Aug. 12, 2005

- Post-practice with Coach Ron Zook
- Wide Receiver Jody Ellis

Illinois football players took advantage of a short, unplanned break halfway through practice to recharge and finish the seventh day of practice with a bang in short-yardage and goal line situations. A brief, but strong thunderstorm rolled through Rantoul around 5 p.m., with lightning forcing the players off the fields for 10 minutes. Once the cell passed, the Illini retook the turf and capped Friday evening's practice with an energy-filled session of short-yardage situations.

"I like how they got after it in the short yardage," Illinois coach Ron Zook said. "Today was the first time we've really gone live in the short yardage and in the goal line situations. The competition was good. Both sides rose up in a couple two-minute situations we had scheduled to do last night but didn't because of the weather.

"They're a little tired," Zook said of his players' condition after the team's first two-a-day practice on Thursday. "I'll be anxious to see how we do tomorrow night at the scrimmage. We probably have more football in right now than they'd ever have in a game."

New Wide Receiver:
Fans watching Illini practices have noticed a new and slightly odd number running routes and catching passes the past few days. Redshirt freshman Jody Ellis, who sports No. 29, recently made the switch to wide receiver from safety. Ellis played receiver at Evanston Township High School, so the transition has been fairly smooth.

"Coach Locksley has been asking me since spring to come over and play offense," Ellis said. "Tuesday, Coach Zook came and got me after our meetings in the morning and asked me if I wanted to come over there. He said he was looking for someone to make plays."

Ellis is playing some catch-up to the other receivers, most of whom had spring practices and a few sessions during training camp to begin to understand the offense.

"(The playbook is) pretty big right now," Ellis said. "At night I try to keep my eyes open. I fall asleep in the playbook every now and then. But it's coming to me really quick."

Zook likes what he sees from the young receiver, as well as the potential yet to be realized.

"He's got a chance to be pretty good," Zook said. "He's got a lot of natural ability, which we thought he did. When he learns what to do, he's going to be the kind of guy who can make some plays for us.

Jim Grabowski, Brian Barnhart and Steve Kelly provide Illinois Football play all season long on the Illini Sports Radio Network as well as on-line at www.fightingillini.com and CoachRonZook.com.

Scrimmage Saturday:
The eighth day of Illini training camp will come in the form of a controlled scrimmage at Rantoul High School, Saturday night, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free; it is open to the general public. The scrimmage will be without special teams play because of a special teams scrimmage Saturday morning at 8. Saturday night, fans will see anywhere from 125-150 offensive plays, including some situational action as well as 11-on-11 team work.

Illini Announce Changes to Weekly Zook Radio Show:
This season, fans in the listening areas of 54 stations will be able to hear Illinois head coach Ron Zook take their calls every Thursday from 7-8 p.m. for his weekly radio show. Five new stations join the statewide Illini Sports Network. New to Illinois' affiliate list are WJBM-AM, 1480, Jerseyville; WLPO-AM, 1220, LaSalle-Peru; and WBBA-FM, 97.5, Pittsfield. Fans in Rockford will once again be able to listen to Illini games and coaches' shows on WROK-AM, 1440. Illinois' new affiliate in Chicago is WIND-AM, 560.