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SI Scouting Reports 1. Nebraska 2. Florida State 3. Alabama 4. Michigan 5. Wisconsin 6. Kansas State 7. Georgia 8. Clemson 9. Texas 10. Miami 11. Florida 12. Virginia Tech 13. Washington 14. Tennessee 15. TCU 16. Purdue 17. Mississippi 18. USC 19. Penn State 20. Southern Miss 21. Illinois 22. Ohio State 23. Oklahoma 24. Colorado State 25. Colorado ----------------- The Master List: 1-115 Lower Division Rankings

21. Illinois

In Champaign, it's the passing game that's now the toast of the town

By Ivan Maisel

The Book An opposing team's coach sizes up the Fighting Illini "They snuck up on people last year. Not this year.... Kittner is as good as anybody at throwing the three-step drop, and [running back] Rocky Harvey is a bull. They don't have a big-play guy on offense, but they do a good job of controlling the ball.... They don't have any defensive stars, but they pursue the ball very well."

The mere presence of freshman receivers Jamaal Clark and Ade Adeyemo tells you all you need to know about the rebirth of Illinois football. For most of the last decade, under coach and defensive specialist Lou Tepper, the Illini took all the fun out of offensive football, not only for their opponents but also for themselves. Now, thanks to coach Ron Turner's wide-open passing offense, the Illini are having fun again. Junior quarterback Kurt Kittner threw for 2,702 yards and 24 touchdowns last year -- the sort of numbers that tend to attract high school All-Americas like Clark, a 6'3", 185-pounder from St. Louis, and Adeyemo, a 6'2", 185-pound Chicago native.

Kittner's breakout season in '99 brings raised hopes in 2000.Damian Strohmeyer

Clark and Adeyemo signed on despite Illinois's depth at receiver, figuring there would be enough passes to go around. Last year Kittner threw touchdown passes to 11 different players. The closest the Illini come to a go-to guy is sophomore flanker Brandon Lloyd, who stepped off a curb last month and broke his leg, making the freshman duo that much more valuable.

Every coach who has tried to resurrect a program has prayed for recruits like Clark and Adeyemo. Turner also inherited one in fifth-year senior tackle Marques Sullivan. The Oak Park, Ill., native was wooed by Florida and Wisconsin, among others, before settling on his home-state team. Sullivan started every game at right tackle as a redshirt freshman in '97 (Illinois went 0-11) and '98 (3-8). He was moved to left tackle last season and, like the rest of the offense, blossomed. Last year Illinois was third in the Big Ten in passing (233.8 yards per game) and second in scoring (32.3 points). Ten starters from that unit are back, including Kittner, who rebounded from a brutal freshman season (44.4% completion rate, one TD, seven interceptions) with a banner '99.

In order to challenge for the Big Ten title, the Illini will have to find playmakers on defense. Junior strong safety Bobby Jackson returns after missing last season with an ACL tear in his left knee. He and junior free safety Muhammad Abdullah will be a steadying influence for the talented but inexperienced cornerback trio of Eugene Wilson, Trayvon Waller and Anthony Hurd. The linebacking corps, once the strength of the program, is now the weak link.

"It's going to be tough," says Kittner, "especially in the league. Everyone, including ourselves, expects us to do better."

Issue date: August 14, 2000

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