Illinois football held its second scrimmage of the spring Saturday, and a few positives stuck out for the team.

For one, the fans are excited enough about next season to spend Mom’s weekend at the stadium watching practice.

Also, there might be something to be excited about.

Junior running back Pierre Thomas scored twice, on a two-yard and a one-yard run.

Sophomore Frank Lenti Jr. connected with redshirt-freshman quarterback Kisan Flakes for a six-yard touchdown.

“If you go back and take out some of the passes that were missed, the offense probably had a big day,” head coach Ron Zook said. “I thought we ran the ball well and I thought defensively we played with a lot of intensity and emotion.”

Flakes and sophomore Tim Brasic have emerged as the frontrunners for the starting quarterback position, although Zook won’t say much about who he’s leaning towards.

Flakes rushed four times for 60 yards and was 5-of-9 passing. Brasic rushed once for 15 yards and completed eight of 15 passes.

“It’s going to be hard, because every day they come out, one guy might do a little bit better than he did yesterday,” Zook said. “The only reason to have an order right now is just for reps.”

Marcus Mason rushed 11 times for 53 yards. Lenti Jr. caught five passes for 24 yards and DaJuan Warren caught three balls for 43 yards.

J Leman had nine tackles to lead the defense.

While Zook is not shy about admitting that things started slow in the Illini’s 15-session spring season, he’s happy about where the team is moving.

“I told them that you aren’t going to win every play,” Zook said. “But you need to learn that when something bad happens, keep playing. When something good happens, keep playing. They want to please us and we’re pushing and getting after them.”

Looking off the field, Zook saw something else he liked. The coach has emphasized how much he wants Illini fans to be a part of the team, and the turnout to see practice at 9:30 on a Saturday morning showed the fans are as happy to see the new coach as he is to see them.

“I think it makes them feel good that the fans care about them, about the team and about being part of it,” Zook said.

Football has one more week of spring practice. The team practices today, Wednesday and Friday at 4 p.m.

The spring game is scheduled for 1 p.m. on April 23.