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Maybe you are harboring a perception that, with redshirt freshman Nathan Scheelhaase at quarterback and sophomores like Michael Buchanan and Terry Hawthorne dotting the depth chart, this is a youth-laden Illini football team.

Not so. They are plenty of graybeards.

In fact, Ron Zook has 11 squadmen averaging more than 22 1/2 years of age and entering their fifth college year. Redshirts all! What an idea! These 11 include top defensive end Clay Nurse, safety Travon Bellamy, starting receivers Eddie McGee and Jarred Fayson and reserve Chris James, punter Anthony Santella and offensive line stalwarts Randall Hunt and Ryan Palmer.

Collectively, the 11 athletes have played in 249 Illini games and have made 52 starts. If you accept the assumption, generally the case, that young athletes get better with age, this is a good thing. And we start with the physically imposing duo of Hunt (6-foot-6, 310 pounds) and Palmer (6-7, 305), both fresh from their best offseason in terms of training.

Speaking in general, Zook said:

"The more times you do the same thing, the better you get it. These seniors have invested a lot, and they're the guys who are going to hold others accountable. Those are the guys that make the team player-driven and not coach-driven."

Referring to Hunt and Palmer, the strong-side guard and tackle, he said:

"Both have started and they know this is their last year. They're the glue to that offensive line. You don't hear Coach Joe (Gilbert) getting on them much because they're motivated and want to be the best they can be. I'm really proud of Ryan Palmer. I talked to him this summer and said, 'Ryan, why do guys have to wait until the end of their careers to flip the switch?' Both he and Randall have done a great job."

Big shoes to fill

If Mikel Leshoure and the UI's strong-side running attack is going to be effective, if Scheelhaase is going to have time to operate, it is critical that Hunt and Palmer dominate. Previously, they had not reached the level of the six Illini linemen currently in NFL camps, but their developing maturity is encouraging. And there is something comforting for them to see former teammates Jon Asamoah, Xavier Fulton and Ryan McDonald competing for Sunday roster slots.

"We have their pictures hanging up in our meeting room," Hunt said. "It is amazing to have all those guys representing Illinois in the NFL."

Looking back, the New Jersey product went on: "When I came here as a freshman, I needed time to develop physically and mentally. This summer I took it upon myself to set goals and get where I wanted to be. It's really paying off.

"First of all, to beat Missouri, it takes a lot of preparation. We've been through a few offenses (in past years) and we're keeping it simple with the new system. Spring ball was about learning it. Camp Rantoul was about executing it. I feel it is clicking. We have some good things brewing.

"I'm just taking it one step at a time. I'm pursuing camp goals and when that's over, I have season goals. Whatever happens after this is in the Lord's hands."

He's come a long way

Palmer said he was overweight and unprepared when he arrived here as a freshman from Canton, Ohio, home of pro football's Hall of Fame.

"I needed the transition time, developing physically and learning the plays and all," he said. "Now we're in our last year and we've got to go out and win. In the Big Ten, there are some big guys in the defensive line. You have to be strong mentally and physically. There are a lot of things you have to know."

With eight previous starts, Palmer is being counted on as a full-time performer due to the injury loss of Corey Lewis, who is redshirting. They were regarded as roughly equal in the spring.

"This is my best offseason," Palmer said. "I benched 370, and I just hang-cleaned 308, which was a big goal for me this summer. I broke my foot two years ago but I'm fine now."

"This summer for the first time the linemen practiced in a new way, just like we do for 'individual.' We weren't part of 7-on-7 except during the one-on-one pass rush, but what we did helped a lot."

Palmer said he "really likes" the return to the huddle, adding that "we have a lot of plays that Coach (Paul) Petrino brought in that will work against Missouri. We have great new coaches who have our minds set for every practice. I think our main problem last year was our focus (or lack of it). That has changed."

Petrino's offense has potential at the skill positions, but it will produce only to the level of the blockers. With the 6-7, 307-pound Graham Pocic moving in at center, the up-front crew has a look comparable to the best in the Big Ten. With Hugh Thornton and Jack Cornell currently listed as either-or at guard, all six UI linemen stand at least 6-5 and weigh at least 300.

So the experience, the size, the strength ... all are there.

Of course, that doesn't tell us anything about their technique, athleticism, coordination as a unit, performance in a new system or, as an example, whether they've learned the tricks to handling the blitz. And their presence can't completely overcome the fact that the 2007 class of would-be fourth-year seniors, the class with Arrelious Benn, Josh Brent and D'Angelo McCray, retains only nine of 19 and now displays only three – linebackers Martez Wilson, Ian Thomas and Nate Bussey – as definite starters. Imagine: That 2007 class provides just two linemen, Cornell and Craig Wilson, in the offensive two-deep chart of 22 players.

The stunning attrition in that fourth-year class is one reason why Illinois is considered a two-touchdown underdog against Missouri. Give a special vote of thanks for the redshirted 11 fifth-year veterans because, without them ... well, it's better not to think about it.

Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com