New talent dominates scrimmage

RANTOUL – In his neverending quest for playmakers, Illinois football coach Ron Turner found a few Saturday night.

Three Illini in particular – Rocky Harvey, Brian Hodges and Steve Fitts – showed off for the scrimmage crowd of about 1,000 at Rantoul High School's Bill Walsh Field.

Freshman running back Harvey, playing with the second team, was the leading rusher with 13 carries for 82 yards. Harvey's big play came in the second half of the scrimmage, when he raced 45 yards to the 1. After losing 2 yards on the next play, he went in from the 3 for the second string's only touchdown.

Harvey had a burst of speed in the scrimmage unmatched by any of the other Illini runners. Each time he performs like he did Saturday, Harvey makes it more difficult for the UI coaches to keep him off the field.

After a solid spring, the Illinois coaches expected big things out of converted quarterback Hodges. The tight end missed a couple early practices while he completed summer academic work. Hodges has played catchup the rest of training camp.

Hodges had two of the longest gains in the scrimmage. He took Kurt Kittner's first-half pass 37 yards. He could have gone farther but bobbled the ball a bit while looking downfield.

On the final play of the night, starting quarterback Mark Hoekstra connected with Hodges for a 35-yard touchdown. It was the No. 1 unit's lone score.

"We struggled a little bit offensively," Hoekstra said. "We ended on a high note, which was good. I think this offense needs to expect a little bit more. We're executing a lot better than we were a year ago. We're doing the right things."

Freshman punter Steve Fitts, given the starting job the day he signed, proved he'll be ready for the opener at Washington State. The South Carolina native averaged 40.1 yards on 10 kicks. He boomed one 52 yards and another 50.

"Which was not surprising," Turner said. "He responded like we thought he would."

The two-hour scrimmage included 55 plays for the No. 1 offense. The first team took turns with the No. 2 unit, each starting their drives at the 30.

"We had guys today do some things positively that they had been doing in camp," Turner said. "That's what we wanted to see. We had some guys do negatively tonight that they hadn't done in camp. I want to find that stuff out now before we go to Washington State."

Hoekstra finished the night 13 of 25 for 156 yards. Freshman Kittner hit 12 of 25 for 131 yards.

Turner wasn't happy with the early execution by his offense. The players were too tentative, he said.

"One thing that was evident tonight: We've got some athletes," Turner said. "We need to come out play with the confidence of a team that has some athletes and has some playmakers.

"The offense came out like a boxer who was going to feel the guy out for four or five rounds. That's not what we're all about. We've got to come out and say, 'We're pretty darn good, and let's go play.' We need to develop that attitude."

The defense performed better, swarming the backs on run plays and chasing Hoekstra and Kittner on passes. The first two defenses combined for 10 sacks, tackle Garrett Johnson racking up three.

"It was nice to see the defense keeping people out of the end zone," Turner said.

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