Illini football players Jake Howe, Tim Kynard, Whitney Mercilius, and Austin Teitsma gave 2nd graders from Lovington Grade School a tour of Memorial Stadium on Thursday. The children were visiting campus as part of the Hometown Heroes program. The student-athletes visited with them during their tour and answered questions afterwards from the 2nd grade students.

Hometown Heroes is a community outreach program that provides our student-athletes with opportunities to interact with youth from Champaign County while spreading an 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.