Illinois is set to take on Wisconsin Saturday at 2:30 p.m. as part of its annual Homecoming festivities. The game will be televised by Big Ten Network.
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Opening statement:
"Well it's great to be back, we had a pretty productive last week. I think with recruiting and with going out there and just practicing, doing a lot of quality control, inside type staff room type stuff, getting out on the road, practice Friday morning at 6 in the morning which was good. It think it was about 40 degrees out there so it got us a chance to get a little bit acclimated to some cold weather. Then today we'll go to practice; we'll practice this afternoon. We spent about three days, used this bye week a little bit more in preparation of Wisconsin than we've done in the past. You know, we want to take advantage of that. So you know, ready to go. Hopefully we have a good week of practice here. Today we'll practice it'll be like a Tuesday, Tuesday will be like a Wednesday, Wednesday will be like a Thursday, Thursday will be a normal Thursday then Friday of course and then it's Homecoming so we're looking forward to a lot of people to come back and you know, see what we're all about."
On injuries:
"Josh [Ferguson] I think is very questionable, Jamal [Milan] I think he won't play but he's getting closer. Mikey [Dudek] won't play, [Justin Hardee] we're going to let him run around a little today and see but I think he's very, very doubtful. I think we've got everybody else back. Geronimo [Allison] is good, he went through all the tests, and it was a good week to get the bye week especially for him. So he'll be ready to go. Marchie [Murdock] doesn't look good. He has not gotten better. I should say, he's gotten better, but not game ready so if he's not ready to go today and tomorrow I doubt very much he'll be there."
On improvements in Dawuane Smoot's performance:
"I think it's really a credit to him, number one. He's gotten himself a lot better. I think it's a real credit to Aaron Hillmann and his staff. He's playing pretty hard and I think with the way we're practicing it really helps him out; we're not beating him up during the week. I think he's just more physical. You can see how much weight he's gained. The strength level is way different than it was when he was a freshman. I think it goes back, you kind of wish you would have been able to redshirt him and Chunky [Clements] you know they're juniors, they're really kind of sophomores out there and really playing well but I know why. It would have been nice to have those guys for another two years but they're just getting into their bodies."
On Josh Ferguson's road to recovery:
"He had an AC sprain. Everybody heals differently so it's just one of those things, make sure he's right. He's getting all the treatment and he's doing all the right things; today he'll be jogging a little bit more so he can feel comfortable with it. I think it's a week-to-week thing; he's just got to feel comfortable. Those running backs, I think people look at those guys, and they get hit on almost every single play. When you look at either the pass protection or running; they're blocking."
On getting to interact with the Illini community:
"Well the quad's been great for me; I just like going out there. That's why you're in college football; you meet more people. You go out there and you got people coming up, talking about coming to the games, 'Coach, I've already got tickets' and they follow you. You know, there's different segments where we go on the quad that really have nothing to do with football so I go up to those. I met some women's rugby players the other day, and it's just what college football is all about. There are some other things that you're able to do but it's just nice when you go through the airport and people are yelling out 'I-L-L' in an airport that's not in Illinois. I think that's kind of neat, people coming up to you who really enjoy watching this football team. There's excitement out there."
On the upcoming game against Wisconsin:
"They're throwing the ball a lot more than I can ever remember. Their offensive line, they've got some young guys up front; they've got three red-shirt freshmen that are starting and they're big kids, they're typical Wisconsin guys. You see Clement on the sidelines and that perks you up a little because of how good that player is. I think the defense is really well coached. Dave [Aranda] has done an unbelievable job with those kids there. They're fun to watch, I think they've given up nine touchdowns in six games. Our guys are really going to have to be alert."
