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Illini Open Spring Drills
Turner's third Illinois squad works out for 2 1/2 hours - 3/24/99
The Fighting Illini opened spring practice for the third time under head coach Ron Turner today on the East practice field of Memorial Stadium under sunny skies with 50 degree temperatures with winds out of the Northwest at 13-15 MPH.
"It was a very good first day of practice," said Turner. "We see a lot of retention from last fall and our players showed business-like enthusiasm. Our players had good intensity, enthusiasm, and execution."
Practicing without pads on the first day of workouts, the team executed many drills including seven-on-seven action. One-on-one drills were also emphasized in addition to the individual position drills.
Among the 80-plus Illini on the field today were nearly 20 redshirt freshmen competing for playing time at every position. Also making their Illini debuts today were defensive backs coach Chris Green, a former UI standout from 1988-91, and receivers coach Robert Jackson.
"Overall we were pleased with what we saw today," said Turner. "The players had good focus and executed well."
The Illini will hold their second workout of the spring tomorrow at 3:45 p.m.
