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Punter Steve Weatherford
Oct. 5, 2005
by Jared Gelfond, Illinois Sports Information
If he only had a nickel for every time he has heard people tell him he wasn't going to cut it, he could retire today. For as long as he can remember, he has heard the same old thing. "You are too small and you are too skinny. There is no way you can play football."
And who could blame them? There aren't a lot of 5-11, 165-pound wide receivers from Central Illinois playing big time college football. When he signed last year, the Illinois fans weren't the only ones asking questions and doing double takes.
But for Illinois freshman wide receiver, Kyle Hudson, those words have always served as motivation.
"I came into my freshman year of high school weighing 135 pounds and people were always saying, `You are going to have a tough time out there,'" recalled Hudson. "That first game my freshman year of high school I started, and from then on it got better and better. I just used all of that as motivation to go out and get it done."
Getting on the field during his freshman year at Mattoon didn't put an end to the skeptics' constant questions, but Hudson hasn't let that bother him.
"My parents have always taught me to care what other people are thinking, but if they are saying negative things, you just have to put that out of your mind and do what's best for you," said Hudson as he prepares for the sixth game of his collegiate career this Saturday against Indiana. "If I hear that stuff now, I just don't listen. Hopefully what I have done so far is proving to people that I can play."
And there is no doubt he can play. What Hudson lacks in size and weight, he more than makes up for with his playmaking ability, speed and ability to leap. Boasting a personal best 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, Hudson was a track star in high school and won the state high jump title as a junior with a jump of 6'10.
Growing up in the shadows of Champaign just 50 miles south in Mattoon, Hudson didn't begin his football career until his freshman year of high school. As a kid, he took to basketball and baseball, but it was his baseball career that took off. Even though he had pitched all the way until he began high school, it was center field that fit Hudson's personality.
"As a centerfielder if you can get to the ball, you are going to take it. You know the left fielder or the right fielder might be able to get to the ball, too, but you are going to take it if you get the chance. It's good to be in control and you have to have a smart kid out there to make the plays."
In the first few games of his Illinois career, Hudson has brought that same mentality to the football field.
"Being a wide receiver is kind of similar, because if the ball is coming your way, you have to catch it. That's what receivers do and you have to make the catch.
"In my first game against Rutgers, I had one ball thrown to me and didn't make the play. I was upset about that, because every time you get that opportunity, you need to make that happen."
If anyone questioned Hudson's toughness and whether he was a gamer, those questions were erased shortly after his first collegiate game. Getting his first ever pass thrown his way in the second half against Rutgers, Hudson leaped up and got hit by two defenders in double coverage. While the ball touched his hands, it would have been an incredibly difficult catch to make and Hudson couldn't come up with it.
Hudson wasn't going to make any excuses. In discussing the play with reporters after the game, he explained it was a catch he has to make and one he expects to make in the future. While the excuses of being on the field for the first time and getting hit as he tried to catch it were there, Hudson refused to use them.
"All throughout high school, my coaches put in my mind that if a ball touches your hands, you have to catch it. That's what I am out there to do--I am there to make plays and I feel those are the plays I have to make."
And so far Hudson has made plenty of them. After catching the first two passes of his collegiate career for 76 yards against San Jose State he followed that up with two solid games against California and Michigan State before breaking out this past weekend against Iowa.
Against the Hawkeyes, he caught six balls for 81 yards including a diving 41-yard picturesque grab that set up Illinois' only touchdown of the game. It was a catch that was very reminiscent of the type of athleticism displayed by Hudson's favorite Illinois player, Brandon Lloyd.
Illinois fans have seen Trudeau to Williams, George to Bellamy and Kittner to Lloyd as some of the great quarterback/receiver combinations in the history of the program. All of those quarterbacks had a special connection with their receivers, and while they have a long way to go before being compared with those guys, it seems Brasic and Hudson are beginning to develop that same type of chemistry.
"Coming in here this summer, Tim was getting on me a little bit as older guys do to freshman, but we have grown pretty close. I think he feels comfortable with me and I feel comfortable with him. Every chance we get, we talk about things, so it's a great relationship to have."
Once again, Hudson has proved everyone wrong. After only a few games he has showed the fans, his coaches and the rest of the Big Ten that he belongs. The only question from the critics now is just how good he will end up being. If they were smart, they wouldn't bet against him.
