Wednesday, August 26, 2009 10:24 AM CDT
Illinois getting ready for year's first opponent
BY MARK TUPPER, Staff Writer
mtupper@herald-review.com
CHAMPAIGN -- With the season ready to kick off a week from Saturday, it’s nearly time for the Illini football team to zero in on that first opponent.
Ron Zook and Juice Williams said Tuesday the emphasis on the University of Missouri will intensify today.
“I believe the next couple of days we’ll start game planning a little more and start locking in on those guys,” said Williams, the senior quarterback who last season threw for 451 yards and five touchdowns in the opener against the Tigers, albeit on the short end of a 52-42 outcome.
“You can sense it within the program. Guys are watching more (Missouri) film and you can feel it.”
Zook and the coaching staff have been preparing a Missouri game plan for quite some time, but they’re just now getting ready to spoon feed it to the players.
“Next week we’ll obviously be into it, but we’ll move more toward show teams than actually preparing for Missouri and we’ll get guys used to that this week, maybe a period or two (during practice today),” he said. “That’s more to get the guys acclimated to what they’re doing.”
Once the Illini offense and defense get a sense of the formations Missouri uses, Zook and his staff will focus on specifics, including a number of new players Missouri will unveil at key positions. Missouri lost 23 seniors including quarterback Chase Daniel as well as sophomore superstar Jeremy Maclin, the electric receiver/kick returner.
“I’m very excited for what’s going to happen next Saturday,” Williams said.
WELCOME HOME – Players and coaches always make nice about their two week training camp visit to Rantoul, but they’re always delighted to get back to campus, where they can work out on their practice fields that look like a big putting green.
“The grass is beautiful,” Zook proclaimed Tuesday. “It’s soft. It’s a fast track out there.”
“It’s good to get back on familiar turf and not out there in the middle of a big field full of football fields,” quarterback Juice Williams said.
JUST A SCARE – When you’re a preseason All-American and projected as a possible top 10 pick in the next National Football League draft, any word of an injury makes waves.
And so it was when Illini receiver Rejus Benn winced in pain as Camp Rantoul was wrapping up Saturday.
Benn landed awkwardly on his elbow and experienced pain on the final play of practice before the team packed up and headed back to campus. But by later in the day, he had tossed aside the ice bag and a team spokesman said Benn is 100 percent now.
Practices in Champaign are currently closed to the public and the media, but he was reportedly full-go on Tuesday.
FOR THE FANS – Illini football fans can meet and greet the team from noon-2 p.m., Saturday in the Great West Hall of Memorial Stadium. Admission is free and parking will be available in the northeast and northwest lots of the Assembly Hall.
Fans can enter the west side of the stadium using Gate 24 and can get autographs and photos with members of the entire team. Fans will be limited to one item per player for autographs (fans can bring multiple items, but an individual player will sign just one per fan).
DERON RETURNS – Former Illini basketball star Deron Williams plans to be back on campus this weekend to play host to the Illini Hoop Legends for Charity Dinner on Friday and his own golf outing on Saturday.
The dinner, to be held at the I Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign, will honor the 1989 Flyin’ Illini team that reached the Final Four. The dinner will be attended by a who’s who of Illini basketball players and coaches and will raise money for the Illini men’s basketball program and local charities through the Deron Williams Point of Hope Foundation.
In addition, a lifetime achievement award has been established in honor of Jerry Colangelo. The first recipients of the Colangelo Award, Mannie Jackson and Dave Downey, will be honored at the dinner.
Expected to attend the dinner are current Illini coach Bruce Weber, Luther Head, Roger Powell, Dave Downey, Mannie Jackson, Jerry Colangelo, Nick Anderson, Kenny Battle, Marcus Liberty, Larry Smith, Deon Thomas, Jerry Hester, Jimmy Collins, Mark Coomes, Brian O’Connell, Tyler Cottingham, Mark Shapland, EJ Manzke and Ryan Baker.
For more information, or to purchase tickets for the dinner or attend the golf outing at Stone Creek Golf Club in Urbana, contact Heather Harden by email at heatherh@fox-companies.com or by phone at (217) 351-1430 (ext. 12), or Kevin Kaplan by email at kkaplan1@aol.com or by phone at (888) 599-4483.
Contact Mark Tupper mtupper@herald-review.com|421-7983
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