Training camp - Practice #21

quhawks12 · Aug 23, 2012, 11:46 AM

Secondary depth taking a hit already...not good:

Quote:

Jeremy Werner ‏@WernerConnectFM
#illini Tim Beckman said use of Terry Hawthorne on offense will depennd on his health. Had ankle sprain recently and has history of injuries

Quote:

Jeremy Werner ‏@WernerConnectFM
With Supo Sanni and Steve Hull limited with injuries, Pat Nixon-Youman and Earnest Thomas are earning first team reps at safety. #illini

I guess this might go in today's practice thread?? - Thanks Dan.

256ILLINI · Aug 23, 2012, 11:58 AM

Yikes about Hawthorne.

I'm optimistic that PNY and Big Ern will get the job done at safety

Groundhogday · Aug 23, 2012, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 256ILLINI

Yikes about Hawthorne.

I'm optimistic that PNY and Big Ern will get the job done at safety

That duo might be the least athletic pair of safeties in the B1G. Ouch. Thomas has marginal athleticism for a B1G safety, and PNY at best has SS speed. Hopefully Thomas has started to develop an understanding of the position, but it would be a huge, HUGE hit if we didn't have Hull and Sanni. Even losing one or the other would be a pretty big hit.

Safety has to now be considered a position of major concern. We have been down this road before.

quhawks12 · Aug 23, 2012, 12:14 PM

I like Thomas a lot as a player. But, I think he would be better off rotating this year with Hull to get his feet wet.

PNY is S-L-O-W for a B1G safety. No fault of his own the dude has had a ton of injuries. Would of liked to of seen him healthy.

Funny thing is Hull and Sanni are no burners themselves so maybe we do end up ok??

256ILLINI · Aug 23, 2012, 12:16 PM

Marginal athleticism for a big 10 safety? Does that mean he's in a wheelchair?

quhawks12 · Aug 23, 2012, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 256ILLINI

Marginal athleticism for a big 10 safety? Does that mean he's in a wheelchair?

No it means he's a linebacker or a "star"

256ILLINI · Aug 23, 2012, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quhawks12

No it means he's a linebacker or a "star"

I was just kidding. The big ten is slow, therefore someone is a wheelchair would be considered marginally athletic

Groundhogday · Aug 23, 2012, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quhawks12

I like Thomas a lot as a player. But, I think he would be better off rotating this year with Hull to get his feet wet.

PNY is S-L-O-W for a B1G safety. No fault of his own the dude has had a ton of injuries. Would of liked to of seen him healthy.

Funny thing is Hull and Sanni are no burners themselves so maybe we do end up ok??

Sanni has very good speed, just doesn't always get a great jump on plays and doesn't always take good angles. Hull has very good speed for a strong safety. His weakness has always been tackling.

Hull and Sanni weren't going to be the most athletic safeties, but would probably be in the middle of the pack for the B1G.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 256ILLINI

I was just kidding. The big ten is slow, therefore someone is a wheelchair would be considered marginally athletic

I think you are overplaying the stereotype. Thomas wasn't athletic enough to play safety for VK and at least early in his career VK said he had trouble playing in space. As has been noted, PNY is extremely slow for a safety and is very undersized to boot. He tries hard and knows the defense, but just doesn't have the size or wheels... might have been a very good CB if not for the serious injuries.

Dan · Aug 23, 2012, 04:47 PM

IlliniProductionsHD

Dan · Aug 23, 2012, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Congrats to Mike Martin for getting "de-striped" today! Go #Illini !!!

http://twitter.com/coachbeckman

Dan · Aug 23, 2012, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Small #illini note: Players + coaches don't wear shoes in fball facilities (unless working out). Beckman wants them to treat it like "home"

http://twitter.com/WernerConnectFM

txillini · Aug 23, 2012, 07:31 PM

No shoes? Wow. I knew he was hardcore but that's really intense. I'm assuming it's like a no shoes allowed in the house type thing.

DrewD007 · Aug 23, 2012, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by txillini

No shoes? Wow. I knew he was hardcore but that's really intense. I'm assuming it's like a no shoes allowed in the house type thing.

Did you assume that after reading the second half of the tweet that he wants the players to treat it as home?

Dan · Aug 23, 2012, 08:44 PM

Tim Beckman (from the video a few posts up)-

"Well I think we're pretty good up front (on defense), but again we haven't played a game yet this year. So we'll see how good we are when we go out and play against a team that's going to throw the ball about 60 times a game."

AHSIllini32 · Aug 23, 2012, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by txillini

No shoes? Wow. I knew he was hardcore but that's really intense. I'm assuming it's like a no shoes allowed in the house type thing.

I think it's more of a, "take it easy and relax kinda thing". More a lax environment.

txillini · Aug 23, 2012, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrewD007

Did you assume that after reading the second half of the tweet that he wants the players to treat it as home?

Depends. Is he a shoes off in the house to protect the floors kind of guy? Or is he let's hang out barefoot? I'm going with the former based on his personality although it could go either way.

Groundhogday · Aug 23, 2012, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by txillini

Depends. Is he a shoes off in the house to protect the floors kind of guy? Or is he let's hang out barefoot? I'm going with the former based on his personality although it could go either way.

That is my read as well. If he was a "you can relax and go barefoot" guy, then players would be allowed rather than required to go barefoot. Plus he just doesn't seem like a bean-bag-chair-and-let's-go-barefoot kind of guy.

Groundhogday · Aug 23, 2012, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Illlini's [sic] Brown focusing on football, leadership

Already named to the watch lists of five national awards, Brown might have already done enough to change public perception. Meanwhile, he has impressed coach Tim Beckman by better controlling his emotions this fall.

“You learn something new everyday,’’ Brown said. “This spring and summer has been a great time for me to mature as a person.

