At last…GAMEDAY!

Nine months and 13 days since Illinois’ last game — a time filled with five-star recruiting, apartment burglarizing, defensive-coordinator ditching and optimism rising — Ron Zook’s fellas finally take the field today. Good seats, apparently, still available.

If I was a betting man — and I’m not — I might skip trying to pick a winner (Missouri’s a 4.5- to 5-point favorite) and look at the over-under. That’s at 57- to 57.5 points, which is among the highest in the country today. However, the Tigers are proven point-producers while the Illini are improved at every skill position. Plus, don’t forget we’re back to the old rules where the clock doesn’t start until the kick returner catches the ball. Also, the clock doesn’t start immediately on change of possession.

In any case, I’m no betting expert and I didn’t mean to turn this into a dissertation on such. Instead, I wanted to focus on what the Daily Herald intends to supply with its Illini coverage this fall.

We’ll have two stories from St. Louis in Sunday’s paper. Plus, if you check in around 8-9 p.m., I should have an extensive blog entry from the Edward Jones Dome pressbox.

If you’re Jonesin’ for what I wrote heading into this week, here are the links to the new Herald website. It’s a little busy (to put it mildly), but give it a whirl.

Today: Illini open with bowl aspirations

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=29538&src=289

Aug. 31: Illini D, Mizzou offense on collision course:

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=28963&src=289

Aug. 29: Illinois notes (Benn, C.J., etc.)

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=27341&src=289

Aug. 28: Feature on TEs Jeff Cumberland and Michael Hoomanawanui

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=26120&src=289

Aug. 29: A little hoops action, re: Quinton Watkins

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=26908&src=289

Aug. 25: The Official Illinois overview

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=25161&src=289

Let’s get some feedback going here. Keep it clean, but bring it on.

LW

Ollie’s 40? Get outta here

I’m sitting here at 2 in the morning watching “Hoosiers” for the two millionth time. This time, though, I decided to Google the movie and learn a little bit about the players.

Turns out Wade Schenck, the fella who played little Ollie, celebrated his 40th birthday on Tuesday. How can this be? Guess I shouldn’t feel so bad about turning 40 a few months from now.

By the way, according to imdb.com, Ollie had to work to look like a crappy player. He played varsity ball for L&M High in Indiana.

For a terrific story on what has happened to some of the Hickory “players,” go here: http://www.flakmag.com/sports/cook040524.html

Reading this made the movie resonate even more for me.

LW

Illinois’ Aug. 18 scrimmage in Rantoul

For Illinois’ 14th and final day at Camp Rantoul, Ron Zook’s crew conducted a 100-minute scrimmage that was heavy on offense vs. defense and light on special teams. Here are some random thoughts and observations on the scrimmage as well as the camp as a whole.

 1. Juice Williams’ passing is more accurate than last year, but it’s still not good enough to be an above-average Bowl Subdivision quarterback.

Williams completed 9 of 18 passes for 95 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, but those numbers are a little deceiving. Here are the notes I jotted down.
Attempt 1: Completed an out pass (easy completion).
Attempt 2: Slant thrown behind the receiver. This one’s on Juice.
Attempt 3: On a bootleg roll to the left, Williams got off a nice throw with plenty of steam. Jacob Willis nearly made a beautiful diving catch on the sideline. No fault as it was a hard throw and hard catch.
Attempt 4: Stripped in the pocket by DE Jerry Brown. LB Martez Wilson runs in the fumble for a score.
Attempt 4 again: A bootleg right finds TE Mike Hoomanawanui open for a solid gain.
Attempt 5: Another boot has TE Jeff Cumberland uncovered on a short pass, but Juice leads him too far and Cumberland can’t corral it. This one’s on Juice.
Attempt 6: Juice holds onto the ball in the pocket long enough that the official could have called a “sack” (he was in a red jersey and therefore untouchable), but he connects with Brian Gamble over the middle for a nice gain. Good patience shown, though he probably wouldn’t have that much time in a game.
Attempt 7: On the defense’s 11-yard line, Juice short-hops WR Kyle Hudson in the end zone.
Attempt 8: Juice throws incomplete into the end zone as freshman S Nate Bussey breaks it up and could have had a pick.

You get the point. Juice looked better later in the day when the offense started with the ball in the red zone, but there were still as many errant throws as touchdowns. I counted one ball that deserved to count as a drop (through Hudson’s hands in the end zone) and no throwaways.

