After the euphoria of having the second and third top choices in the NFL draft wears off, the cold, hard reality sets in for the Fighting Illini and coach Lou Tepper.
Who will replace Kevin Hardy and Simeon Rice?
That is only one of the questions Tepper and his Illinois staff faced during spring practice in the wake of a dismal 5-5-1 record last year.
Another is how to improve an offense that was ranked 102nd out of 108 Division IA teams.
Tepper isn’t sure he has all the answers, but he believes the talent–if not the experience–exists to soften the loss of Hardy and Rice. The duo combined for 425 lost yards for the opposition.
Cyron Brown, who started five games last season at defensive tackle, has 6-foot-5-inch leverage to develop into a good pass rusher at Rice’s spot, and is being pushed by redshirt sophomore Ryan Murphy.
“Neither of them are slouches on the pass rush, but there aren’t a lot of Simeon Rices around,” Tepper said.
Replacing Hardy will be more of a challenge. Famous Hulbert, a top recruit in 1994 from Proviso West, was being groomed for the spot, but developed a serious muscle condition that now threatens his career. The malady causes muscle spasms throughout his body when he is doing strenuous exercise.
After spring workouts, Hardy’s position is in the hands of two redshirt freshmen, Manuel Strong and Danny Clark.
The bright spot on defense is inside linebacker Dennis Stallings, who started every game and led the team in tackles last season.
“He had an outstanding spring,” said defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Chris Cosh. “He shows signs of some of the things (1994 Butkus Award winner) Dana Howard did.”
On offense, Scott Weaver won’t be looking over his shoulder when he makes a mistake this season. The starting quarterback job is his alone. He appears more comfortable at quarterback and with second-year offensive coordinator Paul Schudel’s attack.
“I feel real good about Scott Weaver as our triggerman,” Tepper said. “Last year, he was learning new formations and terminology. This year, he was much better coming into the spring.”
