The swell of students on campus for the upcoming school year also signals the end of summer training camp for the Illinois football team, as Saturday’s practice marked the end of Camp Rantoul for the squad.
Despite playing mostly in abnormally high temperatures and humidity, Illinois head coach Ron Zook and the coaching staff spoke highly of the effort on display at camp.
“It was hot, but there’s going to be adversity,” Zook said. “There’s going to be adversity in every game, there’s adversity in every year. How we handle the adversity will depend on what kind of football team we’re going to be.”
There were plenty of new faces at the camp, as Zook replaced six assistant coaches on his staff following a 3-9 record in 2009.
In addition to the coaching turnover, redshirt freshman Nathan Scheelhaase has stepped in at quarterback, replacing four-year starter Juice Williams.
“He’s like a sponge, and he’s done it not only for himself, but for everyone,” Zook said of Scheelhaase.
“If you watch him, and someone makes a good play, he’s one of the first to congratulate him.”
Scheelhaase has been working with offensive coordinator Paul Petrino, who is the team’s third offensive coordinator in three years.
After running a spread offense for the last five seasons, Illinois now switches to a pro-style offense under Petrino.
“He’s definitely taught me a lot,” Scheelhaase said of Petrino. “He’s one of those guys that has so much that he knows and so much that he can teach that you just try and take some of it each and every day. I know my knowledge base has grown so much since he’s been here.”
Petrino comes to Illinois from Arkansas, where his Razorbacks were the eighth-highest scoring unit in the nation (37 points per game). The transition from the spread to the pro-style began in the spring, and the final installments of the offense were made at Camp Rantoul.
“He’s got to be one of the best offensive coordinators in the country in my mind just because of the stuff he’s able to explain and how he’s able to explain it,” Scheelhaase said.
With the graduation of Williams and the transfer of sophomore quarterback Jacob Charest, Illinois is left without a quarterback on its depth chart who has ever appeared in a collegiate football game.
Senior wide receiver Eddie McGee, who has played quarterback in the past, took snaps at quarterback during training camp, but is still listed as a wide receiver.
And Scheelhaase, who mainly played on the scout team last season, is eager to play his first down in a collegiate game Sept. 4 against Missouri.
“I think there are always things you don’t really know until you’re out there in the game,” Scheelhaase said. “Everybody has to deal with that at some point. The Tim Tebow’s, the Colt McCoy’s, all those guys were in there at one point taking their first snap.”
Joining Scheelhaase on the offense will be a crowded backfield, including junior running backs Mikel Leshoure and Jason Ford.
Leshoure averaged 6.8 yards per carry for 734 yards, while Ford averaged 6.1 for 588 yards. Both split reps with the first team during training camp.
“I want to be the guy the coaches look to finish the game or get a yard when we need it on fourth-and-one,” Leshoure said. “But at the same time, nowadays it’s hard to have just one guy. You need a committee of guys to take wear and tear off some guys.”
Coaches have praised the intensity level of their players, even with the occasional scuffle breaking out between players during practice.
“They (need to) leave it on the field, which they’ve done,” Zook said. “When they’re hot, being hollered at and being pushed, tempers flare.”
And with regular season practices beginning in Champaign this week, the coaching staff will be looking for that same level of intensity to continue into the season.
“There’s no reason we can’t have a spirited practice every day,” new defensive coordinator Vic Koenning said.
“We’re setting our own limitations on this team. So if everybody lets it loose, take the coaching, go hard and have fun, then we’ll be able to accomplish any goal we have.”