really good on the quick stuff – slants, quick outs, etc. He and Lunt had a nice rapport going on the timing routes. Taylor looks like the top guy in the slot right now with Dudek out. Also a good day for freshman Desmond Cain.
You can see Vaughn getting more comfortable in the offense every day, and it allows him to just play free and loose and run to daylight. He’s a stud – complete package of vision, balance, quickness, speed, and the ability to bounce off of tacklers. The best play of the practice was a 65 yd TD run by Vaughn on a sprint draw.
Top players on defense were Jihad Ward, Carroll Phillips, and Clayton Fejedelem.
Ward is just a mismatch. I watched the D-line today, and Mike Phair really works them hard. Everything they do is fast – getting off the ball, explosive contact with the OL, get the hips through and run to the football. He pushes them hard.
Phillips ran a lot at the WILL in the dime package. That’s a good look against the pass, with Phillips, Smoot, Ward, etc. all chasing the QB. Phillips is the fastest guy they have coming off of the edge. He's the No. 2 LEO so should see the field a bunch.
DT Jamal Milan is another kid who is catching on. He’s figuring things out in terms of where to line up, etc. and is just playing football. He’s quick off the line and really strong. With Fotu out, Milan is the fifth DT in the rotation right now behind Clements, Powell, Bain, and Odenigbo. I think he will work his way up though if they decide to play him this year.
Back seven 2-deep
CB V’Angelo Bentley / Jaylen Dunlap
WILL Mason Monheim / BJ Bello
MIKE TJ Neal / LaKeith Walls
STAR James Crawford / Eric Finney
CB Easton Spence / Darius Mosely
SS Taylor Barton / Caleb Day
FS Clayton Fejedelem / Jevaris Little
