Anyway, let’s go through the former award winners:

Spring 2009 – Spring Ball Crush: Mikel Leshoure; Eye Opening Player: Jerry Brown
Camp Rantoul 2009 – Camp Crush: Juice Williams; Eye Opening Player: Joelil Thrash
Spring 2010 – Spring Ball Crush: Nathan Scheelhaase; Eye Opening Player: Justin Staples
Camp Rantoul 2010 – Camp Crush: Corey Liuget; Eye Opening Player: Evan Wilson
Spring 2011 – Spring Ball Crush: Jonathan Brown; Eye Opening Player: Spencer Harris

Looks like I need to find two new award winners.  Because in Rantoul, the player I couldn’t stop watching was Jonathan Brown.  And the player that led to the most “wow, him again?” moments was Spencer Harris.  So I think I’ll have to get a bit creative with these awards, because awarding them to the same two guys again would be like making a “most exciting Illini basketball comebacks” list for the next 100 years – who will care if the answers don’t change?

Lucky for me, there were two other guys that really stuck out.  Both were in contention for Camp Crush, but I’ll give them each an award.

2011 Camp Rantoul Camp Crush: Tavon Wilson

He tackles well.  He hits hard.  He blankets receivers.  He takes away the middle.  After a year of playing out of position at safety, Tavon Wilson has returned to cornerback, and in my opinion, is poised for a big year.

At Monday’s practice, I started noticing that in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, no QB was throwing to the guy Wilson was covering.  And if they did, he was usually knocking it away.  There was one play in particular where Tavon was covering Darius Millines on an out route.  Wilson was right with him, and O’Toole tried to put the ball where only Millines could get to it.  The problem – the place where only Millines could get to it was out of his reach and out of bounds.  As they ran off the sideline and right towards me, I could hear them laughing.  Tavon was giving him the “you guys think you can complete a pass on me?” routine, and all Darius could do was laugh.  That pass pattern had no chance with Wilson on his heels.

For the rest of the week, I saw a lot of the same.  Especially when we were in the nickel with Tavon taking away the inside guy.  He’s almost a linebacker in some of these situations, and he’s perfectly suited for it.  Tight ends, slot receivers, tailbacks motioning into the slot – Tavon took the routes away from everyone.  With Corey Liuget gone, we desperately need some seniors to step up and lead this defense.  I think Tavon is one of those guys.

(Other candidates for this award: Jonathan Brown, Jeff Allen, and Jay Prosch)

2011 Camp Rantoul Eye Opening Player: Darius Millines

In truth, Darius was in a three-horse race for Camp Crush with Tavon and Jonathan Brown.  I usually reserve the EOP award for a guy that’s a bit under the radar (like Spencer Harris).  But hey, even though he returned kicks and was our best blocking wide receiver last year, Darius still only had 2 catches on the season.  That still qualifies him for under-the-radar.

Although not for long.  Because I think he’s clearly our #2 receiver right now.  Actually, that’s not bold enough.  If someone watched practice this week and didn’t know the team’s statistics last year, I think they would easily say that Millines is the best receiver on this team – even better than AJ.  He just has that extra burst out of his cuts that the other receivers just don’t have.

How will we use him this year?  Maybe in the Jarred Fayson role from last year – settle into weak spots in the zone, catch and go.  There were a couple times in a couple scrimmages where Millines spun so quickly after a 7 yard catch that the defensive back whiffed on the tackle.  I think we’ll see a lot of that this fall.  Maybe even more than we saw it from Fayson.

(Other candidates for this award: Spencer Harris, Josh Ferguson, and Donovonn Young)

In closing – this is worth noting, but I don’t really feel like noting it – of all the candidates for all the awards, 6 of the 8 players are on the offensive side of the ball.  And if I stretched it to a list of the top 12 players I saw at camp, 8 or maybe 9 of the 12 would be offensive players.  I’m not trying to be biased towards the offense – that’s just what you see from the sidelines when you’re at camp.  I think one side of the ball is clearly ahead of the other side right now.

To be fair, one year ago today, the defense was clearly ahead of the offense, and we saw that in the Missouri game.  By the end of the season, though, the offense had caught up and probably surpassed the D.  So there’s time for growth.  Let’s hope we see it.

What is going on with Brandon Denmark? Is he just not playing as well as Ralph Cooper currently? He looked good in the bowl game, but he also came in very raw and needing to put on some weight. It did look like he had a ton of athletic potential.

There’s a lot of good things going on with Brandon Denmark.  Blitzes.  Pass coverage.  Run stuffing.  Just because Ralph Cooper is getting reps doesn’t mean Denmark is pushed to the back.  Denmark is out there flying around, trying to learn how to be Martez II.

And because of that Martez comparison, I sometimes see him on a blitz and think “man, add 15 pounds and a little more muscle, and this kid could be a defensive end, couldn’t he?

My burning question will be about O’Toole. It seems like it may be compelling to keep the guy active this year, given the lack of depth at QB. Makes me wish our coaches had convinced Whitmer or the kid from NC to stay on. Given the talent O’Toole seems to be, I’d hate to only have him start for a year. A good problem to have, but it seems like we keep having such urgent needs that we blow red shirts that a school like Wisconsin or Ohio State would more readily apply.

Well, Wisconsin got lucky that Russell Wilson wanted to go to grad school instead of A-ball, because they were about to go into the season with very little depth and no experience at QB.  And ask any Ohio State fan how they feel about their quarterback depth and watch them sweat.  Every program goes through roster changes.  Last summer, Penn State fans were swimming in QB depth.  Now, the PSU guy I know is scared to death that McGloin gets the job, because he thinks Bolden will transfer if that happens.  And with Paul Jones academically ineligible and Kevin Newsome transferring to find playing time, that would leave them with Matt McGloin and… Matt McGloin.

Whitmer wants to play, so he transferred.  Charest didn’t win the job, so he transferred.  That’s just the way it goes sometimes.

