CHAMPAIGN – Antoineo Harris and Carlos Lattimore share everything: a position, a school, a problem.

The Illinois running backs first got to know each during the summer. Now they're inseparable, by necessity and by choice.

"When we first got here, we were basically in the same situation," Harris said. "We did everything together. They just called us brothers."

Harris and Lattimore never got to test their sibling rivalry on the field. They were too busy working in the classroom.

Both players were forced to sit out the season as academic nonqualifiers. That meant no training table, no practice, no games.

"We haven't even gotten a chance to experience what college football is like," Lattimore said.

Harris and Lattimore spend the bulk of their time at the football study table. The room is just a few yards from the field but at times seems like miles away for the two.

When they aren't hitting the books, they lift weights. UI strength coach Pat Moorer became Harris and Lattimore's athletic mentor.

"That's like my best friend," said Harris, who hasn't told Moorer.

The cause

Harris knew early in the summer he wasn't going to be eligible.

The problems started for Harris long before he became the state's top running back at Bolingbrook High School.

"I messed around my freshman and sophomore year," Harris said. "I knew I had the skills to do the work, but I just didn't do it."

Early in his high school career, Harris never dreamed about playing college football. By the time Harris realized he had a chance, it was too late.

Harris tried to catch up. With encouragement from his family and coaches, he improved his grades.

"My parents were on me," Harris said. "They said, 'You've got to do better. You've got to push yourself.' They were behind me all the way."

Lattimore thought he might be eligible his first year. He went through a couple days of training camp.

On Media Day, the bad news came. He hadn't made it through the NCAA Clearinghouse.

"I ended up having to go home," Lattimore said. "I just sat home, depressed."

Lattimore considered going to a junior college. The Illinois coaches and players made him feel wanted, so he enrolled and paid his own way.

The stigma

When the freshman footballplayers were introduced to the rest of the students in August, Harris and Lattimore weren't called.

When Lattimore went home to Peoria, friends asked him why he wasn't with the team. Harris and Lattimore had different reactions to wearing the "academically ineligible" label.

"It never bothered me," Lattimore said. "I go back home, and people say, 'What happened to you?' I just tell them I didn't make it. Hopefully, they'll tell their kids, 'Carlos Lattimore didn't get to play football because his grades weren't good enough in high school.' Maybe that will motivate them to get good grades in high school."

Harris' ineligibility was much more public than Lattimore's. Everybody knew his status.

"It hurt me deep in the heart," Harris said. "I felt when people looked at me, they said, 'He's a Prop 48.' It's never going to go away. It's always to be in the back of my head that I came here academically not qualified."

Harris and Lattimore have sympathetic ears on the current team. Linebacker Michael Young was a partial qualifier as a freshman. Running back Jameel Cook and defensive lineman Oliver King sat out in '97.

Cook talked to the two players, calmed them down and helped them get through the rough spots.

The future

Harris and Lattimore are halfway home. First-semester finals are this week, and both players are excited. They can't wait to see their grades.

"They've just excelled," academic counselor Deryk Gilmore said. "The GPA will reflect the hours they've put in."

In Lou Tepper's five years as head coach, he took two nonqualifiers. In his second year, Ron Turner has doubled that total.

Harris and Lattimore are making Turner's decision look wise.

"They have to be somebody like these two guys," Turner said. "We have to believe that they're going to come in and work and do the right thing."

After sitting out a season, Harris and Lattimore have an idea to help all college athletes: Make freshmen ineligible.

Give them the time to adjust to school, campus life and sports.

"It wouldn't do anything but help," Lattimore said.