By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com

Thanks primarily to the rushing successes of Reggie Corbin and AJ Bush, offensive coordinator Rod Smith smiled a lot more often than he frowned in 2018. Illinois' statistical numbers for rushing offense, total offense and scoring offense all surged a year ago, improving dramatically from 2017.

Increasing the productivity of the Illini passing game is Smith's primary focus this spring. In particular, they're counting on Chicago junior-to-be Ricky Smalling to reach his personal potential and emerge as an all-star in 2019. That's No. 4's objective as well.

"We heard a lot of the negative comments about the receiver corps," Smalling said. "We know that we didn't perform as well as we should have, so we're doing what we need to do to become the best receiver corps we can."

Smith says he and wide receivers coach Andrew Hayes-Stoker have had several conversations with Smalling and his teammates during the off-season.

"Ricky knows there's another couple levels that he needs to get to," Smith said. "He's a talented kid and he can be as good as anybody out there … if he becomes more consistent. He can do that through his preparation and through his work, taking every rep in practice to hone his craft. He knows that he's got to play better. I really expect him to take a big step this spring."

Smalling intends to takes his coaches' advice.

"Coach Smith told me that I need to have a different mindset and come to work hard every day," he said. "I have to want to be great. I have to be more prepared and just play my game and make things happen. I'm working on the fundamentals, just little things like getting in and out of my breaks, catching the ball, and knowing coverages … things that help me be in a better position to make a play. I have to not only push myself, but also push the whole receiver corps to do better."

Throughout its history, a number of Illini wide receivers have earned All-Big Ten and All-America honors, including Hall of Famer David Williams, Mike Bellamy, Brandon Lloyd, Aaron Moorehead and Arrelious Benn.

Hayes-Stoker says that Smalling should study what his former Illini teammate Malik Turner has done to turn himself into a legitimate NFL receiver with the Seattle Seahawks.

"Malik wasn't super fast, but he has so many intangibles that are really, really good," Hayes-Stoker said. "As a senior, he did a great job of coming to my office and talking about and studying scenarios. We'd go over a million different things, so then when he got to the field he'd put them into practice. When Malik got to Seattle, it showed up.

"When you look at the guys New England is playing with," Hayes-Stoker continued, "they're not the most talented guys— (Julian) Edelman, (Danny) Amendola, (Wes) Welker, (Chris) Hogan—but they all find a way to win. They've got a formula and a plan, and they execute the plan. They do a million scenarios in practice.

"They train the right way," Hayes-Stoker said. "That's what Malik has going for him. And I expect him to continue to evolve as a pro because he loves studying the game. That's his advantage. It takes a special guy to want to do that and be that. Everyone thinks that they're just going to line up and be a pro; it just doesn't work that way."

Smalling says he's noticed Turner's progress and that he intends to put those same practices into place for himself and his current teammates.

"We've all been watching Malik's clips," Smalling said. "He's really looking like a pro right now. I'm proud of him. He just shows me what I need to do to get where I want to go. He's kind of like a blueprint of how to be a great receiver."

Besides Smalling's 33 catches for 406 yards and five touchdowns from a year ago, the Illini's most productive wide-outs from 2018 include senior Trenard Davis (30 for 278 yards), junior Dominic Stampley (19 for 311, 2 TD) and senior Caleb Reams (5 for 58). 

They're joined in spring practice by several returnees. Senior Justice Williams, junior Kendall Smith, sophomores Edwin Carter, Jordan Holmes, Carlos Sandy and Donny Navarro, and redshirt freshman Dylan Thomas. Navarro will be eligible this season after sitting out 2018 after transferring from Valparaiso. Incoming freshman Casey Washington from Pflugerville, Texas, and some possible graduate transfers also will join the Illini receivers next fall.

Rod Smith says the Illini receiving corps is "a work in progress."

"Improvement has to happen with our receivers, but that's the case with all of our positions," Smith said. "It was pretty glaring last year because we had more drops and breakdowns than we should have had. There's enough talent to get it done, but we just need to continue to get more confident about what our responsibilities are and improve our ability to execute plays. Last year was our first year in the system. Sometimes you press when you're trying to figure out what your role is, but I expect those guys to get a lot better this spring and moving into the fall as well."

Smalling is abundantly optimistic about the 2019 season.

"(Strength and conditioning) Coach Lou (Hernandez) has us working hard," he says. "The team chemistry is going through the roof. He makes us all depend on each other. No one is left behind. If someone's not working hard, everybody's going to pay a price for that. You don't want to let the person to your right or left down. We've got a lot of young guys coming up who can really play ball."