That said, WE REALLY NEED TO REDSHIRT REILLY O’TOOLE BECAUSE I WANT A GREAT 2014 AND 2015, NOT JUST 2014.

What are your thoughts on Michael Heitz? Long-term answer at OT or stop-gap measure?

On my way up here I was thinking stop-gap until Corey Lewis gets healthy.  But with every “good job, 74!” from the coaching staff and pass rush shutdown I see, I’m starting to think he’s a long-term answer.  Ideally, you’re not starting him as a redshirt freshman.  Ideally, Corey Lewis is the right tackle this fall and Heitz has one more year to learn before three years as a starting OT.

But Lewis’ knee isn’t there yet, so Heitz it is.  I think he can do an adequate job this fall (and possibly a really good job in the future).

Based on what you see now, who steps in if Allen, thornton, pocic, and/or Cornell is hurt, and how does the alignment change (if at all)? Based on very early observations, who do you think plays weakside tackle and strongside guard in 2012 after Allen and Cornell graduate?

Right now, the backups at guard are Tyler Sands followed by Alex Hill.  But there’s a chance Jake Feldmeyer, currently the backup center, could fill in at a guard spot.

At tackle, Simon Cvijanovic is the backup at both positions.  Depending on his health, Corey Lewis is probably the backup once he returns (and he might even be a starter).

As far as weakside tackle and strongside guard next year, I’ll go with this line-up for the first game of the 2012 season (just a wild guess):

WT: Corey Lewis
WG: Hugh Thornton
C: Graham Pocic
SG: Alex Hill
ST: Michael Heitz

I saw a link to Sports Illustrated where they have us 4-8 and 1-7 (last in our division). Does the national media hate us or just not have a clue? Any predictions from you at this early, mid-August, “gosh, so and so looks great” stage?

That certainly was a buzz-kill for me.  Here I am at practice, swimming in August Syndrome, wondering if our safety depth could actually be better than last year, when wham: Twitter tells me SI thinks Indiana will win 2 Big Ten games and Illinois will win 1.

(As an aside – really, Stewart Mandel? REALLY? We beat Indiana by 347 points last year, we win 4 conference games and then win 1, they lose their QB, their best receiver, their coach, they’re installing a new system with two unexperience QB’s and a bad defense, and they’ll win more Big Ten games than us? Really?)

So I’ve decided I need to leave the rarefied air of Rantoul, Illinois before I can accurately let that sink in.  Because we did lose a lot when Corey and Martez and Mikel went off to the NFL.  Maybe I need to start paying more attention to that.

After I go watch JONATHAN BROWN DOMINATE THE WORLD AT TONIGHT’S SCRIMMAGE.

(Off to practice – no time to even go back and edit this one.  I’ll try to get to more questions tomorrow and Friday.  Thanks again – this was fun.)

Any indication of who will be getting most of the work in the return game based on what you’ve seen?

If I had to guess, for the opening kickoff against Arkansas State, I think it will be Terry Hawthorne and Troy Pollard back there.

And when our defense holds Arkansas State to a 3-and-out, I think you’ll see Hawthorne back up to return the first punt.

Other options include Jack Ramsey and Ryan Lankford returning punts and Darius Millines and Josh Ferguson returning kickoffs.

How is Scheelhaase progressing through his pass play reads (e.g., does he look for his 2nd or even 3rd option)?

Not as well as I was hoping to see.  But that’s mostly the interception in the scrimmage talking.  Jack Ramsey said he watched his eyes and jumped the route.

I have to keep reminding myself he’s a sophomore.  There will still be growing pains, and I don’t think his comfort level with staying in the pocket vs. taking off running, or looking off safeties vs. making sure his timing is right with this primary receiver, will be fully developed until his upperclassman years.  This year, he’ll probably struggle with those things.

But one thing is markedly different: his accuracy.  He’s been very, very accurate with his throws.  Noticeably different from Camp Rantoul last year.  It really does appear that something clicked during the bowl practices and what we saw in the Texas Bowl is an indication of what we’ll see this fall.  I’m not expecting many 13 for 13 starts, but I think he’ll clear 60% completion percentage this fall and start pushing for 65%.

How does Spencer Harris look in camp?

Right now, he’s the leading candidate for the ALECREOP award (eye opening player).  His candidacy is only hurt by the fact that Darius Millines is nearly a lock for the Camp Crush award, and I kinda don’t want to give out both awards to wide receivers.

But Harris has been awesome this camp.  Seriously – awesome.  Great hands, great routes, great fluidity in the air.  How will he perform when he’s facing Ohio State’s secondary?  He probably has a lot more to learn before he can look like this against them.  It’s easy to look good as a slot receiver when nobody will tackle you after you catch the ball (11 on 11 drills).

I think they’ll be in full pads and hitting tonight at camp.  If he looks this good when the defense is hitting, he’ll lock up the award.  One of my favorite players this week.

Can Jay Prosch play defensive tackle?

At first I figured this question was tongue-in-cheek.  And then I was all “wait – can he?”

He’s 6′-0″, 250.  That’s way short for a defensive tackle.  But Rahkeem Smith was around 6′-0″, wasn’t he?

You know what – I’m going to stop right there.  Foolish to entertain it.  Jay Prosch is going to keep us at the top of the Big Ten in rushing yards the next three seasons.  It would be silly to even consider moving him.  We have 6 offensive linemen on the field, and that’s that.

Can the O-Line pick up blitzes in pass protection?

That’s one of the bright spots this camp.  The first string offensive line looks fantastic.  (Camp paradox alert! Is it because the offensive line is awesome, or because the defensive line is struggling??)

If Heitz can come through at strongside tackle, I think this can be one of our better offensive lines in the last 10 years.  Run blocking, pass protection, everything is there.  You have two guys that should seriously compete for All Big Ten honors (Allen and Pocic), two guys that have an outside shot at one of those teams due to the fact that the Big Ten is a bit down at offensive guard (Thornton and Cornell), and a redshirt freshman tackle who, to me, looks much better than the guy he’s competing against (Simon Cvijanovic).  They all communicate very well and appear to know their assignments in blitz pick-up.

The spot where I’m worried there – can the freshmen tailbacks pick up a blitz?  Ford can, but can the kids?  Because at some point in the Arizona State game, Vontaze Burfict is going to come off the edge with bad thoughts in his head.

At what position is Zeph Grimes lining up?

He’s at Sam Linebacker (stinger safety!).  First string is Trulon, backed up by Earnest Thomas, with Zeph at third string.  I would assume he bumps back to fourth string when Ashante returns. And I’m guessing he redshirts.

Might be hard to answer now if he sits out, but how good is Akeem Spence? How much of his success last year do you think was driven by Corey Liuget, and how much is that he is actually really good?

I think he’s pretty good.  My main concern is not that it was Liuget that made him look good, but that he’ll  be out of position this year.  He was great as a lane-clogging shade defensive tackle last year, clogging up the middle and allowing Martez to make plays.  How will he perform in Corey’s role – shooting gaps and making life difficult on Big Ten backfields?  We shall see.

How do the freshmen linemen look?

I think I like Teddy Karras the best.  Maybe it’s just the name – not sure.  I haven’t gotten to watch much of them – first and second string guys get the majority of the reps.  But here’s a quick thought on all of them:

Ted Karras – I think he can be a good guard for us down the road. Kind of reminds me of Pocic as a freshman.
Tony Durkin – Seems a tiny but undersized. Needs weights and food. Admittedly, I’ve seen less of him than the others.
Pat Flavin – Certainly has the height and the shoulders. Doesn’t have the muscle and size yet. Future left tackle, needs 2 years of weights and food.
Scott McDowell – Bruising tackle type. I think he’s a bit ahead of Flavin at this point because he looks more physically mature.

How bad does the D-Line look? I fear we have 1 B10 player in Spence and 3 solid MAC players in Mercilus, Wilson, and Buchanan.

I wouldn’t say “bad”, but they’re losing the battle when they go up against the offensive line.

And I wouldn’t say “one Big Ten player” either.  Mercilus and Buchanan would start for many teams.  I think both can be quite good, actually.  But they need more experience, and they need depth behind them.  Right now, we don’t have that.

Work your magic, Vic.

Is Bud Golden alive?

I just tweeted something about this – while researching Jay Prosch’s current height and weight for the answer above, I noticed that Bud Golden is no longer listed on the official roster on the website.  I’ll ask around tonight and find out what the deal is.

Will he get the bulk of the carries? Absolutely.  He knows the offense the best, he has the most experience, and he’s in much better shape than he was at the end of the season last year.  For better or worse, he’s The Guy.

It’s fun to watch the freshmen – Donovonn Young has great balance (have I mentioned that before?) and Josh Ferguson has great burst.  But when I picture third and 2 from the Penn State 44, Jason Ford gets the ball every single time.

I think we’ll use him like we used Leshoure last year – a lot in the first quarter, sub in for him a lot as the game goes on, and then pound pound pound with Ford in the fourth quarter.  He’s our go-to guy, and I think we’ll try to keep him fresh for that end of the game 13 play, 67 yard drive to run out the clock.

Predictions on yards for the season? I’ll say 1,089.

Any chance Brandon Clear gets in the mix? Especially in goal line situations?

I think so.  The Clemson fan I talked to said his hands were always the issue.  And the first time I saw a pass go his way in Rantoul, he dropped it.

But then yesterday, during a blitz drill where they put a blue jersey on freshman QB Chase Haslett and told the defense they could hit him, Haslett threw a 30 yard jump ball to Clear as the blitz closed in.  Clear went up over the cornerback and caught it, drawing a huge ovation from the entire offense.  It was a great catch.

So he has the size – could he be that guy we throw bombs and corner fades to?  Maybe. But Jenkins and the three sophomores will be a tough rotation to crack.

My biggest concern is at DT, but the biggest question mark in my mind is at safety. Can Ramsey actually play the position? Green? PNY? We keep moving corners to safety and I wonder about their ability to (a) hit the way a good safety has to hit; and (b) make the difficult reads in the split second allowed. Hull had one (?) start at FS last year and a lot of snaps at the position. PNY subbed in at nickle. After that…? In 2008 and 2009 safety was a major problem for Illinois. Harrison, Mitchell and Sanders all used up their eligibility and we spent two years trying to replace them. None of those guys were particularly athletic, but they were all physical and knew how to play the position. Are we going to struggle again this year?

First off, I think Green is only lined up in warm-ups with the safeties because he’s essentially the third starter at cornerback.  Much like I list 3 starting wide receivers on my depth chart (as well as listing starters at tight end and fullback), I should probably list 3 starters at corner.  Because that’s essentially what Green provides – another starter.  I think we’ll see a fair amount of “dime” defense this fall – 3 down linemen, 2 linebackers, a Sam linebacker (stinger safety!), 3 corners, and 2 safeties.

But to your overall point, yes, it’s a concern.  Your question has made me think about it quite a bit, to be honest.  With Trulon moving over to Sam and Wilson going back to corner, we essentially have zero safeties with starting experience.  Sanni played a fair bit in 2009, and both Hull and PNY saw a lot of action last fall.  But as you mentioned, they only have 1 game started between them. And that was kind of a fluke – Hull technically started the Texas Bowl, but that was because Trulon broke a team rule.

OK, as I think about this some more, I’m starting to get more and more concerned.  If Michigan State is going into the season with two brand new players at safety, I see it as a weakness.  If I see that Arizona State has a redshirt sophomore with 1 game starting experience and a medical-redshirt junior with zero games started, I’m licking my chops.

The corners will be solid, and I think Trulon will excel at Sam.  But if I’m honest, safety is a scary unknown.

Haven’t heard much on Anthony Williams. I was excited about his size and he was getting some hype in the spring IIRC, but haven’t heard anything in camp. How does he look?

