BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The legend of Indiana quarterback Antwaan Randle El grows with each game.

They talk about his winning touchdown run in the final seconds against Iowa.

They rave about his performance against Cincinnati, when he threw, ran and caught for a score.

They marvel at his stats against Western Michigan, a 467-yard, six-touchdown effort that earned him Big Ten player of the week honors.

Cam Cameron wishes the talk would stop. Cameron prefers consistency to spectacular. He likes fundamentals over fantastic.

"We've seen most of the things he does on game day in practice," Cameron said. "When you have a guy like that, you try to not get too carried away with some of the clever things he does."

In Cameron's eyes, Randle El's greatest play didn't gain a yard.

Late in the game against Iowa, Randle El dropped back to pass. He had an open receiver, Levron Williams, who was inbounds and short of the end zone. If Randle El threw to Williams, the clock would have kept running and the Hoosiers would have to hurry another play.

Instead, Randle El fired the ball into the ground and set up his touchdown run.

"Best play he's made," Cameron said. "We've got to make sure the fundamentals are still taken care of."

Randle El isn't having any trouble with fundamentals of the option offense. He leads the team in rushing with 589 yards and has scored seven touchdowns. He is fourth in the Big Ten in rushing, the only quarterback in the top 10.

He isn't bad as a passer, either. Despite a so-so 49 percent on completions, Randle El stands fourth in yards per game.

If he were a Big 12 quarterback, Randle El would be just another guy. The league is loaded with option quarterbacks who know how to throw.

But in the one-dimensional offenses of the Big Ten, Randle El is an oddity. Quarterbacks are supposed to throw or hand off.

Wisconsin quarterback Mike Samuel runs a little. So does Minnesota's Billy Cockerham and Purdue's Drew Brees. But none of the three scoots like Randle El. Not even close.

"He's a playmaker, a game breaker," Illinois coach Ron Turner said. "He has the ability to take a game over all by himself, which he has done, which he is doing on a consistent basis. He has the ability to elevate the game of everyone around him. There's not too many people who have that unique ability."

Indiana opponents spend the week trying to figure out how to stop him. Turner used receivers Lenny Willis and Roy Sessions against his No. 1 defense in practice to mimic Randle El's speed and moves.

Randle El loves to hear when other coaches are worrying about him. It seems to make his day.

"We have many other weapons we can use," Randle El said. "Focus on me."

When Cameron took over Indiana's struggling program two years ago, he focused on getting a quarterback like Randle El.

Several seasons in the NFL showed Cameron the best quarterbacks were the ones who could move. Indiana wasn't going to have a 6-foot-6 scramble-impaired oaf firing rockets down the field. Give him a Doug Flutie and let the Trent Dilfers sign somewhere else.

"We want an athlete playing quarterback here, a guy similar to what you see at Kansas State or Syracuse or Nebraska," Cameron said.

Getting Randle El to come to Indiana wasn't a big problem. His brother, Curtis, already was on the team. That helped.

Indiana was willing to let Randle El play basketball. That helped, too.

The final push came from the other schools recruiting Randle El. Michigan wanted him to switch positions.

Randle El told them he was a quarterback. Period.

"I had so many schools tell me I wouldn't be able to play quarterback, I wouldn't be successful at quarterback," Randle El said. "That's something I try to focus on. I've done it so far and I'm looking to keep it up."

Illinois tried to recruit him as a quarterback, but its first contact came too late.

"They were calling me and didn't know I had made my commitment," Randle El said. "I would have thought about it."

Turner thinks about a quarterback like Randle El. The Illini have some option plays in the offense, but don't use them much.

"You get a guy like that, you'll take him any day of the week," Turner said. "He can go the distance every time he touches the ball. If you can have a guy who moves like that, that's always the first choice."

Randle El sounds perfectly happy with his choice. He sat out the 2-9 1997 season as a partial qualifier.

When training camp opened, Randle El had to beat returning starter Jay Rodgers for the job. Cameron named Randle El his starter the week of the opener.

Under Randle El's guidance, the Hoosiers have improved on offense. Indiana jumped from ninth to fifth in yardage and from 10th to seventh in scoring.