For both of the new readers in the past month:  If you are unfamiliar, we are currently going through a 19 point plan to revitalize Illini football. First 8 points are available here.  Days and days of depression after the end of the season led me to one conclusion: I can fix this.  So for you and the other 7 people still reading, thanks for playing along.  If we ever meet in person, and you feel obliged to say something to me like “hey, loved the 19 Point Plan”, please save the eye roll and the chuckle until after I’ve left the room.  I really think that I’m bringing about change here – to believe otherwise would send me back to that dark place where offensive tackles catch deflected two point conversions.  Must… never… return.

Point #9 would have seemed much more visionary had Paul Petrino not been hired.  On the original list (put together before the coordinator hires), this point is entitled “Build the offense around your stars”, which sounds a heck of a lot like something Paul Petrino said when describing the offense at his press conference: Feed The Studs.

But really, this wasn’t prescient.  I think every Illini fan was asking for this after the season.  This was a year where the most physically gifted wide receiver in the history of our program caught 38 balls for 490 yards and 2 touchdowns.  That’s so depressing to type.  Jeff Moturi at UTEP caught 53 balls for 974 yards and 5 touchdowns.  T.Y. Hilton at Florida International had 57 catches for 623 yards and 5 touchdowns.  And that’s not even mentioning Eric Page at Toledo, who caught 82 balls for 1,159 yards and 7 TD’s.  Dudes named Jock Sanders, Briggs Osborne, and Bert Reed all caught at least 50 passes for at least 500 yards and at least 5 touchdowns.  More than 100 players caught more than 40 balls last season.  Arrelious Benn?  38 catches for 490 yards and 2 touchdowns.  I want to puke.

Paul Petrino has publicly stated that he will fix this problem – he will Feed The Studs.  Well, Mr. Petrino, allow me to introduce you to My Man Mikel.

Mikel and Me go way back.  Last April, after the spring game, I said this:

I’m still liking LeShoure to be our feature tailback this year. He just looks smoother this spring. Hits the hole, makes a move, delivers a devastating blow (on his TD). I’m not trying to go too far with this, but he reminded me of Shonn Greene today. Not nearly as good as Greene was last year, but similar running style. I like.

I then consistently put Mikel at the top of my depth chart, and repeatedly called for him to get more carries throughout the fall. That’s right – I demanded it. But did Mike Schultz and Reggie Mitchell listen? No sir.  We utilized the 3rd grade T-ball “everyone gets to bat” system and My Man Mikel was limited to 108 carries (also known as “two games for Robert Holcombe”). Just think – all it would have taken is Reggie Mitchell stumbling upon this blog last summer, coming to his senses by reading my special brand of crazy, and handing the ball to Mikel 225 times. What could have been.

I won’t let that happen again.  This time, I’ll get specific:

1) Give the ball to Mikel LeShoure 225 times.

2) Watch him gain lots of yards.

In all seriousness, I really hope we gameplan for LeShoure.  It’s not so much his burst or his drive that has me so impressed; it’s his vision.  He’s an instinctual runner who knows when to wait for his blockers and knows when to hit the hole.  Watching the 1990 Colorado game recently (I do this occasionally to boost my spirits), I noticed a similarity between Mikel and Howard Griffith.  HG was thick, but with a surprising burst and great vision.  I think that describes My Man Mikel.  And I want to see more of him.

Most of all, though, I want our offense to be intentional.  I want it to have purpose.  I want it to have an identity.  And with a green quarterback (whoever it is), that identity next fall will need to be a running back who can get you 4 yards on 3rd and 3.  And 31 yards on 2nd and 9.

So I want to see the same counter play practiced 135 times in Rantoul until the offensive linemen know it by heart.  I want the threat of LeShoure to open up the passing game (and play action), not the other way around.  I think he’ll be our best offensive player by quite a large margin – let’s make Big Ten opponents gameplan around him the way they gameplan around John Clay at Wisconsin.  When we have a 28-17 fourth quarter lead next fall , it should be treated the same as 2007 – if you want the ball back, you’re gonna have to stop #5 before he gets to the sticks.

There you have it – feed My Man Mikel.  Spell with Ford, scat with Green, and pound with Fuller every now and then to keep ‘em honest.  But Feed#5.

That sounds better.  Point #9: Feed Five.