I mentioned it earlier and I’ll say it again – after watching practice last night and this morning, I’m thinking there’s a gap developing between our 4th and 5th receivers.  The top four are clearly Jenkins, Millines, Lankford, and Harris.  And then there are literally 8 guys in contention for that 5th spot.  Seriously – eight guys with a punchers chance at being our 5th receiver: Clear, Willliams, Sykes, Kumerow, Frysinger, Rock, Knight, and Whitlow once he comes back.  Maybe 9 – walk-on Peter Bonahoom seems to get in the rotation a lot.

As for Williams, I’ve seen him do some nice things.  And he has the look of a Walter Young-ish receiver – tall, big hands, long arms.  But beyond those top 4, nobody is sticking out just yet.  At least not to me.

DT is the biggest position concern by a long shot. What will the rotation look like? What does each player do well? What is the strategy to have depth next year?

I think the rotation is pretty simple.  Lots and lots and lots of Akeem Spence.  And then a little more Akeem Spence.  Craig Wilson starts at the nose, but I think he rotates out in nickel and dime packages.  Third guy right now is probably Wisdom Onyegbule, who, according to Bob Asmussen, received a scholarship for this his final season.  Wisdom played a decent amount last year – he recovered a fumble in the SIU game and made a few plays in the Texas Bowl.  So I think he can be serviceable as a backup.

After that, it’s the redshirt freshmen, Teitsma and Howe.  And with that I go back to the “other Big Ten teams” test.  If Iowa’s primary backups at defensive tackle were two redshirt freshmen, I’d feel really good about wearing them down with the run game.  So if our guys are still learning on the job, you have to say that we might wear down against a run-heavy team.

The other guy working at DT (besides a few freshman walk-ons) is freshman Chris O’Connor.  He was listed as a DE on recruiting sites, but he’s been working with the DT’s all week.  I’m pretty sure he redshirts and bulks up, but there’s a chance we would play him this year for experience because he’ll have to be in the rotation next fall after Wilson and Onyegbule leave.

Wow, this one is ending on a downer.  I need to post this and start another one so I can talk about some good things.

I figured I’d look up the statistics first.  Here’s where Illinois has ranked nationally in punt return yardage in Ron Zook’s 6 seasons (national ranking out of 120 teams):

2005: 112th
2006: 111th
2007: 88th
2008: 94th
2009: 114th
2010: 117th

Yikes.

Is there reason to see improvement this season? Well, there’s only 3 spots below 117th, so….

In all seriousness, all hope lies with the Black Cat. If there’s a player that can make something of our punt return unit, it’s Hawthorne. He’s such an electric athlete that if we can give him some room, he can make something happen.

Question is… can we give him any room?  When was the last time anyone remembers an Illini player catching a punt with room to make something happen?  I seriously can’t even picture a non fair-catch punt return last year.  I mostly remember repeating “just catch it” under my breath.

So I guess my answer is no.  Unless a healthy Hawthorne is a game changer.

I’d love your take on the TE situation. Are Wilson, Lattimore and Viliunas as the top 3 on the depth chart? How do Lacosse and Davis fit in? Will Becker get on the field in that spot like the plan was a couple years ago? Will they get the ball? Redshirts?

It’s hard to tell right now with Wilson and Davis nicked up.  Both players had minor injuries in Sunday’s scrimmage, so neither player has participated in anything this week.

This has led to a lot – A LOT – of Matt LaCosse running with the first string.  It reminds me of Camp Rantoul last year where Evan Wilson was always getting the ball.  They’ll rotate 15 receivers, including most of the walk-ons, when they’re going through 11 on 11 drills.  But I swear for the last two days, Matt LaCosse is getting 75% of the tight end snaps.

LaCosse is a very athletic kid, but he learned how to block 9 days ago.  How much he plays depends on how quickly he learns to block (same goes for the freshmen tailbacks too).  Because of that, here’s how I see it.

When we go with our standard offense, it’s Evan Wilson at tight end and either Viliunas or Becker at the second, blocking, h-back position. When we want to throw in a few different looks, we’ll put LaCosse at TE or Davis at h-back and get a little crazy.

How does Hull look? It sounds like he is always hurt and playing on a bum ankle. Will we have any real FS?

I’m a big fan.  I feel better about the safety position simply from watching Steve Hull read formations in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills the last two days.  He seems to always be in position.

I think that when all the dust settles and the Arkansas State game arrives, we’ll start Steve Hull and Supo Sanni at safety, with PNY being the third guy off the bench and Jack Ramsey the fourth.  Those backups aren’t nickel safeties, mind you – when we go to the nickel, Tavon Wilson slides over and takes that spot.  But I really think it’s Hull and Sanni with PNY third.

Seems like people feel pretty good about our LB depth. It is probably too late now, but given the confidence in that position, and the issues at safety, did moving Trulon really make sense? Or are none of those backup LB’s viable options for the Bussey spot?

Correct – none of the backup linebackers are viable options.  I know it gets confusing because it carries the word “linebacker” in the title – that’s the reason I’m in full support of calling the position “stinger” – but the Sam Linebacker in this defense doesn’t even practice with the linebackers.  Vic Koenning coaches the linebackers – Ron West coaches the “hybrid” players: Bandit and SLB.

We couldn’t take Houston Bates and just move him over to Sam.  It’s a different set of responsibilities with a different skill set required.  It would be similar to moving AJ Jenkins to tight end because all guys who catch passes should be able to play all pass-catching positions – the two positions aren’t really similar.

So yes – in my opinion, moving Trulon made perfect sense to me.  And I’m not saying that just because I was begging for it to happen last January.  Ashante is out, Earnest Thomas probably isn’t ready, and Trulon has a skill set very similar to Nate Bussey.  I like the move, and I think Trulon can thrive there once he starts to feel comfortable.

What was your reaction when you saw Akeem Spence limping off the field on Tuesday?

First off, thanks for all the questions.  Keep ‘em coming – there’s more stuff I can look for at tonight’s practice.  I have 6 hours and 33 minutes before I have to leave for tonight’s practice.  I figure I can answer at least 40 questions by then.  Let’s do this.

