Illini Debut 2003 Squad in Rantoul
August 11, 2003 | Football
Aug. 11, 2003
The University of Illinois football had its first two-a-day session on Monday on the opening day of Camp Rantoul. The morning practice was a full-padded, intense workout with a large amount of live-hitting action, followed by the afternoon in shells.
THE RANTOUL EXPERIENCE: Few fans know of the amount of work and equipment that goes into putting on a "Camp Rantoul." The finished product is a smoothly-run 12-day workout sessions that enables the Illini to prepare for the 2003 season. But for that to happen, the people behind the scenes have to step up their game as well. Members of the football operations, sports medicine, strength and conditioning, equipment and sports information staffs are all members of the 160-man travel party that live with the coaches and athletes. Preparations by Director of Football Operations Lloyd Richards began almost a year ago, but the rest of the staff had only 24 hours to move their entire operation 20 miles down the road.
Following the Bears' preseason game at midnight Saturday night, the Illini support staff began packing up the weight room, finishing at 3 p.m. the following day. After Sunday's morning practice, the crew loaded up two semi trucks with the rest of the needed equipment. Here is "Rantoul by the Numbers."
160 - Members in the travel party
10,000 - Square feet in the Rantoul Weight Tent
24,000 - Rolls of Athletic Tape
100 - Pounds of steak consumed during Meal #1
15 - Tons in the weight room
SPOTLIGHT ON THE DEFENSIVE ENDS: Illinois' most experienced group on defense is led by seniors Derrick Strong and Mike O'Brien. Strong is a preseason first team All-Big Ten selection by Street and Smith's and Lindy's and is coming off a year in which he led the squad in tackles for loss (12), sacks (5) and quarterback hurries (7). On the other end is O'Brien who had a career year in 2002, finishing with 51 tackles, 11 TFL's and three sacks.
"Based on what people have been telling me this is the first time in three years that they've both been healthy and ready to go for camp," defensive line coach Donnie Thompson said. "They bring a wealth of experience and they're both very explosive players. They compare to the bookend type of guys I've had in the past at other schools who are now in the NFL, so we're talking about two possible NFL guys. I'm looking forward to seeing them perform for everyone at Memorial Stadium."
Backing up Strong and O'Brien are sophomore Scott Moss, redshirt freshman Zach Gray, senior Lee Robinson and freshman Jay Ramshaw.
"We've got a bunch of guys battling for the back-up spots in the rotation. We've got Scott (Moss), Zach (Gray), and Lee (Robinson) backing up and doing a nice job. We've got three guys battling for two and positions then we've got Jay (Ramshaw) who's getting better, so we've got some depth at the position."
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: The Illini began the first day of Camp Rantoul on Monday, day one of 12 in the Village. Due to NCAA regulations, the squad cannot participate in double sessions on consecutive days, so Tuesday's practice will take place at 8:40 a.m. Here is the schedule for the upcoming days:
Tues., Aug. 12 8:40 a.m. Practice #8
Wed., Aug. 13 8:40 a.m. Practice #9
3:30 p.m. Practice #10
Thurs., Aug. 14 8:40 a.m. Practice #11
Fri., Aug. 15 8:40 a.m. Practice #12
3:30 p.m. Practice #13
