Editor’s note: The following is a partial transcript from an Illini Drive interview with head coach Tim Beckman about spring football.

Illini Drive: What are your thoughts on spring practice so far?

Tim Beckman: Well, we’ve gotten 10 practices done thus far, and I’ll tell you what, Wednesday night is student night, and we’re gonna practice and just open up for our students on campus. I talked to a lot of them in February when I was handing out those meals at lunchtime. We’ll buy them some pizza, and it’s just especially opened up for the student body here at the University of Illinois.

ID: How did practicing last week in Chicago go? 

TB: Practice has been going good. We went up to Chicago and practiced up at Gately Field on Friday. It was a great opportunity to go up there and practice in Chicago. Previously we had been practicing here on campus, dealing with the weather a little bit, but gotten plenty of stuff done in our indoor (facility) and also at Memorial Stadium. 

ID: You had some players enroll early. Have you gotten them out on the practice field yet? 

TB: Yeah. We had 10 enrollees that started in January. Five freshman and five junior college football players. It’s been a great opportunity for them to step out on the field and to perform as Illini. They definitely — Martize Barr and Abe Cajuste  — have really showed as junior college football players, along with Eric Finney, that they’re very, very capable. Darius Mosely and Dillan Cazley are two corners from here in the state of Illinois that have done a very, very good job, too.  

ID: Do you think any of those players could compete for starting time next year? 

TB: As we look out onto the practice fields now, just looking on the defensive side of the ball, we’ve got — out of our two deep on defense — 14 of our football players, that this is their first spring to go through. So there’s no question that there’s gonna be some younger players playing for us next year. Some of those young men that I mentioned earlier have a great chance to step on the football field and compete for a lot of playing time. 

ID: Due to the addition of so many new players and a new coaching staff, how have the guys adjusted to personnel such as Coach Cubit?

TB: It’s been excellent. Really haven’t missed a beat. I think offensively we’ve progressed considerably more then we were at this time last year. Defensively, our players know the scheme and know the staff here, so I think we’ve definitely progressed forward if you look at this time compared to last year at this time.

ID: Can you talk about your expectations for new freshman quarterback Aaron Bailey? 

TB: I’ll tell you what, Aaron Bailey — I’ve been around this profession for a long time, and this was really the 25th year that I’ve been out recruiting. Aaron Bailey’s a special individual. Not just a great football player, but a great person, very mature for his age. I know he understands what it takes to win, of course, because Bolingbrook’s been such a great program in this state — he won a state championship two years ago for them. Aaron Bailey will come in ready and prepared to compete at this level and we’ll see how it all works out. It’s awful hard as a freshman to play, but he’s definitely got the capabilities and the background that’s proved that he can be successful.