Who is #1 on your list of freshman we probably won’t see on the field this year, but you think will be really good eventually? O’Toole doesn’t count.

Great question.  I was fully prepared to come to camp and answer this and every other “future freshman stars” question with “Jeremy Whitlow”.  But then I got to the scrimmage at the high school and one of the very first things I see is Whitlow on crutches.  He’s back in uniform now, with his ankle taped, but he’s not participating in scrimmages and full-offense drills yet.

I’ll also eliminate the freshmen that I expect to play this year.  At this point, I think Donovonn Young, Josh Ferguson, Jon Davis, Matt LaCosse, Ralph Cooper, Henry Dickinson, Jordan Frysinger, and Justin DuVernois will all play as true freshmen.

So that leaves me with two clear candidates, I think.  And they’re both cornerbacks: Eaton Spence and Valdon Cooper.  Both look pretty athletic to me.  Spence is probably the better tackler, while Cooper is the most athletic.  Twist my arm and I’ll pick…

Valdon Cooper.

Have any of the RS-FR or RS-SO been making an impression? Guys that are maybe not in the two deep right now, that look like maybe they could challenge for a spot in the 2 deep this year or next season?

The first guy that pops into my head when I read this is rs-FR offensive guard Alex Hill.  Tyler Sands is probably the guard back-up at this point – if Cornell or Thornton needs a breather, Sands is probably the guy.  But Alex Hill is right on his heels.  The biggest edge that Sands has is that this is his 4th year in the program while this is Hill’s second.  I think Sands/Hill will be quite the battle next summer to replace Jack Cornell.  In 2013 and 2014, Hill is definitely one of our starters.

Redshirt sophomores, I’ll say Tim Kynard.  He’s the third string defensive end at this point, but he’s made some plays rushing the QB that lead me to believe he might find the rotation this year.  We’ll need a starting DE in 2013 after Mercilus and Foster graduate – maybe TK is the guy.

Who is the number two kicker?

45 minutes ago I would have said Matt Eller.  But according to some post-practice tweets I saw, it looks like Matt Eller is leaving the program.  I’m guessing he wants to do what Mike Cklamovski did – transfer somewhere and be the kicker for his final season.

So now it’s completely up in the air.  They can only bring 105 players to camp, so they left several kickers off the Camp Rantoul roster (guys like Nick Immekus).  Doesn’t mean they’re far down the depth chart – it probably just means they wanted to get a look at other kids in camp.

So it looks like DuVernois will be the punter (with backup options like redshirt freshman Brad Janitz and true freshman Garrett Stroup).  And for backup kicker, there’s several names I can think of off the top of my head.  Freshman Taylor Zalewski is here in camp switching off between kicker and punter.  All I can tell you about him is that his performance in one of the kicking drills yesterday was very shank-y.  Other guys would include redshirt freshmen like Immekus and Patrick Dunn, and true freshman Brendan VanMiegham.

In other words, the kicker battle is WIDE open next summer.

Pound for pound, who’s the toughest dude?

Jay Prosch. Followed closely by no-one.

Now, if we’re talking insanely maniacal linebacker who wants to destroy you, Jonathan Brown enters the picture. But in the “pound for pound toughness” category, it’s Jay Prosch.

Who is working out best as DT backups? Will Illini be able to make through the year without major problems due to depth issues at DT?

The third guy is clearly newly-scholarship’d senior Wisdom Onyegbule.  In fact, with Akeem Spence sitting out contact this morning (he was there in pads, ankle taped – just not participating in contact as a precaution), Big Wiz was running with the first string.

Does it reveal depth issues when you’re third guy is a former walkon who has only appeared in 6 games?  Yes.  But that’s what happens when your 3 defensive tackle recruits don’t make it to Camp Rantoul.  And you’re all-world defensive tackle declares for the NFL draft as a junior.  And guys like Reggie Ellis and Ugo Uzodinma transfer to New Mexico.  And the other options are redshirt freshmen still trying to put on weight and muscle.

Is DT depth a concern?  You bet your Melvin Alaeze it is.

At the end of last season, I would have told you that our weak links this year would have been our linebackers (defense) and running backs (offense). From what I have read about Jonathon Brown, Ford, and some of the freshman running backs this might not be the case. What’s your take?

My take is I agree with your take.  Coming into camp, I thought the same thing – depth will be a concern at the three positions where we lost guys to the NFL – linebacker, running back, and defensive tackle.  I just covered defensive tackle, but after watching 5 or so practices, I think the other two positions might be the deepest on their respective side of the ball (please note I said “deepest” and not “most experienced”).

Mike and Will linebacker might just go 6 deep – Brown, Bates, and Dickinson at Will and Thomas, Denmark, and Cooper at the Mike.  I really do think we’ll try different packages with different guys and all 6 will play.

At tailback, you can’t help but feel good about the freshmen.  In fact, as much as I raved about Donovonn Young and his balance on Sunday, for the last three days, I haven’t been able to get my eyes off Josh Ferguson.  This kid is quick, people.  Just so very dart-y.

But I want to emphasize again – depth, not experience.  Josh Ferguson can be the quickest man on the planet, but if he runs poor routes, doesn’t protect the ball, and can’t pick up a blitz, he’ll struggle to find the field.  Which is why the starters at these positions (Brown and Thomas at linebacker, Ford at tailback), will get the majority of the minutes.

That was a good first round.  I think I’ll answer five or six questions, hit post, and then answer more.  Maybe I can get to 8 posts before I have to leave for the evening practice…

I have one day left, and that’s where you come in.  What do you want to know?

Curious how some of the freshmen look?  Email me your question.  Want to know which side of the ball is looking better?  Tweet me. Tomorrow, I’m your eyes and ears.

It always used to frustrate me that, for most Illini football info, you had to climb behind the walls of pay sites.  So instead of paying for eyes and ears, I decided to start paying for hotel rooms so I could use my own eyes and ears.

