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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Following practice on Tuesday evening, Fighting Illini head coach Lovie Smith talked with Jori Parys about naming captains, the start of the Lovie Era and how much the team has changed since he took over in March.
"There's an awful lot that goes into it," Smith said of naming season captions on Tuesday. "To be selected is a pretty big honor. That's why we're excited about Wes Lunt and Joe Spencer on the offensive side of the football. Of course, Dawuane Smoot. And Hardy Nickerson has only been here for about a month so to be selected captain is pretty big."
The Illini open the season on Saturday with Murray State coming to Memorial Stadium (2:30 p.m. CT on BTN).
"Hopefully it's a new day of Illinois football," Smith said of Saturday's opener. "It's a new football team. The 2016 version hasn't lost a game. They've done everything we've asked them to do and we expect big things."
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