With dozens of high school football coaches watching, the Illini held their second practice of the spring season, picking up the intensity after Tuesday’s drill-heavy opening session.

While the additional people crowded the sidelines and several players took a moment to talk to their old high school coaches, Illinois coach Ron Zook said the coaching clinic that brought them to town paid off for both the Illini and the high school staffs.

“This is their university also, we try to bring them in here, help them, show them ideas,” Zook said of the coaches, who were in Champaign for a clinic. “It’s good for all of us.

“It helps (recruiting) from the standpoint of they know our program. They know who we are, they know how we coach.”

Sophomore tight end Michael Hoomanawanui, who’s former high school coach and dad, Isy, was on hand for the clinic, said the crowd helped create a more intense atmosphere than on a normal afternoon.

“There’s a crowd, and whenever there’s a crowd you want to perform at your best,” Hoomanawanui said. “I’m not saying we did that today, but it’s only the second day. Hopefully we’ll continue to make strides.”

Zook said the point of practice was focusing on installing new plays and tweaking existing ones. The Illini spent significant time running plays, while the team spent most of Tuesday’s workout broken down by position.

While Zook said the team still looked rough, he was happy with the progress for this point in the season.

“We’re installing like we’ve got a bunch of guys who’ve played a lot of football,” Zook said. “They’re still young, but that’s no excuse. We’re going to push and push; it’s their responsibility to learn what we’re trying to get accomplished.”

Two positions that worked especially hard were the tight ends and running backs, who with thinned-out rosters have been getting extra reps. Hoomanawanui said the additional practice is draining now, but will pay off when the Illini hit the field in the fall.

“You’re tired, but it’s going to help you in the long run because you’re getting a lot of reps,” Hoomanawanui said. “You’re working a lot harder, but the weather’s not as bad so you’re not as tired.”

Junior running back Rashard Mendenhall, who will be expected to carry his position next season after the graduations of E.B. Halsey and Pierre Thomas, said he was impressed by the intensity he saw from Illinois’ defense as they picked off passes. He said he expects to see the same energy when the team has its first full-pads practice on Saturday.

“You always look forward to a little competition,” Mendenhall said. “The defense is already bumping and grinding, so we’re ready to go.”

Signees Show Up

Amid a sea of high school coaches and underclassmen recruits, Illinois signee and Bloomington Central Catholic senior Josh Brent stood on the sidelines yesterday watching practice.

Brent said he came in hopes of getting a head start on how things are going when summer practices start.

“I basically came out to talk to some of the players, get reunited with the team, see how some of the guys are doing,” Brent said. “I didn’t have anything else to do today, so it was nice to come down to campus and try to get a head start as much as possible.”

Ticket Sales Spike

Two weeks after season tickets became available, the athletic department announced more than 3,000 new season tickets have been sold for the horseshoe section of Memorial Stadium’s south end.

During construction, horseshoe and student section season tickets are available for $60.

Tickets can be purchased at the Assembly Hall box office by calling 1-866-ILLINI-1 or at www.fightingillini.com.