And since I’m here… and since I’ve seen what I came to see… and since there are two practices tomorrow…

Email me at CriticalMass (at) alioneye (dot) com (in your FACE, spammers).

Tweet me @alioneye

Text me if you have my cell.

Call me if you’re my mom.

The way I see it, we’re all in this together.  I started this little blog because I’m passionate about the athletic programs at the University of Illinois.  I love writing about it.  A select few of you love reading about it.  We can share the highs and the lows, and we have our own little corner of the internet in which to do so.  The last 4 days have been for me.  Tomorrow, it’s your turn.

A few quick ground rules:  I won’t respond to any questions about specific plays or formations.  Basically, I won’t report anything that could be used by any opponent to help game plan against us in any way. That would be bad form.  I’ll tell you that Jonathan Brown is God’s gift to linebacking – I won’t tell you that Jonathan Brown is our wildcat quarterback (he’s not).

But I will tell you anything else you want to know.  I already had a few tweets about a few players, and I intend to respond to those tomorrow.  Any other questions you might have – I’m all ears.

So hit me back, Internet.  Tomorrow is your day.

One thing that is easy, in my opinion, is to watch individual drills.  All 12 (15?) wide receivers will go through the same drill, so you can see who tucks the ball away the best, who comes out of his breaks the best, who has the best footwork, who has the best hands, etc.  Here’s the awards I would give out if it was based on today’s practice (AJ Jenkins would win many of these categories, but he’s a bit slowed by a hamstring injury):

Best Footwork: Darius Millines
Best Routes: Darius Millines
Best Acceleration: Ryan Lankford
Best Hands: Darius Millines
Best Go-Up-And-Get-It: Spencer Harris
Best Stop-And-Turn: Darius Millines

Darius Millines Darius Millines Darius Millines. I always categorize these Camp Rantoul practices in my head by one significant event, and this was certainly The Darius Millines Practice. His most impressive play? 7-on-7 drill (no linemen), at the 10, Millines reaches the goal line, digs his feet in to cut back, and separates himself from Justin Green by 5 yards. Nate throws the out for an easy TD. Millines’ stopping and cutting ability was very, very impressive today.

If I had to break down the top 7 wide receivers by catches they’ll make this fall, I’d put them in this order after today:

Jenkins
Millines
Lankford
Harris
Sykes
Clear
Frysinger

I think each of these guys will have a different job. The way I see it, AJ will do what he did last year, only (hopefully) more. Millines, I think, takes Jarred Fayson’s role and gets 40 catches. Harris is the slot guy running lots of seam routes – Frysinger backs him up. Lankford an edge guy with the occasional burner route – Clear backs him up. Sykes gets the tough yards, 6-when-it’s-third-and-5 role.

But all of that will continue to develop and change before we get to the season. The top 4, in my opinion, are set in stone, but after that, anybody could find some minutes. At different times today, Anthony Williams, Jake Kumerow, and even freshman walk-on Peter Bonahoom looked pretty good. Millines, Lankford, and Harris are the mainstays for the next three years, but there’s plenty of spots open for some of these guys to step forward.

Other thoughts from the practice:

+ I watched both Matt Eller and Justin DuVernois punt about 8 balls each in the special teams portion of the practice.  My extremely unscientific averages that really mean nothing and are kinda made up but they were snapping from the 25 so I watched where the punts were caught and made a few notes:

Matt Eller: 33 yards per punt with a long of 43 (a decent average reduced by a shank that went maybe 15 yards)
Justin DuVernois: 39 yards per punt with a long of 49

At least this round, from my extremely unreliable yet fun to put together statistics, advantage DuVernois.

And for reference, Anthony Santella’s averages over his 4 years as the punter were 37.7 yards as a freshman, 39.4 as a sophomore, 41.3 as a junior, and 44.8 last year.

+ I went searching for that 6th offensive lineman – an interior guy who can sub in for Cornell or Thornton – and I still haven’t found him. My top candidate at this point is probably redshirt freshman Alex Hill.  He looks like he’s trimmed down a bit and added some muscle.  But he’s probably still a year away.

I watched Tyler Sands a lot, and maybe he just had a rough day, but I saw him get knocked to the ground twice.  Based on today, he’s not the guy.

True freshman Ted Karras did some nice things, but he’s completely raw.  Jake Feldmeyer looks serviceable as the backup center – could he fill in at guard?  Shawn Afryl looks better than he did in the spring, but he’s only a redshirt freshman as well.

I think we’ll have a decent rotation at tackle, especially once Corey Lewis returns.  But I still don’t know who the fourth interior guy will be behind Cornell, Pocic, and Thornton.

+ With Jon Davis and Evan Wilson sitting out contact with minor injuries, Matt LaCosse got a lot of work with the first string.  The good: he’s an athletic kid who catches the ball very well.  The bad: his blocking technique is kind of “so, coach, I put my hands on the guy and I just shove him?”

He’s pretty athletic, though (check out his reach for the goal line at the 8:27 mark of this video), so I think he’ll be one of the 7 or 8 freshmen who skips the redshirt process and plays right away.

+ A few more quick notes:

• True freshman defensive lineman Chris O’Connor is lined up at defensive tackle.  He’s third string at this point, but gives us a scholarship player at a position with lots of personnel losses.
• I saw Michael Heitz make two great plays in 11-on-11 drills.  I think he’s far out in front in the strongside tackle competition at this point.  He certainly looks the part.
• Josh Ferguson is so very quick with the ball in his hands.  I was skeptical of Ferguson and Young simply based on the fact that neither had another BCS offer besides Illinois.  But I think both will play early and often.
• Nathan Scheelhaase had a great day.  Had three consecutive passes in 11-on-11 where he hit Spencer Harris on a seam route for a 50+ yard TD, then hit Ryan Lankford on the Texas Bowl play (Lankford dropped the ball), and then hit LaCosse on a 15 yard out route.  All three throws right on the money.
• Coach Gillhamer was not happy with his safeties on several occasions.  Mostly positioning, mental errors.  As certain I am about the cornerbacks, I’m equally uncertain about the safeties.  No starting experience at all back there.
• Speaking of not happy, the coaches pointed out several holding calls today.  It’s good that they’re working to get it fixed, but this ball-possession offense can’t afford 5 holding penalties per game.

