Many times, when writing these position breakdowns, I have to calm myself down and look to balance the positives with negatives. In August, every linebacker is oozing potential.  Every freshman has a chance to break into the two-deep.  No guard has missed a block, no defensive end has jumped offsides, and no cornerback has dropped a sure interception.  Everything is perfect because it’s on paper.

And then practice will start, and someone will turn an ankle, and you’ll hear that Jeff Allen looks a little lost on the left side, and you wonder about the inexperience at linebacker, but you shake it off and try to stay positive. “This is the year”, you tell yourself. Yet there’s this sinking feeling that you are fooling yourself, again, and that there are some glaring concerns going into the missouri game.  So I’ve tried to write every position breakdown from that mindset – not everything is orange roses and blueberries.

But not this one.  I’m so geeked about our return men that my fingers can’t type fast enough.  I’ve almost stopped typing this intro twice so I can skip to the part where Jarred Fayson breaks the Michigan game wide open with a punt return down the Amani Toomer sideline (IT. WAS. A. CLIP.) Let’s do this.

Punt Returner: Jarred Fayson (JR)

Like you, I love Arrelious Benn.  Like you, I want him to touch the ball on nearly every offensive play. But he’s not a punt returner.  He’s a fantastic athlete with great hands, so I don’t mind him out there, but he’s not a punt returner.  Punt returners need to be shifty waterbugs, not battering rams.  Love ya, Reej, but please go rest up for the next series while Jarred Fayson trots out there for the return.

Fayson, the Florida transfer (how many times have we heard “Fayson Florida Transfer” over the past 18 months? 700?), finally hits the field in 29 days. And I can’t wait for this game for two reasons: 1) I think our defense will surprise some people early on this fall, forcing missouri into several three-and-outs, and 2) When they go three-and-out, they have to kick to Fayson.  It has been a long, long time since Illinois has had an SEC wideout like Fayson.

Backup Punt Returners: Terry Hawthorne, Jack Ramsey, Troy Pollard, Arrelious Benn?

Three years ago, our punt return options were converted QB Dejuan Warren and converted CF Kyle Hudson.  Today, we can trot out Jarred Fayson, Terry Hawthorne, or even Arrelious Benn.  As an Illini fan, I’ve grown accustomed to watching the Terrance Smalls of the world run out there and simply hoping for a non-fumbled catch.  I don’t care about a return, just catch it.  Now, we can pick between three wide receivers who were all ranked in the top-6 at their position coming out of high school.  I looked it up – I think only Florida, LSU, and USC can make the same claim this fall. Let that sink in for a second…

(!!!!!)

My mind is swimming.  I might need a break here soon.  I’m typing so fast my elbows hurt.  I can’t explain it either.

I really do think that if Fayson has the flu one game (because he’s not getting hurt), we might send Arrelious out there to return punts.  He runs the team, he made this all happen by committing, and darn it, if he wants to return punts, I’m not going to stop him.  But we really do have solid backup options if that doesn’t happen.

Jack Ramsey is already Jarred Fayson’s understudy at the waterbug wideout position – why not at punt return as well?  I’m not sure how great his hands are, but from film, he has fantastic feet.  Shifty, gets in and out of his cuts very quickly, accelerates well.  That’s the kind of guy you want returning punts.  His first cut is the deepest.

Troy Pollard was also back there returning punts during the spring game.  It would appear to me that he’s a third backup option only, but you can see a theme developing here.  Shifty, shifty, and more shifty.

And I haven’t even gotten to Black Cat yet!  Terry Hawthorne is most likely our future punt returner.  I’ll guess two years of Fayson, and then two years of Hawthorne.  And to get him on the field, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hawthorne given a shot to return a few punts this fall. But the place where I think Terry Hawthorne will make the biggest impact is…

Kick Returners: Terry Hawthorne, AJ Jenkins

This is impossible.  I’ve added and deleted several names 7 times now.  It’ll be Benn and Ramsey.  No, we have to get the ball into Jarred Fayson’s hands – has to be Fayson and maybe Hawthorne. But AJ Jenkins ran one back for a TD against Indiana. He has to be out there, right?

Just so I can write about them some more, I’m picking Hawthorne and Jenkins.  Again, save Benn for his 81 catch season, and let Hawthorne and Jenkins get their touches here. Fayson gets punts, and Ramsey gets to understudy.

A buddy of mine brought a couple friends with him to sit with me at the home game against Indiana last year.  He had prepped them with “the guy we’re sitting with has a vast knowledge of Illini Football – you’ll enjoy his insights throughout the game”. So now there’s pressure, right?  I mean, apart from predicting that Arrelious Benn will get the ball every single time he shifts into the backfield, or predicting Jason Ford over the top from first and goal at the one, what “insights” could I bring?

So late in the fourth quarter, I feel like I haven’t really lived up to my billing.  Indiana kicks a field goal (to cut the lead to 35!) and I see my opportunity.  AJ Jenkins had looked pretty good on his first kickoff return that game, so as he caught the ball, I gave him loud a “let’s see what you got, kid!”.  What he got was 96 yards and a touchdown.  Not exactly Nostradamus, but not Adam Rittenberg either.  My rep was at least partially salvaged (yes, by asking AJ Jenkins to show what he “got”), and I could sleep that night.

Anyway, so I’m giving the job to Jenkins.  When you’re as deep as we are at wideout, you can afford to send one of your wideouts to special teams practice at every possible moment.  And that’s what I want from AJ this year.  Hours and hours of when to let the ball bounce, how to scoop up a squib, and how to flat out fly up the field.

My desires for Terry Hawthorne returning kicks has already been covered.  Just keep thinking about it, DIA.  Black…….Cat..Black…….Cat

Backup Kick Returners: Jarred Fayson, Jack Ramsey, Troy Pollard, Arrelious Benn?

OK, now my neck hurts from straining forward towards the screen.  What else can I say about these gents that hasn’t already been said?  It’s difficult to make blanket statements about Illini football without having watched Red run or Dick tackle.  Even trying to place Vontae Davis in perspective is difficult because Al Brosky picked off more than one pass per game over his entire career. (!!!!!)

But I think I can make this statement: This is the best collection of kick returners we’ve ever had at Illinois.  Hands down.  I can’t think of another year that would even come close.  Yes, I know Red Grange returned kicks.  Yes, I remember Eugene Wilson’s scintillating freshman year.  But there are 4 or 5 guys on this team that might rank in our top-15 kick returners of all time.

Summation: You Mean We Need To Block, Too?

*record scratches off*  I’m typing slower now.

I’ve avoided this paragraph the whole post.  I mean, I know the summation comes at the end, but it’s certainly been the 800 lb. gorilla sitting here taunting me.  Let’s just get this over with.

If ten guys don’t block, one guy has nowhere to run.  If Ashante Williams or Tavon Wilson can’t shut down the gunners, Jarred Fayson will be waving for a fair catch. If London Davis and Evan Frierson can’t make a good wedge, we’ll be taking a knee and starting from the 20. And if we’ve seen anything from Mike Woodford’s special teams, it’s that they really struggle to do the things described above.

But I’m staying positive this year (hey hey, the feeling is returning to my typing fingers).  Mike Woodford never had big/strong/fast athletes like London Davis or Nate Palmer to work with.  Mike Woodford never has had a blocker like Justin Staples to employ.  With a year under their belt, Mike Woodford will turn Supo Sanni and Ian Thomas into special teams assassins.

I’m excited again. After all, a fantastic returner can make everyone look good. And we have 5 of them.