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| Duke Preston will chat live with fans at 9 p.m. on Thursday. |
The week-long series of live continued Thursday as offensive lineman Duke Preston joined fans (and family) to talk about the upcoming season.
Be sure to check back each night this week as a different member of the Illini joins fans live.
Go Illini!
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| Moderator: Hello everyone. Just to let you know, the schedule has changed a little bit for today, so we're going to have push back the chat to 9:30 p.m. CT. Sorry for the inconvenience, please join us then! |
| Moderator: Sorry we're getting a late start tonight. The team just got back to the hotel from its annual Camp Rantoul Bowling Competition. Duke and the offensive line finished third. The wide receivers took second, and the specialists (kickers/punters/long snappers) regained the title with a first place finish. Individually, long snapper Tyler Keeley won with a score of 203, defeating wide receiver Lonnie Hurst by one pin. |
| Moderator: OK, Duke just walked in so we're ready to get started. |
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| Justin (Albuquerque, N.M): What's up DP?
Being the anchor/leader on the Offensive Line, do you take pride and feel responsible for what E.B. and the rest of the backs do?
Good Luck, and take care of Beutjer for us! Go Illini!
-Justin |
| Duke Preston: We definitely do that. I think back to the 2002 season when Antoneio Harris broke the Illinois single season rushing record. Our line took great pride in him doing that, our job is to let those guys shine, so it's a big deal for us. And don't worry...Beutjer's in good hands. |
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| IlliniDan (Madison): Hi Duke, Good luck this season. Do you like run blocking or pass blocking better and why? Who is looking best of the O-linemen of last year's redshirt freshmen? Thanks. |
| Duke Preston: Run blocking, because you get to get after people a little bit more. As for the redshirt freshmen, I'd say our tackles, James Ryan and Jim Labonte look pretty good. They all look good, but those two stand out. Martin O'Donnell too. They've all taken a lot of steps to improve. Those guys will be a real strong group in the future. |
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| John (Pittsburgh, PA): What personal goals have you set for yourself this year ? |
| Duke Preston: I like to shoot real high. I'd like to be All-Big Ten, an All-American, as far as individually. But my goals are team goals first, and I just want to get wins. If we do, that stuff kind of takes care of itself. |
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| Brian (Peoria): Who are some of your heros? |
| Duke Preston: Definitely my Dad. Watching him out there and having him teach me what it takes to play football. General sports heroes, I'd have to say Muhammad Ali, Tiger Woods, guys that epitomize competitiveness. |
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| Neil, Champaign: First of all, I want to wish you and your teamates the BEST OF LUCK this upcoming season! My question to you is.....how do you feel about the chances of this football team? What is the attitude of the team compared to last year? |
| Duke Preston: I think this team is hungry. Coming off of a season like we had last year, winning is going to mean everything this season. Guys are excited and we're ready to get going. |
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| Jake (Rockford): Duke: Great job and congratulations on receiving your undergraduate degree earlier this year. What type of studies are you moving to now, and what aspect of your game have you worked the hardest to progress for the coming season? |
| Duke Preston: I'm currently in the EPS graduate program, which is educational policy studies. For the football question, I'd have to say overall strength and conditioning to better finish blocks. |
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| Drew (Aiken,SC): Duke, best of luck this season! Among the backup QB's who do you see as the one coming in to lead the offense if Beutjer gets injured? which I hope does not happen!! |
| Duke Preston: I think all three of them look good, in Chris (Pazan), Tim (Brasic) and Brad (Bower). They've all progressed really well and would be good to go if they were called upon. Even the true freshmen, Billy Garza and Kisan Flakes look good and should be exciting in the future. |
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| Eric - Minneapolis: How do you guys turn things aroung this year? Do you think Jon Beutjer coming back will be a key to your success |
| Duke Preston: Yeah, I think Jon brings a lot of consistency and positive leadership to our offense, in terms of the type of athlete he is and the type of guy he is in the huddle. |
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| Z (Decatur, IL): Hey, Duke! Thanks for chatting with us tonight... How did redshirting as a freshman help your career with the Illini? And how do the young guys on the O-line look so far in camp? Good luck this season and GO ILLINI! |
| Duke Preston: I think redshirting was big for me in terms of development, especially getting a chance to learn the offense and become comfortable with it, as well as a chance to mature physically. I look at guys that didn't have the opportunity to redshirt, like Derrick Strong, and how much better he could be now if he was a fifth year senior, so redshirting was definitely a good decision for me and I'm glad I did it. |
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| Z (Decatur, IL): You came to the University of Illinois all the way from San Diego. Why did you choose Illinois? |
| Duke Preston: Growing up, I always wanted to play in the Big Ten. I remember watching Illinois play in the Rose Bowl, I remember the Michigan-Ohio State games, I just love the Big Ten. Illinois was exactly what I was looking for, especially the chance to play in a pro-style offense with Coach Turner and Coach Hiestand. It was the right choice. |
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| Brian (Peoria): How has fall camp been going? |
| Duke Preston: We're progressing. Every team goes through their camps trying to improve and get better. We'll be a much improved team and we'll be ready. Trying to get a team ready to go in such a short time is key, and we've done a good job to this point. We're looking forward to September 4 and opening the season against Florida A&M. |
| Moderator: OK, that's all the time Duke has for questions tonight, but before we let him go he wants to add something... |
| Moderator: Wait, Duke just got a question from his sister, so we've got to take that. |
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| Casie (Indianapolis): Hey Duke - We are so proud of you and all your accomplishments! How do you think starting the year off with 4 straight home games will affect the overall season and team spirit? |
| Duke Preston: Hey Casie and Adam! Getting off to a good start will be important as far as getting us our confidence, especially the young guys. Being at home is great with our families and all the fans in attendance behind us. So playing at home and getting some victories will be something that hopefully we can draw upon throughout the season. And hopefully, you'll take me out somewhere nice to eat after the games! |
| Duke Preston: Thanks for coming on the chat tonight and for all your questions. And thanks for supporting us. We're looking forward to the season and hopefully we'll be able to keep it going through Christmas time, somewhere warm. Thanks again. |
| Moderator: Thanks for the questions everyone. We'll be back in the chat room tomorrow night at 9 p.m. CT with another Illini player. See you then. |
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