Which brings me back to the difficulty of watching practice.  Practice is a utopia without opposing fans, penalties, turnovers, or shanked punts.  Well, those things do exist, but there’s no grand consequence like there is in a game.  So I remain concerned that with so many young guys stepping up into big roles, we’ll play like an inexperienced team.  There’s talent on this team, but we have to go young to go deep.  That could spell trouble in the turnover/penalty department.

Wait, I don’t want to end this post on a down note.  Let me tell you some more about Darius Millines….

Listen or Download

I’m sorry. I really am. I’ve tried for three weeks to build up my excitement for Donovonn Young. “He was injured his junior year and fell off the map”, I’d tell myself. “Look at his numbers and his film – how does that not scream BCS tailback?”

I haven’t been able to get there. I’ll keep trying. But when I try, I can’t get past the fact that if we hadn’t offered, he’d probably be heading to McNeese State or Gardner-Webb. Katy, Texas isn’t exactly Nowheresville. Why no offers? Why wouldn’t a lower-end Texas school take a flyer on him?

I might come around in a few weeks. He did look like high school Jason Ford on film, spin moves and leg drive and whatnot. But today, I just can’t get past the McNeese State.

From my 89 Illini series, where I ranked him as the 71st most important Illini player in 2011:

I’ll apologize in advance again. I’ve never watched one minute of Donovonn Young carrying a football live – I’ve only watched film – so I’ll reserve my judgment on his ability until then, but…

I still can’t get past his offer list. Yes, he was injured as a junior and the recruiting buzz surrounding him disappeared. He then had a very impressive senior season and schools like Texas A&M and Virginia and Northwestern and Arkansas began recruiting him. But nobody offered. Well, besides Illinois. And if we hadn’t offered, he’d likely be moving into his dorm room at McNeese State right now. Because of that (and only because of that), I’m calling him a project instead of a sleeper. On film, he looks great. Breaking tackles, running people over – an old school power back. And maybe that’s why he wasn’t offered by anyone – old school power backs just aren’t the thing in college football anymore. I hope it’s that. Because if not, then the reason he wasn’t offered by anyone who evaluated him is because he doesn’t have the skills to be a Big Ten running back. I don’t want that to be the case, but I’m fearful that it is.

After one viewing – one – I think I was wrong.  Dead wrong.  Missouri thinking the Big Ten is interested wrong.

Driving away from the scrimmage, after having had a chance to chat with Scheelhaase and talk beards with Jack Cornell (coming soon), all I could think about was Donovonn Young’s balance.  This kid was ridiculous.  An actual transcript from my brain during one of his runs:

“Hey, nice wheels to get through that hole – wow, nice, broke that tackle to… oh, now he’s down ’cause both linebackers have… wait, still – holy crap how did he… is that 7 more yards since they first… STILL ON HIS FEET – SERIOUSLY?”

One play stuck out the most.  After a decent run off the strongside tackle, two defenders – a cornerback and a linebacker, I think – hopped on and rode him out of bounds.  But he didn’t go down.  The linebacker let go, but the cornerback tried to spin him to the ground.  Didn’t work.  Had this play been inbounds, I think Young would have dragged the cornerback an additional 10 yards.  Not through just brute strength, but also with balance.  He can spin, hop, cut, drive, and stay on his feet.  First time I thought was a fluke, second time looked like he got lucky, third time I started to believe, and by the 7th time he stayed on his feet for 4 more yards, I was sold.

He was not without mistakes, mind you.  In a goal-line drill he ran out of room at the one in the corner, so he spun back and tried to reverse the entire field – I think he lost 10 yards.  And on another play, he tried a spin move when he should have just lowered his shoulder.  There’s a lot to learn about being a big time college tailback, which is why Mikel Leshoure didn’t really accelerate until halfway through his sophomore season.  I’m willing to be patient with Young.

But my goodness, the balance.  I just couldn’t get over it.  Paul Petrino is right – he runs violent.  I feel pretty good about the tailback situation after Ford leaves.  And that’s after only one viewing.

+ I need to temper that with something that looked as bad as Young looked good: second string offensive line.

Granted, they were mostly going up against the first string defense.  So the D is supposed to win that battle most of the time.  But not every time.  For the first 2/3rds of the scrimmage, Cvijanovic, Sands, Feldmeyer, Hill, and McDowell were dominated by the D.  They started to improve in pass protection as the scrimmage wore on – Reilly O’Toole had time to make some nice throws – but in the run game, they were getting plowed over.

One play that sticks out – Akeem Spence shot a gap and met Josh Ferguson a half-second after he got the ball.  Spence spun and tossed Ferguson like a rag doll for a 4 yard loss.  I’d love to say it was a fantastic play by Spence, but hearing Joe Gilbert’s reaction from 75 yards away, apparently someone missed his assignment.

I’m concerned because this offensive line needs a 6th man.  Last year it was Jack Cornell.  The year before, Randall Hunt.  The year before that, Eric Block.  There’s always an interior guy ready to step up and grab some minutes.  This year?  I have no idea who it would be.  It probably should be Tyler Sands – this is his 4th year in the program, which is when guys like Cornell made their move.  But watching them today, everyone struggled.

Cornell and Allen graduate this year – who starts in their place next year?  Pocic and Thornton are gone the year after that – who will be ready by then?  It’s not a huge issue, I guess – two years ago, Cornell was still struggling to find playing time, and I have full confidence in him now – but I want to see someone step forward and show their ready for some first string minutes.

+ My first viewing of Reilly O’Toole was a positive one.  He really excelled when it was the third string offense against the third string defense – he carved ‘em up.  He and Matt LaCosse seem to have a nice little chemistry going.  They hooked up for several great plays, including a crossing route where LaCosse made a diving, one handed, place-the-ball-one-inch-over-the-goal-line-as-you’re-being-tackled play.

