Other than perhaps the placekickers, no Illini unit has more questions entering the 2008 season than the Illini running backs. Mendenhall's decision to leave after his record-breaking junior season - the right choice for him - leaves a big hole in the backfield, and a lot of touches available to the back who steps up and earns Zooker's confidence.To start the season Daniel Dufrene will be that back. He showed flashes of breakaway talent last season, most notably with his 106-yard performance at Columbus against the Buckpeyes. He's a junior this season and has a great opportunity to be a two-year beast working with Benn and Juice.
Troy Pollard will also get touches. He looked awesome early last season before succumbing to a knee injury that knocked him out. He's now a redshirt-freshman and, assuming he comes back healthy, should be on the field for a lot of snaps.
Complicating the mix - in a good way - are two freshmen who bring a lot of buzz with them to campus. Jason Ford was the #14 recruit in Illinois but slid under the radar of a lot of the big time programs. People say he's going to surprise some people. The other freshman is Champaign Centennial grad Mikel LeShoure. He was teammates with Mike Locksley, Jr. and is well-known by the coaching staff. I look for him to make an impact on this offense.
At fullback is Rahkeem Smith. He's a junior and will be called upon to block for Juice, Dufrene and Benn. He's more than up to the task. Tyler Pacha, a senior who was a stud fullback in junior college, will likely back up Rahkeem.
Converted defensive back Darius Purcell, who some predicted would challenge for touches, transferred to North Dakota St. so he could go back to playing defense. Also on the roster are freshman Zach Becker and redshirt-freshman Mark Burgess. I don't know much about those guys, but no doubt they wear the orange and blue with pride.
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