No. 23: Terry Hawthorne, receiver.

 Why he's important: Though the receiver field is crowded at Illinois, his special abilities should allow him to move into the rotation. A good bet to replace Arrelious Benn as the Illinois go-to receiver when Benn moves to the NFL, which will likely be after the 2009 season. Hawthorne will spend the summer getting used to his teammates, especially quarterback Juice Williams. Watching Benn during the summer and at Camp Rantoul will be a big plus. Played in a pass happy high school system under talented coach Darren Sunkett, who also coached former Illini Christian Morton. 

Getting personal: News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year became the first from his school to win the honor since Chris Moore. "Black Cat" was a high school teammate of incoming Illini freshman Tommie Hopkins. Hawthorne basically never left the field during a state championship season with the Flyers. Besides starring as a receiver, he played defensive back, punted and returned kicks and punts. His confidence level is off the charts. Work ethic also extremely high.

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