UL Mid-Week Practice Report for Illinois
Tyrell Fenroy is nine rushing yards away from becoming the Cajuns all-time leader
Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns spent half of their open week recovering from Hurricane Gustav. The Cajuns did not practice until five days after the game at Southern Miss. The team hit the practice field on Thursday after school resumed and worked on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The team started its normal game-week preparation with a practice on Sunday. After Monday’s off day, the team resumed workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Cajuns will leave as scheduled on Friday afternoon for Champaign, Ill.
Five questions for defensive coordinator Kevin Fouquier...
Q: How did practice go over the last two weeks?
Fouquier: "Last week’s practices were about the Cajuns and the mistakes we made at Southern Miss. It was about getting better and learning from our mistakes. We started to focus on Illinois beginning Sunday. Overall, I thought the team came out with the right attitude.”
Q: Last week it looked like the coaches were really pushing the players?
Fouquier: "We went back to the basics and our fundamentals in order to get better. The tempo (of practice) was fast and the kids worked hard. Nobody had really done anything in five days so we had some tired bodies.”
Q: What do the Cajuns need to do defensively to slow down Illinois’ offense?
Fouquier: "Everyone knows the quarterback is a great athlete and he can throw the ball very well. They also have great wide receivers and an outstanding tailback. The key is to contain the ball and tackle well.”
Q: The Cajuns have never faced Illinois, but played their Big Ten rival Minnesota several years ago, are their similarities?
Fouquier: "(Just like Minnesota) they have some real big guys up front on both sides of the ball. Those big bodies are also athletic. (Illinois) wasn’t in the Rose Bowl last year on accident. Those athletes can really stretch the field. We still have 10 more games to go, but Illinois is probably going to be the most athletic team we face.”
Q: After missing week one, middle linebacker Brenton Burkhalter should be back on the field this week. What does his presence mean to the defense?
Fouquier: “He means so much to our defense. He’s our field general, making the calls and setting the alignments. Hopefully he’ll fix some of the things we didn’t do properly last time out. It all starts with your middle linebacker and he’s the guy everybody looks toward to get going.”
Official Louisiana-Lafayette Injury Report (as of Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008): Brad Bryant, OL (back – questionable); Brenton Burkhalter, LB (calf – questionable); Lanier Coleman, DL (knee – probable); Richie Falgout, WR (abdomen – probable); Nasser Jamal, OL (knee – out for season*); Junior Jean, DB (ankle – probable); Chris Lanaux, DL (shoulder – out); Jawanza Mitchell, WR (ill – out); Maurice Rolle, DB (wrist – probable); Caleb Rubin, WR (shoulder – doubtful); Derrick Smith, WR (ankle – doubtful).
*Nasser Jamal had surgery on Monday to repair a torn ACL and will miss the entire 2008 season
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