Illinois held the first of 15 spring practices on Tuesday at Memorial Stadium from 4:30-6:30. The practice script included warmups, position drills, some limited 7 vs. 7, and a little team / running game. No pads or helmets.
Held out today: Dre Brown, Mike Dudek, Austin Roberts, MJ McGriff, Dele' Harding, Dominique Thieman, Kenyon Jackson, Stanley Green, and Brandon Jones.
Newcomers: LB Del'Shawn Phillips is already running with the 1's as the MLB. WR Carmoni Green has an explosive release and burst of speed. He's also with the 1's. Both DE Owen Carney and OL Hojo Watkins looked like freshmen, albeit talented freshmen. Carney needs to get stronger. Watkins is playing at about the right weight, but will need to change his body composition some.
Starters on offense:
OT: Christian DiLauro
OT: Jordan Fagan
OG: Gabe Megginson
OG: Darta Lee
C: Nick Allegrett
QB: Jeff George
RB: Kendrick Foster
TE: Caleb Reams or Griffin Palmer
WR: Malik Turner
WR: Carmoni Green
WR: Sam Mays
Notes: Chayce Crouch took reps with the 1's on some running plays. Crouch went through drills but didn't throw. Caleb Reams and Griffin Palmer both got first team reps at TE. Zarrian Holcombe is playing strictly TE this spring. Nate Echard comes in at FB when they go to a 2-back set. 3rd string RB Tre Nation stood out. He's lighter and quicker this spring. All of the plays during 7 vs. 7 were quick-hitters, so we didn't get to see any of the vertical passing game.
Starters on defense:
SDE: Henry McGrew
DT: Jamal Milan
DT: Tito Odenigbo
WDE: James Crawford
MLB: Del'Shawn Phillips
WLB: Tre Watson
SLB: Justice Williams or Jake Hansen
CB: Jaylen Dunlap
CB: Cameron Watkins
FS: Julian Hylton
SS: Patrick Nelson
Notes: I don't see either of these two DE's as the starters next fall. Crawford is really undersized, and McGrew isn't moving all that well. They could move Tymir Oliver to SDE. He has gotten much bigger and stronger. I liked what I saw form him in position drills. Former JUCO Sean Adesanya can run, but is stuck with the 2's right now. He finally looks healthy. CB Chris James comes in when they go to the nickel.
New coach Donnie Abraham was there but the school hasn't formerly announced him yet. He will coach the safeties. Lovie Smith spent a lot of time with the DB's today helping Abraham get acclimated.
Your questions?
Held out today: Dre Brown, Mike Dudek, Austin Roberts, MJ McGriff, Dele' Harding, Dominique Thieman, Kenyon Jackson, Stanley Green, and Brandon Jones.
Newcomers: LB Del'Shawn Phillips is already running with the 1's as the MLB. WR Carmoni Green has an explosive release and burst of speed. He's also with the 1's. Both DE Owen Carney and OL Hojo Watkins looked like freshmen, albeit talented freshmen. Carney needs to get stronger. Watkins is playing at about the right weight, but will need to change his body composition some.
Starters on offense:
OT: Christian DiLauro
OT: Jordan Fagan
OG: Gabe Megginson
OG: Darta Lee
C: Nick Allegrett
QB: Jeff George
RB: Kendrick Foster
TE: Caleb Reams or Griffin Palmer
WR: Malik Turner
WR: Carmoni Green
WR: Sam Mays
Notes: Chayce Crouch took reps with the 1's on some running plays. Crouch went through drills but didn't throw. Caleb Reams and Griffin Palmer both got first team reps at TE. Zarrian Holcombe is playing strictly TE this spring. Nate Echard comes in at FB when they go to a 2-back set. 3rd string RB Tre Nation stood out. He's lighter and quicker this spring. All of the plays during 7 vs. 7 were quick-hitters, so we didn't get to see any of the vertical passing game.
Starters on defense:
SDE: Henry McGrew
DT: Jamal Milan
DT: Tito Odenigbo
WDE: James Crawford
MLB: Del'Shawn Phillips
WLB: Tre Watson
SLB: Justice Williams or Jake Hansen
CB: Jaylen Dunlap
CB: Cameron Watkins
FS: Julian Hylton
SS: Patrick Nelson
Notes: I don't see either of these two DE's as the starters next fall. Crawford is really undersized, and McGrew isn't moving all that well. They could move Tymir Oliver to SDE. He has gotten much bigger and stronger. I liked what I saw form him in position drills. Former JUCO Sean Adesanya can run, but is stuck with the 2's right now. He finally looks healthy. CB Chris James comes in when they go to the nickel.
New coach Donnie Abraham was there but the school hasn't formerly announced him yet. He will coach the safeties. Lovie Smith spent a lot of time with the DB's today helping Abraham get acclimated.
Your questions?
