April 20, 2004

University of Illinois head football coach Ron Turner released today the depth chart, following spring practices, with eight starters returning on the offensive side of the ball and six on the defense. Starters were named at 21 of the 22 positions, leaving a major battle at wide receiver between junior Kendrick Jones and sophomore Lonnie Hurst.

The returning starters on offense include left guard Bryan Koch, center Duke Preston, right guard Matt Maddox, right tackle Bucky Babcock, quarterback Jon Beutjer, tight end Melvin Bryant, running back E.B. Halsey and receiver Lonnie Hurst. In addition to those eight are nine others who contributed significant time, as well as periodical starts in tight end Anthony McClellan, receivers Mark Kornfeld and Ade Adeyemo, running backs Pierre Thomas and Marcus Mason, quarterback Chris Pazan and fullback Jason Davis.

Defensively, six players are back who have been regulars in the lineup, defensive ends Mike O'Brien and Scott Moss, defensive tackle Ryan Matha, linebacker Matt Sinclair, safety Travis Williams and cornerback Alan Ball. Seven players in the two-deep have also seen considerable time on last year's Illini defense, including part-time starters in corner Sharriff Abdullah, defensive end Lee Robinson and linebackers Antonio Mason and Josh Tischer. Two other former starters will continue to fill that role, just on the opposite side of the ball in receiver-turned-cornerback Kelvin Hayden and running back-turned-safety Morris Virgil.

On special teams, the Illini will fill a vacated placekicker role with veteran punter Steve Weatherford, who will also battle for his punting position with junior Matt Minnes. The two shared time in 2003.

OFFENSE
Left Tackle
57 JJ Simmons (6-6, 290, So.)
68 Jim LaBonte (6-7, 300, r-Fr.)

Left Guard
71 Bryan Koch (6-3, 285, Sr.)
64 Martin O'Donnell (6-5, 290, r-Fr.)

Center
75 Duke Preston (6-5, 305, Sr.)
69 Ben Amundsen (6-6, 305, r-Fr.) OR
72 Kyle Schnettgoecke (6-3, 280, Jr.)

Right Guard
67 Matt Maddox (6-4, 290, So.)
62 Jordan Kruger (6-4, 285, Jr.)
76 Kevin Gage (6-6, 285, r-Fr.)

Right Tackle
70 Bucky Babcock (6-4, 305, Sr.)
79 James Ryan (6-6, 310, r-Fr.)

Quarterback
7 Jon Beutjer (6-5, 211, Sr.)
15 Tim Brasic (6-2, 185, So.) OR
16 Chris Pazan (6-2, 210, So.)

Running Back
26 E.B. Halsey (5-11, 185, So.)
30 Pierre Thomas (5-11, 190, So.) AND
23 Marcus Mason (5-9, 200, So.)

Fullback
34 Jason Davis (5-11, 220, Jr.)
33 Brock Bolen (6-1, 230, Fr.) OR
35 Brian Grzelakowski (5-11, 210, r-Fr.)

Wide Receiver
4 Ade Adeyemo (6-0, 195, Sr.)
19 Mark Kornfeld (6-1, 200, Sr.)
80 Franklin Payne (6-0, 185, So.)

Wide Receiver
1 Lonnie Hurst (6-3, 190, So.) OR
84 Kendrick Jones (6-1, 180, Jr.)
8 DaJuan Warren (6-3, 195, r-Fr.)

Tight End
88 Melvin Bryant (6-5, 235, So.)
81 Anthony McClellan (6-3, 245, Sr.)
89 Zach Gray (6-3, 250, So.)

DEFENSE
Defensive End
93 Mike O'Brien (6-6, 225, Sr.)
39 James Stevenson (6-3, 240, r-Fr.) OR
95 Lee Robinson (6-5, 265, Sr.)

Defensive Tackle
97 Ryan Matha (6-1, 285, Jr.)
61 Adam Wilk (6-5, 275, So)

Defensive Tackle
74 Mike Maloney (6-3, 280, Sr.)
96 Chris Norwell (6-7, 270, r-Fr.)

Defensive End
90 Scott Moss (6-3, 260, Jr.)
92 Arthur Boyd (6-3, 265, So.)

Linebacker
36 Josh Tischer (6-1, 215, Jr.)
46 Antonio Mason (6-0, 245, Jr.) OR
51 Anthony Thornhill (6-1, 215, r-Fr.)

Linebacker
45 Mike Gawelek (6-2, 230, Sr.)
53 Joe Mele (6-2, 225, r-Fr.)

Linebacker
44 Matt Sinclair (6-3, 240, Sr.)
47 J Leman (6-3, 220, r-Fr.)

Cornerback
6 Kelvin Hayden (6-0, 198, Sr.)
25 James Cooper (5-11, 200, Jr.)

Free Safety
28 Travis Williams (6-1, 185, Jr.)
10 Kyle Kleckner (6-0, 195, Jr.)

Strong Safety
20 Morris Virgil (5-10, 195, Sr.)
31 Brian Brosnan (6-1, 205, Jr.) OR
42 Kevin Mitchell (6-0, 190, r-Fr.)

Cornerback
18 Alan Ball (6-1, 175, So.)
22 Sharriff Abdullah (5-8, 180, So.)

SPECIAL TEAMS
Placekicker
37 Steve Weatherford (6-4, 205, Jr.)

Punter
37 Steve Weatherford (6-4, 205, Jr.) OR
38 Matt Minnes (6-2, 195, Sr.)

Long Snapper
39 Tyler Keely (6-1, 172, r-Fr.)
40 Justin Kovach (6-1, 220, r-Fr.)

Holder
38 Matt Minnes (6-2, 195, Sr.)

Kickoff Return
20 Morris Virgil (5-10, 195, Sr.)
6 Kelvin Hayden (6-0, 198, Sr.)
30 Pierre Thomas (5-11, 190, So.)
23 Marcus Mason (5-9, 200, So.)

Punt Return
26 E.B. Halsey (5-11, 185, So.)
28 Travis Williams (6-1, 185, Jr.)