By Paul M. Banks It hasn’t been the greatest season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it has been a very productive campaign for the man who usurped Willie Parker as starting tailback. This year Rashard Mendenhall is living up to the lofty expectations he had as a first round draft pick in 2008. The Skokie native and University of Illinois product is in the NFL’s top ten in … [Read more...] about Mendenhall, Pierre Thomas Making Illinois Running Back U. (sort of)
illinois running back corps
The Illini may be Alright this Year
By Paul M. Banks This past weekend, the University of Illinois Fighting Illini got some measure of redemption from their week one DISASTER in St. Louis. The Illini responded from their 37-9 thrashing at the hands of Missouri to rout FCS opponent Illinois St. 45-17 in Champaign. Granted it was against a lower tier team predicted to finish near the bottom of their vastly … [Read more...] about The Illini may be Alright this Year
Illini Tailback Situation Part 2 Daniel Dufrene Troy Pollard
By Paul M. Banks Heading into this season the talk about the Illinois Fighting Illini program, certainly offensively at least, was about the passing game; and the stellar group of receivers that were allegedly one of the best position groups in the nation. There were lots of questions about the defense and the running game- the latter of which took a big step backward last … [Read more...] about Illini Tailback Situation Part 2 Daniel Dufrene Troy Pollard