In the wake of the NFL draft, there are two ways to view the way the league's 32 teams all but ignored the available talent from Illinois' Rose Bowl squad.

Running back Rashard Mendenhall, who went No. 23 overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers, was the only Illini who heard his name called. Considering 10 seniors started the Rose Bowl for Illinois -- and Mendenhall was an early-entry junior -- that suggests the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year was far more important to the team than anyone can measure. That's one theory.

The other? Illinois welcomes back quite a bit more talent than it's being given credit for having.

Though fourth-year coach Ron Zook constantly expresses his gratitude to his players who have moved on, consider him firmly in the "quite a bit more talent" camp.

"I really believe we're going to have a better football team," Zook said after Illinois' spring game on April 19. "We've still got a lot of work to do (on offense), but there's no doubt in my mind we're light years ahead of where we were (a year ago)."

Though key players such as sophomore receiver Arrelious Benn sat out spring ball to heal after surgery, Illinois believes it found replacements for almost all of its departed starters.

Left guard Randall Hunt and right tackle Ryan Palmer are in line to replace All-American Martin O'Donnell and Akim Millington. Strong-side linebacker Brit Miller has shifted to the middle to replace all-American J Leman, while senior Rodney Pittman and uber-talented sophomore Martez Wilson settled into the outside 'backer spots.

Some unsettled spots? Nobody stepped forward to fill Mendenhall's shoes, though the team had just three healthy runners for spring ball. Junior Daniel Dufrene, who regained a year of eligibility during the offseason, will go into fall camp as the leader over true freshman Mikel LeShoure and converted safety Darius Purcell. Incoming freshman Jason Ford and redshirt freshman Troy Pollard, who wrecked his knee against Indiana last season and missed spring ball, will join the fray at Camp Rantoul.

Illinois also didn't find definite starters to replace its three lost seniors at safety, but several candidates showed well including sophomores Travon Bellamy, Nate Bussey, Garrett Edwards and Bo Flowers. Bellamy seems a likely starter, while incoming juco Donsay Hardeman will have his say in the fall.

Since Illinois has such a strong and deep defensive line, there won't be quite as much initial pressure on the new linebackers and safeties. If they come along -- and offensive coordinator Mike Locksley can forge a competent committee of running backs -- the Illini should remain in the Big Ten's upper echelon.

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