When senior Kelvin Hayden was moved to cornerback over the winter, most Illinois fans thought head coach Ron Turner was trying to dig his own grave by moving his team’s best receiver to defense.

Little did people know that Turner had primetime.

That primetime is junior wide receiver Kendrick Jones and he has the ink to prove it. Jones, who has his “Primetime” nickname tattooed in green ink on the right side of his neck, looked like the original Primetime, Deion Sanders, in the Illini’s scrimmage Saturday in Rantoul.

“My nickname is primetime and I think I thrive off the limelight,” