CHAMPAIGN — Illinois may be very thin at running back when it takes on UCLA in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

Interim Illini head coach Vic Koenning said Tuesday that starting tailback Jason Ford is among a handful of players who may not be academically eligible for the game.

One of the three backs who play behind Ford, Josh Ferguson, is expected to apply for a redshirt after missing much of the season.

That would leave another freshman, Donovonn Young, and senior Troy Pollard at back. And young is coming off an ankle injury.

Koenning also said starting fullback Jay Prosch is hospitalized with a staph infection that required knee surgery. School officials aren’t sure how or where Prosch became infected. They say no other players are ill.