Illini football will begin its spring practice season today, with a workout scheduled for 4 p.m.

The Illini will hold 14 practice sessions over three weeks before capping things off with the annual Spring Game on April 21.

Head coach Ron Zook said the most important aspect of spring practice is getting a chance to see how the strength and conditioning training the team has done for the past several months translates onto the field.

“We’re excited to see the progress we’ve made in the weight room,” Zook said. “We’ve made some great strides there.”

During the two weeks before spring break, the Illini held 6 a.m. workouts to test strength, agility, speed and coordination. Players were divided into eight groups and competed as teams and head-to-head based on position.

“The exciting thing is we just came off a very intense two weeks,” Zook said, “so we’re excited to see the progress we’ve made.”

Zook said he’s been most impressed with the way the team has grown mentally and emotionally since last season. The Illini return all but six starters, including three freshman All-Americans in cornerback Vontae Davis, quarterback Juice Williams and tight end Jeff Cumberland. Two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week J Leman will also return for his fourth season starting at linebacker.

“We’ve made some great strides in maturity,” Zook said. “We’re young, we’re still young, but we’ll see more maturity on the field this spring.”

One of the highlights of spring practice will be a session at St. Rita High School in Chicago. The team will scrimmage there on April 14 at 1 p.m., a week before the official spring game.

“We had a tough season last season,” Zook said, “but we’ve got to win, that’s the next step.”

Check back with DailyIllini.com after the practice for more coverage.