On the plus side as far as Illinois is concerned, Williams didn’t have all of his weapons at his disposal. Since he didn’t run the option, didn’t scramble and tried perhaps one keeper, the defense didn’t have to account for his all-Big Ten-worthy running ability. That should open up more space in the real games.

2. Rashard Mendenhall is ready to roll. And Daniel Dufrene and Troy Pollard look like they can be suitable backs when Mendenhall needs a break.

Mendenhall rushed 17 times for 108 yards on Saturday. Illinois stuck to the basic stuff and he didn’t need to flash his speed, but he has more than enough power to be a load to bring down. Oh, and there wasn’t a hint of a fumble.
Dufrene rushed 20 times for 60 yards, mostly against the first-string defense, while Pollard went 7 times for 53 yards and a hard-nosed 2-yard score (when the “3s” were matched up). Pollard has some wiggle and he’s small enough (5-8?) that it’s hard to find him behind his linemen.

3. Joe Morgan lived up to the coaches’ expectations. And Brian Gamble, after just six days as a receiver, might already be a crucial part of the team.

Morgan, the sophomore wideout from Canton, Ohio made his catches count Saturday as he posted 3 receptions for 106 yards and 2 scores. His first TD came against the first-string defense as he sprinted up the sideline, didn’t get bothered by S Justin Harrison’s desperate diving breakup attempt, caught the ball and raced most of the way for the 80-yard score.
Later, working with the 1s, Morgan twisted his body in traffic to catch Juice Williams’ rifled 6-yard touchdown pass.

Gamble caught 5 passes for 81 yards and 2 touchdowns as a slot receiver. While Zook promised Saturday that injured freshman Arrelious Benn (shoulder) will return for Monday’s practice, the prognosis isn’t as good for sophomore Chris James. If CJ needs knee surgery, then Gamble will vie with junior Will Judson to start in the slot when Illinois goes four-wide.

4. While Illinois has a pair of pass-rushing savants in DEs Jerry Brown and Will Davis, they’re not taking time from junior Derek Walker any time soon.

The Glenbard East product abused the second-string line with 5 tackles for loss for 28 yards (including 2 “sacks”) during Saturday’s scrimmage. He has pushed himself into the 270-pound area while retaining his quickness, so he’s equally stout against the run and the pass. There are whispers that he could be worthy of the NFL when he’s done at Illinois.

5. Some injury news. In addition to Benn and James (see Point 3), Illinois didn’t projected starters FB Russ Weil (ankle) and CB Travon Bellamy (shoulder) along with highly touted freshman defensive tackle Josh Brent (strained knee).

6. If Bellamy isn’t available for the Sept. 1 opener against Missouri and beyond, then it’s a good thing sophomore CB Dere Hicks chose to switch back to defense. Hicks, who tried out at wide receiver during spring ball, has taken advantage of Bellamy’s injury to do quality work at Camp Rantoul. That included his 15-yard INT return for a score on Saturday. Between Vontae Davis, Hicks and soph Chris Duvalt, the Illini appear to be covered at corner.

7. Illinois tried just 2 punts during the meat of Saturday’s scrimmage. Considering sophomore walk-on Jared Bosch took the first one and freshman transfer Anthony Santella took the second one, does that mean sophomore incumbent Kyle Yelton is out of the picture?

I watched roughly 20 percent of Illinois’ practices to this point. When the punters took center stage, Santella displayed the most hang time and consistency. Bosch seemed most likely to uncork a boomer one time, then a scraggy punt the next time. Yelton looked a little better than last year, but his punts just seem to die.

OK, that’s enough stuff. Check out the Daily Herald’s Sunday edition for a more conventional story on the scrimmage.

LW

Illini hoops adds Mike Davis

Illinois fans have waited a long time for their favorites to dig into the Class of 2008 and pull out a gem. Will this satisfy while awaiting decisions from Darius Miller (No. 23 nationally per RSCI) and Scott Suggs (No. 73)?

The Illini made up for lost time this week by grabbing 6-foot-8, 200-pound combo forward Mike Davis out of T.C. Williams Remember the Titans High School in Alexandria, Va.

But instead of joining Illinois in the fall of 2008 after a year of prep school, though, Davis will head to campus Monday and be a part of the monstrous Class of 2007. This is apparently a Tracy Webster find, as he pegged Davis early and kept involved even when it looked like Davis wouldn’t attend a Division I school this fall.

