No pain, no gain for Illini defender

CHAMPAIGN – The knee brace on Fred Wakefield's left leg did exactly what's it supposed to – it deflected the blow somewhere else.

The somewhere else happened to be Wakefield's ankle. The Illinois freshman defensive end came up limping late in Wednesday's practice.

But Wakefield wasn't about to leave the field. In his mind, he couldn't afford the time off.

Every day is an opportunity for the former Tuscola star. A little pain in his ankle isn't sending him to the sidelines.

"As long as it's not life-threatening or career-threatening, I'd try to play on it," Wakefield said.

The injury came late in the final session. That made Wakefield's decision easier.

"I was just like, 'We've got 20 minutes left in practice; I'm going to keep playing. I can rest when we're done,' " Wakefield said.

The sprained ankle kept Wakefield out of Thursday's practice, the last before a 10-day break. When spring drills resume April 1, Wakefield will be there with bells on.

He's trying to get noticed, trying to earn playing time next season. The players know spring practice is the time to hold their position, or in Wakefield's case, move up a spot or two.

"He needs to get a lot bigger, and he needs to learn the position," UI defensive ends coach Osia Lewis said. "I think he'll be able to help."

Wakefield is battling five other defensive ends. Jeff Weisse, Ryan Murphy and Karleton Thomas are on the left side. Rameel Connor, Wakefield and Jeff Schwantz are on the right.

"I think just about everybody has a chance right now," Wakefield said. "Hopefully, I've got a pretty good chance. I'm out there working pretty hard."

And he's eating, often. Wakefield came to camp last summer a way-too-small 220 pounds. He's going into the spring at about 250, 15 pounds light of his goal.

Wakefield had a great weight-loss plan during high school – play sports constantly. When football ended, he went straight to basketball, then track. It was hard to keep weight on when all he did was run and jump.

"I think that took away from me growing physically," he said. "It also helped because I wouldn't have the foot speed or agility I have now if I didn't play basketball and track."

Illinois' new attacking defense plays to his strengths, Wakefield said. Instead of being asked to hold up an offensive lineman, he'll try to run around him. He's a basketball center trying to fake out a defender.

"You look at the teams that have done a lot of damage in the last few years, and they always run attacking defenses," Wakefield said. "They're always making the plays in the backfield."

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