Position Preview: Introducing Your 2008 Illini Offensive Lineman

Ryan McDonald is a true monster. He's about to become a 4-year starter as a Big Ten offensive lineman, including starting at center for the Illini the last two seasons. This season he will again feed snaps to Juice and, at times, Eddie McGee, and will anchor the offensive line.

The other two studs on the O-Line are a couple of upperclassmen who need no introduction. At left tackle is senior Xavier Fulton, a former defensive player who redshirted in '06 and then came back last season and started every game on the O-Line. All he did last season was consistently open monster holes for Rashard and Juice. He'll no doubt do the same this season. On the other side of the line, lining up next to McDonald, is junior Jon Asamoah. He'll start at right guard and will put D-Linemen on their backsides with regularity.

Joining McDonald, Fulton and Asamoah as starters will likely be sophomores Randall Hunt and Ryan Palmer. Hunt is at left guard. He's a former prep schooler who played a bunch last season. Palmer played in 11 games as a frosh last season and is a potential monster.

Next on the depth chart are a number of kids who will push the starting group and, in a few cases, could become superstars. At center are seniors Eric Block and Mike Nabolotny. Block is from 'Nawlins, played a lot last year and is an able backup for McDonald. Nabolotny has played some TE in the past so presumably he is a solid athlete. No word though on why the Zooker moved him to the O-Line. Backing up at the guard spots are Jeff Allen, a freshman who was one of the Top 30 recruits out of the state of Illinois, and Jack Cornell, a redshirt frosh who picked the Illini over Nebraska and was a 4-star recruit coming out of Quincy Notre Dame. I sense beastly things for both those young guys. Finally, adding depth at tackle are freshmen Graham Pocic and Craig Wilson. Pocic was an All-Stater last year in the state of Illinois and another 4-star. He is huge and potential super-stud. Wilson I don't know a whole lot about but if I was a betting man I'd bet he's good.

The only real negative news about this unit is that two players who would have been key backups - Mark Jackson and Brandon Jordan - appear to no longer be with the team. Mark Tupper and others reported a few days ago that Jackson, along with safety Brian Gamble, had academic issues and were not currently part of the football program. Jordan is not currently listed on the roster on the Illini website and reportedly had academic issues in the Spring. Hopefully he is not gone for good. Given the absence of Jackson and Jordan, a number of other players - Chudi Aguanunu (Jr), Mike Garrity (R-Fr), Corey Lewis (Fr), Tyler Sands (Fr) and Ryan Sedlacek (Fr), may get a shot to move up the depth chart.