Davis’ high school coach, Ivan Thomas, served as an assistant at Schaumburg High School from 1998-2001, so he’s familiar with the Illini program. When I caught up with him Tuesday, he compared Davis’ frame and game to former McDonald’s All-American Brian Cook.

“He’s very smooth,” Thomas said. “He’s laid-back, but he’s a skilled player.”

Since Davis’ slender body has yet to catch up to his athleticism, it’s probably fair to consider him a project rather than an immediate contributor. Though he was a key player on a 25-4 team that spent nearly all season at No. 1 in the Washington Post rankings (a teammate signed with Tulsa), Davis earned just second-team all-Metropolitan honors from the newspaper.

Of the 10 players on WaPo’s first team (the guys ranked ahead of Davis), three are headed to Georgetown, two to George Mason and one apiece to Maryland, West Virginia, Pitt, Hampton and Ball State.

With Davis’ arrival, here’s how Illinois’ roster looks this year (the numbers represent their position):

Seniors:
3/4 Brian Randle
5 Shaun Pruitt
2 Chris Hicks (walk-on)

Juniors:
1 Chester Frazier
3/4 Rodney Alexander
3 Calvin Brock
2 Jamar Smith (likely redshirt for 07-08)
3 Steve Holdren (walk-on)
1/2 Trent Meacham (walk-on)

Sophomores:
5 Brian Carlwell
4/5 C.J. Jackson (walk-on)

Freshmen:
4 Richard Semrau (received redshirt for 2006-07)
1/2 Demetri McCamey
2 Quinton Watkins
4/5 Mike Tisdale
4 Bill Cole
3/4 Mike Davis
1/2 Jeffrey Jordan (walk-on)

That’s a lot of guys running around the practice floor this fall. Compared to last year, when there were times when the Illini couldn’t scare up 10 guys for practice, this will be a competitive bonanza for Bruce Weber and his coaching staff.

On the other hand, this causes a scholarship crunch in the near-future. Presuming Jamar Smith is told to redshirt this season by the school’s administration, Illinois has two open rides for the Class of 2008, three for 2009 and one for 2010 (because Waukegan’s Jereme Richmond has committed to take the other projected slot).

More on Davis and the Big Ten schedule in Wednesday’s Daily Herald.

LW

Northern Illinois starts basketball series with SIU

Southern Illinois, fresh from its run to the NCAA’s Sweet Sixteen last March, recently released its non-conference basketball schedule for 2007-08. Who’ll be on hand when the Salukis kick off the season on Saturday, Nov. 17? Ricardo Patton’s Northern Illinois Huskies. It’ll be the first game between the schools since Nov. 30, 1996.

While it shouldn’t be a particularly fair fight, especially as Patton attempts to rebuild, it’s a terrific series for both sides. NIU needs a stronger non-conference schedule against teams with some name recognition, while SIU needs games in the greater Chicago area for its alumni base as well as recruiting purposes.

Hopefully this becomes a staple. The Huskies also need to look into games with Illinois State, Bradley and anybody else state-wide who’ll give them a shot. They haven’t played ISU since 1959, Western Illinois since 1994 and Bradley since 2004.

New rules affect college basketball recruiting

The craziest three-week sprint in recruiting starts Friday, when coaches will fan out across the country in search of new blood.

In years past, coaches enjoyed virtually one-stop shopping at the giant shoe-sponsored camps. But now, with smaller “skill academies” replacing most camps, there are more places the coaches need to be.

From talking to a handful of Big Ten coaches, it sounds like it has been tougher than ever to plan the coaches’ itineraries. One thing remains certain, though: July will continue to be the most dehumanizing recruiting month on the calendar.

Here’s the NCAA’s official calendar:

July 6-15: Evaluation period

July 16-21: Dead period

July 22-31: Evaluation period

August 1 through Sept. 8: Quiet period

Football recruiting, of course, is quiet until September.   

It starts now…

This is my first post on Joe College*, which seems destined to become the biggest blog in the world within a month. Take a look around. Leave a comment. Drop a suggestion. Come back early and often. As football season gets underway and the academic year unfolds, we’ll try to post daily and feed your desire for news, notes and nonsense about college sports.

(*–not affiliated with St. Joseph’s College, Saint Joseph’s University or the Tom Perrotta novel of the same name.)