CHAMPAIGN – Two-a-days were getting old and Tony Francis' left hamstring was hurting. But he couldn't afford to stay away.

In the old days (1997), Francis might have skipped a couple days of Illinois' practice and still kept his starting job. Not now.

With a not-so-gentle push from a redshirt freshman and two junior college transfers, Francis missed only one practice.

"I knew I had to get back on that field or I was going to X myself out," Francis said. "I knew right away, get back on the field, put up with the pain. Play smart but don't bow down to a little pain."

Good move. He got over the "little pain" and kept his starting job. On Saturday, he'll be in the lineup at Washington State.

Francis won't be able to rest. Not Saturday. Not the rest of the season. Anthony Hurd, Johnnie Harris and Johnny Rogers all want his job. Francis wouldn't have it any other way.

"Coach (Ron) Turner made it a point to focus on ourselves, our own technique, our own work ethic," Francis said. "I wasn't worried about starting. I wasn't worried about being a backup. I was worried about helping the team. This is a team thing. I want to go to a bowl. I want to win."

Internal competition is critical to winning, Turner said. There wasn't much of it when he took over in December 1996.

"We've created competition at a lot of positions," Turner said. "There's nothing to make an athlete perform better than competition. That's the best motivator there is."

Monday's new depth chart shows the improvement. Players had moved into the two-deep at eight different positions. Two new starters had taken over. A third position listed the first two as "or."

Francis is one of the new starters. He takes over for Carlos McLaurin, who is academically ineligible this season. Francis didn't shout for joy when he found out McLaurin wouldn't be around.

"That was a real sore spot," Francis said. "We came in together. I was cheering for Carlos all last year. Last year, he helped me a lot. He was like a student-teacher for me."

Francis said he doesn't worry about the depth chart. All he can do is perform at his best.

"This coaching staff, they don't have certain people they like, certain people they dislike," Francis said. "They're blind with it. Once the season starts, they're putting the 11 best on the field."

For the Illini defense, there are more than 11 to pick from. Technically, 12 players are on the first team, with Mike McGee and Karleton Thomas sharing a defensive tackle spot.

McGee started training camp as No. 1 at the position, but Thomas caught him.

The two aren't bitter rivals. In fact, they're friends. They help each other when they have a chance, pat each other on the back after a good play.

"We're not trying to outdo each other," McGee said.

McGee likes the "or" next to his name. With the days dwindling before he hits the field, McGee craves the competition.

"The harder I work now, the better it's going to be for me on Saturday," McGee said.

The coaches need to balance the competition against the comfort of the eventual starters. Turner doesn't want the first teamers looking over their shoulders when they open against Washington State. But he doesn't want them relaxed, either.

The players seem to get the point. McGee said he doesn't worry about one bad play.

"You've just got to play football," McGee said. "You just try to do things as well as you can."

The players understand that the coaches prepare for the worst. It's a violent game and injuries happen.

Defensive end Rameel Connor didn't even make it through a quarter last season before blowing out his knee.

"You want your two to be as good as your one, that way if the one ever goes down, there's going to be no difference in play," McGee said. "That's the situation right now at three technique (his position). We have two great three techniques battling for the position."

Though he's concentrating on tackle, McGee sees enough to know there's competition everywhere.

"More so than a year ago," McGee said. "When this group of coaches came in, they gave everybody a fresh shot."

When training camp started, each player had another fresh shot.

"The first two weeks are for everyone," McGee said. "A guy that's maybe fifth string, if he ends up blowing everybody out of the water, he's going to be the starter."