CHAMPAIGN – When the college football magazines hit the newsstands in a couple months, the guess is they won't be too kind to the Illinois defensive line.

The nice ones will use words such as "youthful" and "undersized." The mean ones will get more to the point, calling the position a "mess," "weakness" or "reason for concern."

Heck, even head coach Ron Turner points to the defensive line as "a big question mark" in the team's spring media guide.

If the magazines want to blast away, that's fine with Illini defensive tackles Garrett Johnson. He'll hang onto the stories. Maybe after the season he can send them back with some corrections.

"I've just got to go out there and prove them wrong," Johnson said. "It's only words on paper. It's not the real thing."

Johnson has played against the Big Ten for two seasons. And he thinks the Illini line can be one of the best in the league.

Not that the line is without problems. Johnson said the unit needs to get bigger, stronger. And at defensive tackle, only Johnson has much game experience. The other five players competing at the position made just 22 tackles last season.

"We're not looking for starters, we're looking for players," Illini defensive tackles coach Peter McCarty said.

Johnson is a good place to start, McCarty said.

"He's a kid that will give you everything he's got on every single snap," McCarty said. "He's got a great deal of pride. He's very strong. He's got an opportunity to move people inside."

McCarty doesn't want to rely too much on Johnson. Eighty-eight might be a great number of keys for a piano. But it's a lousy number of snaps for a defensive tackle.

Johnson knows the feeling. He went 88 plays in one game last season.

"We can't have that," McCarty said.

The tackle position requires fresh legs. After each snap, it's push and shove with the offensive line. If it's a pass, the defensive tackles try to reach the backfield, holding up the offensive linemen enough to help the defensive ends make sacks.

It's a pretty thankless position. You don't make as many tackles as the linebackers. And most of the sacks go to the defensive ends.

In the new system, the Illini defensive tackles expect to have more fun. They'll attack the offense rather than sit back as they did in Lou Tepper's scheme.

"We're not totally free, but we can play a little bit looser," said sophomore-to-be Mike McGee. "It's great. If you make a mistake, you're making it 400 miles an hour. If you make a mistake while you're attacking, at least you're in the backfield and you can cause more trouble."

McGee is battling Seth Tesdall for the starting spot opposite Johnson. Both McGee and Tesdall need to put on weight before next season.

"I'd like to be around 280," said 267-pound McGee. "It's got to be a good 280. It's not just a Twinkies and Ho-Ho's 280."

Sure, McCarty would like McGee and Tesdall to grow. But he doesn't want added weight to slow them down.

"Those people that have been outstanding on defense have done it with speed and quickness," McCarty said.

McCarty has a role model for defensive tackles in former Dallas Cowboys star Randy White. He likes the combination of strength, quickness and size White used to dominate offenses.

And McCarty likes White's nickname, "Manster." It came from the description of White as half man, half monster.

"We're looking for some Mansters," McCarty said. "If we could line up with two Randy Whites next fall, I'd be very pleased."

Even without White on his side, McCarty thinks the Illini line will be OK.

"The kids have done a real good job adjusting to everything," McCarty said. "They've gotten more confidence. Garrett's the only one with any real game experience. The rest of them have all grown up. They're doing it with a lot of gusto. I think we're going to be a group that will surprise some people next year."