The Illini went through warmups and a few position drills. Then a long controlled scrimmage.
QB Wes Lunt was very sharp, the best I've seen him since the last week of Camp Rantoul last summer. He was getting rid of the ball quickly with a lot of zip, and was very accurate.
Two of his best throws were a 40-yard deep out to Andrew Davis, and 35-yard TD on a go route to Malik Turner. He had a couple of bad reads that resulted in INTs, but overall a very good night for Lunt.
The wide receiver corps just isn't the same without Dudek. The starters are pretty good...G-Mo, Malik Turner, and Justin Hardee. After that, it's a crap shoot. Dionte Taylor got most of the snaps as the fourth receiver, but had several drops.
I talked to Bill Cubit about the situation with the wideouts. He says they basically have three guys they can rely on right now. They will use Josh Ferguson more in the slot until Mikey comes back. They also plan to play incoming freshman Trenard Davis at wide-out. He's a physical kid that they like. Andrew Davis is also very good lining up in the slot.
I also talked to Coach Beckman about the WRs, and he echoed my thoughts...you can probably replace much of Dudek's production, but it's hard to replace his energy and leadership.
No. 2 QB Chayce Crouch just isn't getting it done. He seems to have taken a step backwards. He had many throws that weren't even close. The ball is coming off of his hand with the nose down and it's wobbly as hell.
I thought Jeff George Jr. looked like a better prospect than Crouch. He moves well and throws a really nice ball. He just needs to develop physically and get a better command of the offense. They gave George two series with the 2's.
Fergy didn't get a bunch of carries, but when he did he was very good and very explosive. Josh typically isn't a practice player, but he was going hard Friday night and had 3-4 good carries early.
I talked to the staff about the No. 2 RB. Right now, Dre Brown has stepped up and is No. 2 on the depth chart. He's running harder, and Cubit has worked with him on keeping his pads lower. The inside running game is a grind right now, but Dre did a good job considering he was running behind a bad second unit on the O-line. They finally gave him a few carries with the 1's in the red zone, and he had a burst up the middle for a TD.
JUCO transfer Anslie Johnson lines up at FB when they go to a two back set. Good blocker.
O-line was pretty good in pass pro, pretty bad in the running game. C Joe Spencer was solid and is a good leader out there. Nick Allegretti looks like the starter at RG once Karras comes back. Flavin is there now.
I continue to be encouraged by the D-line play, and they are still without Teko Powell, Kenny Nelson, and Carroll Phillips - and now Rob Bain is sidelined. This is probably best unit on the team when they get everyone healthy.
DJ Smoot and Jihad Ward have been consistently good rushing the passer, and Jarrod Clements had a really good night. They come at the QB from all angles...bull rushes up the middle to collapse the pocket, off the edge, and on stunts.
LB Mike Svetina had the defensive play of the night. He jumped the route on a quick out, picked off Lunt, and went 40 yards for a pick 6.
A lot of press coverage in the secondary. Eaton Spence was the best of the group with aggressive play, some big hits, and pass break-ups.
Caleb Day is running with the 1's at safety, along with Taylor Barton.
Ryan Frain looks like the starting punter. He had a booming 60+ yarder. Still needs to be consistent.
Three FG attemps, three wide right. Yuck. It was windy, but damn.
Bain was moving around fine in the workouts they do with the injured guys. He told me he could play if it was the season. Slightly torn meniscus that they will have to fix. (Robbie would play on a bloody stump if it came to that).
WR Malik Turner rolled his ankle mid-way through practice and was in a boot.
WR Zach Grant broke his hand on a long TD catch from Crouch.
Any questions?
QB Wes Lunt was very sharp, the best I've seen him since the last week of Camp Rantoul last summer. He was getting rid of the ball quickly with a lot of zip, and was very accurate.
Two of his best throws were a 40-yard deep out to Andrew Davis, and 35-yard TD on a go route to Malik Turner. He had a couple of bad reads that resulted in INTs, but overall a very good night for Lunt.
The wide receiver corps just isn't the same without Dudek. The starters are pretty good...G-Mo, Malik Turner, and Justin Hardee. After that, it's a crap shoot. Dionte Taylor got most of the snaps as the fourth receiver, but had several drops.
I talked to Bill Cubit about the situation with the wideouts. He says they basically have three guys they can rely on right now. They will use Josh Ferguson more in the slot until Mikey comes back. They also plan to play incoming freshman Trenard Davis at wide-out. He's a physical kid that they like. Andrew Davis is also very good lining up in the slot.
I also talked to Coach Beckman about the WRs, and he echoed my thoughts...you can probably replace much of Dudek's production, but it's hard to replace his energy and leadership.
No. 2 QB Chayce Crouch just isn't getting it done. He seems to have taken a step backwards. He had many throws that weren't even close. The ball is coming off of his hand with the nose down and it's wobbly as hell.
I thought Jeff George Jr. looked like a better prospect than Crouch. He moves well and throws a really nice ball. He just needs to develop physically and get a better command of the offense. They gave George two series with the 2's.
Fergy didn't get a bunch of carries, but when he did he was very good and very explosive. Josh typically isn't a practice player, but he was going hard Friday night and had 3-4 good carries early.
I talked to the staff about the No. 2 RB. Right now, Dre Brown has stepped up and is No. 2 on the depth chart. He's running harder, and Cubit has worked with him on keeping his pads lower. The inside running game is a grind right now, but Dre did a good job considering he was running behind a bad second unit on the O-line. They finally gave him a few carries with the 1's in the red zone, and he had a burst up the middle for a TD.
JUCO transfer Anslie Johnson lines up at FB when they go to a two back set. Good blocker.
O-line was pretty good in pass pro, pretty bad in the running game. C Joe Spencer was solid and is a good leader out there. Nick Allegretti looks like the starter at RG once Karras comes back. Flavin is there now.
I continue to be encouraged by the D-line play, and they are still without Teko Powell, Kenny Nelson, and Carroll Phillips - and now Rob Bain is sidelined. This is probably best unit on the team when they get everyone healthy.
DJ Smoot and Jihad Ward have been consistently good rushing the passer, and Jarrod Clements had a really good night. They come at the QB from all angles...bull rushes up the middle to collapse the pocket, off the edge, and on stunts.
LB Mike Svetina had the defensive play of the night. He jumped the route on a quick out, picked off Lunt, and went 40 yards for a pick 6.
A lot of press coverage in the secondary. Eaton Spence was the best of the group with aggressive play, some big hits, and pass break-ups.
Caleb Day is running with the 1's at safety, along with Taylor Barton.
Ryan Frain looks like the starting punter. He had a booming 60+ yarder. Still needs to be consistent.
Three FG attemps, three wide right. Yuck. It was windy, but damn.
Bain was moving around fine in the workouts they do with the injured guys. He told me he could play if it was the season. Slightly torn meniscus that they will have to fix. (Robbie would play on a bloody stump if it came to that).
WR Malik Turner rolled his ankle mid-way through practice and was in a boot.
WR Zach Grant broke his hand on a long TD catch from Crouch.
Any questions?
