CHAMPAIGN – Robby Long can appreciate what teammate Lenny Willis has done for the players who followed him to Illinois.

Willis, The News-Gazette's Area Player of the Year in 1994, started a string of Centennial graduates heading to the UI. Robby Long followed, along with walk-on Patrick Rouse and now Quincy Washington.

"It took us a while to get the hometown connection going, but there are a lot of good players in the area," Long said. "This staff has really made it a point to keep local talent at home and I think you'll see more of it happening. It won't be such a surprise, as it was when Lenny first signed and then when I signed."

Willis' success showed that the locals can play major college football.

"Lenny paved the way for stuff like this to happen," Long said. "Guys have to keep coming in and showing they're good football players with a good work ethic and the coaches are going to recruit the best players they can find. If those players happen to be two blocks away, why not pick them up?"

Willis is the top returning Illini receiver, catching 33 balls last year for 354 yards. But the influx of junior college receivers helped push him down the depth chart, and only a good spring game and strong August camp have kept him in the rotation.

"It's definitely a challenge. It raised the level of competition," Willis said. "I don't think anybody will take it as an insult, but more of a challenge."

Willis was not listed in the two-deep chart when camp opened, but he has recently impressed the UI staff in workouts.

"I feel like I definitely have to show something. But I'm just going to go out here and play football," he said.

Long redshirted in 1997, when he moved from linebacker to fullback to tight end to defensive end. He'll stay at right end, where he's becoming more comfortable.

Washington does not appear to be a redshirt candidate. He's in the mix with several newcomers at running back, and he could see some action returning kicks or punts.

"It (redshirting) could happen," he said. "I don't want to sit around and not participate. But if I'm not participating, I would rather redshirt."

Washington, who won the 200-meter dash state championship last May, has put on weight and checks in at 193 pounds.

Danville product Ivery Lewis, beset by injuries for much of his time at the UI, is healthy and ready to jump into the mix at fullback. Lewis isn't listed on the depth chart at fullback, but he expects to be a player on special teams.

"I'm pretty much etched in stone on special teams," Lewis said. "The whole thing is to get on the field at fullback and show a lot of anxious people why I really came here."

Tuscola's Fred Wakefield is battling for a starting position at one defensive end spot, while Brian Scott, a junior from Urbana, will look for his first letter as a backup on the offensive line. Rouse is a long snapper who redshirted last fall.