Milo eifler7/20/2023 "I feel like that buzz around the team, once we kind of put the pads back on, every practice I feel like there's some juice and energy because guys missed playing sports," Eifler said. Eifler and the Illini are looking at the moment in front of them. Perhaps that's a conversation for a different day. This could be Eifler's last season in Champaign, though the NCAA has essentially made this season a "free season" that won't count towards the eligibility clock and seniors who elect to return next year won't count towards the 85-player scholarship limit. He's locked in on football and, along with Smith, has praised the potential of this year's team - which Smith has called the best of his tenure. He said he had conversations with Illinois head coach Lovie Smith and Athletic Director Josh Whitman to help ease his concerns. "We had our meetings but now that we're in person, I feel like it's more of an opportunity because that one-on-one interaction, it's better than being on Zoom," Eifler said.Īfter expressing concerns about playing college football amid a pandemic in July, Eifler said his concerns have been addressed and he's happy with the measures the University of Illinois and Big Ten Conference has in place. Still, that in-person instruction is important. As it turns out, Eifler said the mental aspects are key for him to hit that next gear: Play recognition, schemes, tendencies, understanding the offense, the situation and why offenses try to do things a certain way. In-depth film and at-home workouts were the only things available. Instead, Zoom meetings became a way of life with players and coaches spread throughout the country, sheltering in place. Of course, the spring practice in 2019 was the last one that Eifler, the Illini and most of college football as a whole had with most programs canceling spring football this season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, I felt like was a little glimpse for what can really happen." For me, it's a little bit more than that. "To have a starting role, that's the goal and that's the dream. "Coming out of high school, I always wanted to play college football but finally getting on the field is what every college football (player's) dream is," Eifler said. With NFL aspirations, Eifler wants to find another gear. Now he was in the driver's seat.Įifler, a 6-foot-2, 225 pound linebacker got the car into gear last season, playing in all 13 games with 12 starts while recording 69 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss and returning a fumble for a touchdown. No longer, he said, was he a passenger in a car watching mile posts fly by out the window. Last spring football, though, Eifler was off the scout team and ready to make an impact. He elected to transfer to Illinois, but that came with a sit-out year per NCAA rules. He took a redshirt at Washington as a true freshman in 2016 and followed that up by playing in all 13 games as a redshirt freshman with six tackles. NFL footage © NFL Productions LLC.CHAMPAIGN - During spring football before last season, Milo Eifler stood on the Memorial Stadium filed and took a moment to reflect on where he'd been. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. NFL and the NFL shield design are registered trademarks of the National Football League.The team names, logos and uniform designs are registered trademarks of the teams indicated.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |