"We'd love to have a quarterback who can run like Antwaan Randle El."

– Illinois coach Ron Turner

Dating from the Wilson-Eason-Trudeau era and through Jeff George's two quality seasons, Illinois came to be known as a drop-back passing school.

No option runners here. Not even an improvising scrambler after you get past Johnny Johnson. It's part of the greater plan. Former athletic director Neale Stoner hired John Mackovic because his offensive style resembled that of Mike White. Since then, the UI has been most comfortable with former NFL coaches like Greg Landry and Ron Turner, who favor the pro-style passing approach.

But Turner, who has gone back and forth between three starting quarterbacks in each of his two Illini seasons, may have some cards he hasn't played. And he may have the ace in a St. Louis prep star at Riverview Gardens.

Chris Morton is the hottest quarterback along the Mississippi, throwing for 21 touchdowns and 1,619 yards while also running for nine touchdowns and 382 yards. His 8-1 team will seek a district title against Normandy today, the winner advancing to the 16-team Missouri big-school playoff.

Even though Morton has committed to Illinois, NCAA rules prevent Turner from discussing him. But Turner can discuss the "Randle El type" – which the 6-foot-3, 180-pound Morton certainly is – and how the Illini would employ an athlete of that nature.

All-around athlete

"I'd like to get a guy like that (Randle El) and plug him into the offense," Turner said. "You'd want to get him on the perimeter more because he has a unique ability to move and make plays. He can go the distance any time. He can take over a game and elevate the players around him.

"If we had someone like that, we wouldn't have to change our offense. But where we're using something 2 percent of the time, we might go 20 percent. We wouldn't have to add or subtract, we'd just change emphasis.

"With Randle El, Indiana tries in every way to get the ball in his hands. They use him on bootlegs and options. They reverse and throw back to him. They are very creative. Those are the wrinkles you put in when you have a player like that. It's always your first choice to get that kind of athlete.

"We knew about Randle El in high school, but it was pretty much a done deal for Indiana with his brother (cornerback Curtis Randle El) already in school there."

Although he didn't qualify academically out of Thornton High School, Randle El was in Indiana coach Cam Cameron's plans, even as he sat out last season.

"We made it clear we wanted a quarterback who fit that Kansas State, Nebraska, Syracuse mold," Cameron said. "He fit that mold."

Morton enjoying big senior season

OK, what about Morton?

He projects next season as the only Illini quarterback with breakaway ball-carrying skills. Neither Kirk Johnson nor Kurt Kittner, who figure to play today against Indiana, meet that criteria. And the other two youthful candidates, Walter Young and Jeff Ziegler, are 6-5 and on the lanky side. These four will battle it out in spring practice before Morton arrives.

"Think of Randall Cunningham in his prime, and that's Chris Morton," said his Riverview Gardens coach, Darren Sunkett.

"Chris can do it all. In the big games, he returns punts for us, and he brought one back for a touchdown. He has a strong, accurate arm, and he can run."

But is Morton physically strong enough to absorb the punishment that Randle El received last week against Ohio State, which held the Big Ten's fourth-leading rusher to 27 yards in 18 carries?

"It's hard to tell," Sunkett said. "It's not easy to get a clear shot when Chris squares up and takes off. Once he tucks the ball under his arm, he's like a halfback. I think he'll be a great addition for Illinois, but I don't know how long it will take him to catch on."

So at some point down the road, Illinois may have the option to option. Whether it is reasonable to expect that next season is the question. Quarterbacking in the Big Ten as a raw freshman is extremely difficult, as Kittner discovered after becoming the first freshman to start at QB for Illinois since Bernie Krueger in 1946.

But it's reasonable to assume Morton ultimately will offer that badly needed extra dimension.

Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette.