Position Preview: Introducing Your 2008 Illini Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

Arrelious Benn is probably the best football player in the country. I'm not joking. He played nearly his entire freshman season with a dislocated shoulder and was still an absolute gamebreaker who broke a ton of freshman receiving records at Illinois and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Now he is 100% healthy for the first time in his college career and, with the departure of Rashard Mendenhall, will be the #1 offensive weapon for Juice Williams and the Illini offense. Not only will Benn be the top target in an expanded Illini passing game, but look for Benn to get a significant number of carries out of the backfield and on reverses. The sky's the limit for this monster.

But the talent at receiver doesn't end with Benn. Jeff Cumberland is a big bodied converted Tight End who brings athleticism and size at one of the receiving spots. He looked really good in limited starts last season and could be a sneaky stud in the unit. He'll miss the Missouri game and possibly a few more with a stress fracture in his foot, but hopefully will come back healthy and beastly. Also in the starting mix are Chris Duvalt and Chris James. Duvalt is a junior, a former defensive back and an absolute burner. He'll outrun people when called to do so. James, a sophomore, started two years ago but redshirted last year with a knee injury. I think he'll enjoy coming back and taking passes from a more experienced - and accurate - Juice Williams.

Two other guys with experience who may get some starts are senior Will Judson and junior Marques Wilkins. Both played in nearly every game last season and Wilkins had the big 31-yard TD catch against the Buckfreyes. Judson is 5'8" and offers a speedy contrast to the larger Cumberland.

But you know what? Even though Benn, Cumberland, Duvalt, James, Judson and Wilkins offer a lot to be excited about, they aren't what really gets me excited about this Illini receiving unit.

So go ahead. Ask me what gets me the most excited?

Go ahead. Do it.

Do it.

What gets me most excited are the crop of speedy and talented frosh receivers the Zooker brought in. Headlining the class are two 4-stars who will be studs: Cordale Scott and A.J. Jenkins. I can't wait to cheer these guys on for the next four years. Also in the freshman class are Jack Ramsey and Fred Sykes. Ramsey is from Simeon and played high school ball with Martez Wilson. He is reportedly very fast and there is some buzz about him coming out of Camp Rantoul, though he also has had some academic issues to work out. Sykes is a recruit out of Tampa and, as everyone knows, every football player in Florida is a beast.

Speaking of Florida I don't want to even talk yet about the possible best receiver on the team not named Arrelious Benn. That player would be Jared Fayson, a transfer from Florida, who was one of the top recruits in the country a few years ago. He'll sit out this season but could be Juice's favorite target in '09.

Also listed at receiver for the Illini are Jack Eastman, Jason McGoey and Alex Reavy. According to a recent blog post from Mark Tupper, Reavy, a walk on, may get some playing time because he is a worker who doesn't make mistakes. A lesson to the young: coaches like that kind of thing.

So with Cumberland hurt and already moved over to WR, it's worth asking who's going to start at TE? That's going to be Bloomington native Michael Hoomanawanui. He started midway through last season, has good hands and can lay down a block. I like this kid a lot. The Zooker also brought in two good recruits at TE who should get playing time: Hubie Graham, the #12 ranked TE in the country, and London Davis, a solid player out of Cahokia, IL. Let's be honest, has there even someone named "London" who wasn't a solid football player?