Illini football players Kyle Yelton, Evan Frierson, Kaeman Mitchell, Whitney Mercilus, and Jason Ford made new friends on a recent Hometown Heroes visit to the local Pee Wee football awards ceremony held earlier this month. They helped take part in the ceremony, which was held at Jupiter's in west Champaign.

Hometown Heroes is a community outreach program that provides our student-athletes with opportunities to interact with youth from Champaign County while spreading a anti-drug, anti-gang and pro-Illini message. This program enables our student-athletes to develop their speaking skills while impacting the lives of others as they serve as role models for the youth of our community.