And then O’Toole stepped up and led a very nice two minute drill against the first string defense.  He converted a fourth down, scrambled and improvised when the pocket collapsed, and might have led a touchdown drive had Brandon Clear not dropped a pass around the 15 yard line.  That drive was into the wind, and O’Toole seemed to have a really good handle on adjusting to the direction of the wind.  Impressive.

But I’ll say it again. REDSHIRT REDSHIRT REDSHIRT.  I want two great years with O’Toole at the helm, not one.

+ WARNING: this bullet point has been infected by August Syndrome.  Please make sure your anti-virus software is up to date.

I had a nice little kool-aid moment during one of the first string offense’s touchdown drives.  We lined up 3 wide – Millines, Lankford, and Harris – with no tight end.  Jay Prosch was lined up as kind of an H-back, and Donovonn Young was in the backfield with Nate.  And I got some August Syndrome chills when I thought “two years from today, every single one of those players will be here in Rantoul getting ready for the 2013 season.

Granted, every team has promising young talent.  Somewhere tonight there’s a Clemson blogger talking about all the young talent lined up with the offense – and most of those players are probably more talented than Millines-Lankford-Harris-Young-Prosch-Scheelhaase. Everyone gets August Syndrome.

But what stuck out with me is the familiarity the players will develop over the next 28 months.  Bob Griese made the point during the Texas Bowl, pointing out the one series with our freshman quarterback, freshman fullback, freshman tight end, and three freshman receivers.  Well, now they’re all sophomores, and they’re joined by a couple freshman tailbacks that look pretty good.  I’m always thinking towards the future, and from where I sit, the skill players in 2013 will appear like they’ve been playing together for 15 years.

+ I need to say something about Josh Ferguson, too.  Kid is quick.  I didn’t notice his quicks so much in the open field as I did hitting the hole.  Like Young, he has a lot to learn, and on one blitz pick-up, he showed just how much he does have to learn, but he was really impressive with the ball in his hands.  I would say that from today, Young and Ferguson will be really pushing Troy Pollard for minutes backing up Jason Ford.

+ Two players that I saw came out with injuries.  In the first series for the second string offense, Tavon Wilson tackled Jon Davis over the middle and Davis bent awkwardly backwards.  He hopped right up and ran off the field, but he didn’t return to the scrimmage.  Probably just a precaution, but the backwards-bend drew some gasps from the crowd.

The other injury was Evan Wilson.  On a crossing route, he let out a yelp and grabbed his right hamstring.  He hobbled off the field and straight to the trainer – I’m guessing we’ll see him held out of a few practices this week just like we’ve seen with AJ Jenkins.  We’ll need Wilson healthy and ready for the Arkansas State game in 20 days (twenty days!!).

+ Other players who stuck out to me:

Freshman walk-on safety Austin Abner made a couple really nice tackles – textbook technique.  Abner was the kid that had a couple MAC offers like Bowling Green and Miami (OH), but he opted to come to Illinois as a preferred walk-on instead.  I will probably be a long time before he finds the depth chart, but on a defense where the majority of players were running around with “where am I supposed to be, coach?” body language, Abner stuck out.

Freshman linebacker Ralph Cooper made some nice hole-stuffing tackles, and seemed to get lots of minutes with the first string.  Ian Thomas was held out as an injury precaution, so Cooper and Henry Dickinson probably got more minutes with the first string than they normally would, but it led me to believe that we might rotate 6 linebackers at the Will and the Mike this fall.  Thomas and Brown will start, but I could see minutes for Denmark, Bates, Cooper, and Dickinson.

Walk-on safety Ben Mathis continues to make enough plays – and continues to run with the second string – that I still think he gets some minutes this fall.  I think the main rotation will be Sanni-PNY-Hull, but I can see minutes for Ben Mathis and Jack Ramsey.

+ Other things that concerned me:

Joe Gilbert yelled “Simon!” so much that I considered several Chipmunks jokes for the blog, but in the end, I thought Alvin and the Chipmunks might get confused with the male dancers, so I bailed on the whole idea.  But Gilbert was all over Simon Cvijanovic.  On one play – a third or fourth down run in the short yardage drills – Cvijanovic apparently made a mistake that led to the tackle for loss, and the coaches were all over him.  Even if Heitz wins the right tackle job, we still need a third tackle, and Cvijanovic needs to be that guy.

The first string dominating the second string can be seen as a good thing, but today it exposed our depth issues at several areas.  Offensive line I mentioned, but the first string O-line abused the second string D-line on several occasions.  Granted, I think we have one of the top offensive lines in the Big Ten, but depth all across the defensive line has me concerned.  I’m getting comfortable with linebacker depth, and I feel really good about cornerback depth, but safety depth is still up in the air.  The second week of Camp Rantoul is the time for some guys to start stepping up.

The two minute drill to end the scrimmage was a bit shaky.  Second string offense drove down the field on the first string defense (which they shouldn’t), but a dropped pass and an apparent inability to get a snap off led to no points.  Then the first string offense drove down the field on the second string defense (which they should), but a false start penalty led to a rushed field goal that sailed wide.  Zook got on to new holder Tim Russell about watching for the clock – it will be his job to make sure the ball is snapped before the horn.

+ Seeing as I’m well north of 2,000 words, I’ll wrap this up with one last thought:

I’m feeling pretty good about our first string on both sides of the ball.  As good as the freshmen tailbacks looked, Jason Ford looked better (I mentioned this on Twitter, but Ford absolutely leveled Houston Bates – knocked him down and stepped on him as he continued running).  As encouraging as it was to see Ralph Cooper make a couple plays, Jonathan Brown is still The Man.  The aforementioned freshman tailbacks looked kinda foolish trying to stop Brown on a blitz.  O’Toole looked solid, but Nathan seems like he’s much more in command out there than he was last summer.

To me, this season says one thing: will we have the depth to make this a great season or just an OK one?

I now have 5 more practices to figure that out.