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Illinois announces it will start practice, but not have spring game
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Illinois was forced to delay the start of spring practice until it got a head coach and a staff in place following the firing of Bill Cubit.
Lucky for the Illini, Josh Whitman and Lovie Smith acted quickly.
Smith announced the spring practice schedule, which will kick off the first of April. Illinois’ spring practices were initially scheduled to start March 11.
Still, with all that Smith and the new staff has ahead of them, Illinois will not have a spring game. Instead, the Illini will host an open practice on Saturday, April 16.
Smith will also introduce the coaching staff at a press conference on March 22.
Here’s the schedule Illinois will have in April:
| Practice #1 | Friday, April 1 (IHSFCA Coaches Clinic, March 31-April 2) |
| Practice #2 | Saturday, April 2 (IHSFCA Coaches Clinic, March 31-April 2) |
| Practice #3 | Tuesday, April 5 |
| Practice #4 | Wednesday, April 6 |
| Practice #5 | Friday, April 8 |
| Practice #6 | Saturday, April 9 |
| Practice #7 | Tuesday, April 12 |
| Practice #8 | Wednesday, April 13 |
| Practice #9 | Friday, April 15 |
| Practice #10 | Saturday, April 16, 1 p.m. (Open to Public) |
| Practice #11 | Tuesday, April 19 |
| Practice #12 | Wednesday, April 20 |
| Practice #13 | Friday, April 22 |
| Practice #14 | Saturday, April 23 |
| Practice #15 | Tuesday, April 26 |
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.