April 13, 2005

Champaign, Ill.- Illinois' ninth spring football practice had the feel of a scrimmage Wednesday afternoon as the Illini moved from the East practice fields to inside Memorial Stadium. An officiating crew was on hand this afternoon, as the Orange and Blue ran roughly 50 plays, culminating in goal line sets.

Following practice, head coach Ron Zook commented on how the offense is shaping up under offensive coordinator Mike Locksley.

"I'm seeing exactly what I knew I'd see from Mike. He's very organized and competitive and the offense will take on his personality. He's an awfully, awfully good football coach," Zook said. "Then you have a guy like Ed Zaunbrecher who is someone who provides experience that he can draw from and lean on. Mike's not an ego guy and it's not an ego staff, it's everybody wants us to be the best we can be. I'm excited about the staff. I feel like we're all great teachers and all great people. We're close to the players, yet we're all very demanding. The players feel they can talk to the coaches and voice their opinion and I think that it's important that the players know they can do that."

NCAA's 12th GAME PROPOSAL:

Among proposals approved at the Division I Management Council's meeting April 11 was one to allow Divisions I institutions to conduct a 12th regular-season football game every year beginning in 2006. The proposal still needs to be approved by the Division I Board of Directors in two weeks before it can become effective.

STUDENT DAY AT MEMORIAL STADIUM:

As a reminder, Saturday's spring football practice and scrimmage is "Student Day" at Memorial Stadium. As part of Mom's Day weekend, all students are encouraged to come to the stadium for the Illini's second scrimmage of the spring season. Practice begins at 9 a.m., with the scrimmage beginning at approximately 9:30 a.m. Concessions will be available to the public and students will have an opportunity to talk with Zook, the new coaching staff and the players when the scrimmage is over.

For more information on the event, contact Allison Berg in the Illinois marketing office at 217-244-0062.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

The Illini will practice Friday afternoon at 4 p.m., followed by the second scrimmage of the spring, which will begin at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. Next week, the Illini will practice Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4 p.m., with the Spring Game contested next Saturday, April 23 at 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.