Sunday, August 6, 2006 11:01 PM CDT
Hudson’s swagger a show of confidence
BY BRIAN NIELSEN, Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com
CHAMPAIGN -- Don’t count on Kyle Hudson shedding his longer-than-most-football-players’ hair or his earrings just because Illinois football coaches suggest it.
Illini coaches also suggested the former Mattoon sports star take a rest after his rare football/baseball freshman year, but Hudson didn’t follow that advice either perhaps tilting his way over the good side.
If Hudson’s hitting .370 for an Illini baseball team on days spring football practice did not keep him from it rather than spending more time in the weight room adding bulk to what some thought was a too-small-for-Big-Ten-football body bothered the football staff, coach Ron Zook was not making those complaints public.
“No, I wasn’t disappointed,” Zook said. “If Kyle wouldn’t have been as important part of the baseball team I might have been. After baseball season we thought he looked tired. We tried to give him a week off, and he wouldn’t take it. He took two days. That’s the kid of kid he is.
“He’s got a little swagger now. I like that. We’ve been teasing him about his hair and earrings.”
Told about those comments Sunday at Illinois’ football media day, Hudson smiled and said “Coach Zook is always harping about my earrings. They say I should get a haircut. We’ll see.”
A former state track champion in the high jump and state qualifier in the 100-meter dash, Hudson is not sprinting or jumping to a barber shop to appease coaches because, well, he probably does not have to provide the perfectly conformed look after being named Illinois’ football Rookie of the Year leading the 2005 team with 469 reception yards on 31 catches last year.
The mighty mite receiver is not claiming to draw any Samson-like football strength from his hair just that, then again, the fashion statement does not hamper his game either.
“It’s for the women,” Hudson said with a laugh. “Let’s just say it’s for the women.”
Looks probably would not keep Hudson from attracting the co-eds.
After being the scared kid trainers mistook as a cross country runner instead of football player last preseason, Kyle Hudson became BMOC.
“He’s the busiest man on campus,” said Brit Miller, an Illinois linebacker and Hudson’s former Big 12 Conference Decatur Eisenhower foe who last year roomed with the Mattoon product. “We never had time to get on each other’s nerves because we didn’t see each other that much.”
Maybe that rigorous spring schedule n though perhaps not all that different from when Hudson’s high school days when he mixed a 2003 state high jump championship into his spring devoted mainly to baseball - kept the former four-sport All-Big 12 star from adding weight at the same time Miller was shedding pounds to be in better playing shape as a sophomore.
“I think Hudson had more trouble putting on the weight than I did taking it off,” Miller said. “I lost about 20 points. I’d say ‘Hud, you’ve got to eat.’ ”
Listed at 5-foot-11, 165 in Illinois’ media guide, Hudson estimates he is up to 170 now.
“I was able to put on about 10 or 12 pounds,” he said. “It’s tough with all the running we do. But I played a lot lighter last year.”
And he played more than most expected from the true freshman.
“The biggest thing is now we know what we have,” Illini offensive coordinator Mike Locksley said. “Last year we were wondering about the skinny kid from Mattoon. Then (receivers) coach (Dino) Dawson said ‘this kid is making plays and so we moved him into the offense.’ ”
Quarterback Tim Brasic said: “Kyle really came out of nowhere with his competitiveness and his heart. It doesn’t matter how big and fast you are, although he’s very fast and he plays like he’s 6-4. I feel I know when he’s going to make his break. We kind of had that that naturally last year, and this summer we built on that.”
After a 2-9 season, neither Brasic nor Hudson is guaranteed his same playing time.
The starting quarterback for all 11 games last year when he had 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 61.1 percent of his passes, Brasic could be challenged by freshman Isiah “Juice” Williams.
Hudson finds himself in a more crowded receiving corps.
“I would hope we would build on his role,” Locksley said. “With the young receivers, it gives us more depth. It should push Kyle more.
“We’re going to play eight receivers. You’ve got to be two-deep at all four positions. It doesn’t do you any good to have a guy running half speed because he’s tired.”
If not running in as many plays as last year, Hudson might be running farther.
“I was an X and moved to Z,” Hudson said. “It’s a lot different routes, deeper routes. That’s what I did in high school. I moved my senior year from an X to a Z and that worked out all right.”
More Illinois receivers might mean that Hudson does not get the chance to have 31 catches like last year, including a 10-reception, 114-yard-day against Wisconsin.
“You know I’m not really worried about that,” he said. “I just want to help the team win.
“Coaches all week have been talking about the competition and that it’s going to be good for us.”
Others in camp now know that Hudson is not likely to back away from that competition.
In fact, on Sunday Zook used him as an example for media not to discount players because of troubles early this preseason.
“You remember Kyle Hudson,” the head coach said. “Last year the first couple of practices I thought, I don’t know. . .But we know the year he had.”
Contact Brian Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.
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CLICK TO ENLARGE
 Kelly J. Huff (JG/T-C)
Mingling with teammates at Illinois’ football media Sunday at Memorial Stadium, Mattoon’s Kyle Hudson (21) is a little bigger and considerably more confident after being named the team’s Rookie of the Year in 2005.
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Angie Miley wrote on Jul 17, 2006 8:05 PM: