Illinois wrapped up its summer practices Tuesday, and head coach Brad Underwood has high expectations for his squad, even after an underwhelming debut year with the program and only having four returning players.
“You talk about the cliché, ‘The best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores.’ It’s also the same thing from the first year to the second year in a program. You have veterans who know and understand what’s expected,” Underwood said on Tuesday. “This group has been very, very good at that this summer.”
Strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher has been a vital reason for so many of these transitions and improvements that fans see year to year.