“I needed to work on it. Nobody can push you to do something unless you want to do it. It’s definitely something I’ve been trying to improve. It’s definitely the next piece. It’s not the last piece. You’re never fully complete. You have to keep adding pieces.’

Supinie

Quote:

Illinois tight ends coach likes his depth

Illinois assistant Alex Golesh says he inherited some wealth when he followed coach Tim Beckman from Toledo to Champaign to coach tight ends.

Depth is a concern for Illinois at several position groups. His isn't one of them.

"The old staff did a really good job recruiting at that spot," Golesh said. "I'm hopefully going to look like a really good coach. … Good players will make you look that way."

Chicago Tribune: Kane

Dan · Aug 23, 2012, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Injuries in secondary force exploration of options

Good news came in the form of senior cornerback Terry Hawthorne's return to practice this week after missing time with a sprained ankle.

However, while Hawthorne joined starters Justin Green and rover Ashante Williams on the field Thursday, safeties Steve Hull and Supo Sanni remained limited or out of action.

The attrition has thrust senior Pat Nixon-Youman (three career starts) and sophomore Earnest Thomas (six career tackles) into the starting lineup for the time being.

Fletcher Page

quhawks12 · Aug 24, 2012, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Groundhogday

Plus he just doesn't seem like a bean-bag-chair-and-let's-go-barefoot kind of guy.

:laugh: No...no he does not. Classic line GHD!

Groundhogday · Aug 24, 2012, 07:00 AM

I notice that in the scout article they suggest that Hull and Sanni will be ready to play next week. That may or may not be true, but given that both have injuries that have given them problems over a long period of time we would be very lucky if they played most of the season at full speed.

With Eaton Spence and Bentley, we have a couple of young CB with potential to back up the more experienced guys. I wish we had the same thing at safety but it doesn't look like North or Barton are ready to contribute, even as reserves.

AHSIllini32 · Aug 24, 2012, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Groundhogday

I notice that in the scout article they suggest that Hull and Sanni will be ready to play next week. That may or may not be true, but given that both have injuries that have given them problems over a long period of time we would be very lucky if they played most of the season at full speed.

With Eaton Spence and Bentley, we have a couple of young CB with potential to back up the more experienced guys. I wish we had the same thing at safety but it doesn't look like North or Barton are ready to contribute, even as reserves.

The backup S issue could also be a function of us having "experienced" guys ahead of North and Barton whereas at CB the freshman will HAVE to play because we have no one else. It's a good thing they have been able to hold their own as you said.

Groundhogday · Aug 24, 2012, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AHSIllini32

The backup S issue could also be a function of us having "experienced" guys ahead of North and Barton whereas at CB the freshman will HAVE to play because we have no one else. It's a good thing they have been able to hold their own as you said.

I think that is true of Earnest Thomas at SS, but if we had a quality freshman or RS-freshman FS they would be in the mix for playing time.

On the flip side, I haven't heard Jack Ramsey mentioned much at all. I'm assuming that he will be the first CB off the bench, but maybe not.

AHSIllini32 · Aug 24, 2012, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Groundhogday

I think that is true of Earnest Thomas at SS, but if we had a quality freshman or RS-freshman FS they would be in the mix for playing time.

On the flip side, I haven't heard Jack Ramsey mentioned much at all. I'm assuming that he will be the first CB off the bench, but maybe not.

No doubt if one of those young S were "quality" (I'm assuming by quality you are quantifying it in terms of quality for freshman starting) then they'd be in the 2-deep but I also fee like learning the college S position is harder than learning the college CB position coming out of high school.

quhawks12 · Aug 24, 2012, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Groundhogday

On the flip side, I haven't heard Jack Ramsey mentioned much at all. I'm assuming that he will be the first CB off the bench, but maybe not.

You know I haven't heard a word on Ramsey either...good or bad???

Aug 23, 2012, 11:58 AM	#2
256ILLINI Banned Posts: 453	Yikes about Hawthorne. I'm optimistic that PNY and Big Ern will get the job done at safety

Aug 23, 2012, 12:14 PM	#4
quhawks12 Location: Hamilton County, IN Posts: 3,360	I like Thomas a lot as a player. But, I think he would be better off rotating this year with Hull to get his feet wet. PNY is S-L-O-W for a B1G safety. No fault of his own the dude has had a ton of injuries. Would of liked to of seen him healthy. Funny thing is Hull and Sanni are no burners themselves so maybe we do end up ok??

Aug 23, 2012, 12:16 PM	#5
256ILLINI Banned Posts: 453	Marginal athleticism for a big 10 safety? Does that mean he's in a wheelchair?

Aug 23, 2012, 04:47 PM	#9
Dan Admin Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 25,907	IlliniProductionsHD

Aug 23, 2012, 07:31 PM	#12
txillini Posts: 165	No shoes? Wow. I knew he was hardcore but that's really intense. I'm assuming it's like a no shoes allowed in the house type thing.

Aug 23, 2012, 08:44 PM	#14
Dan Admin Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 25,907	Tim Beckman (from the video a few posts up)- "Well I think we're pretty good up front (on defense), but again we haven't played a game yet this year. So we'll see how good we are when we go out and play against a team that's going to throw the ball about 60 times a game."

Aug 24, 2012, 07:00 AM	#21
Groundhogday Posts: 18,085	I notice that in the scout article they suggest that Hull and Sanni will be ready to play next week. That may or may not be true, but given that both have injuries that have given them problems over a long period of time we would be very lucky if they played most of the season at full speed. With Eaton Spence and Bentley, we have a couple of young CB with potential to back up the more experienced guys. I wish we had the same thing at safety but it doesn't look like North or Barton are ready to contribute, even as reserves. __________________ ONLY ORANGE!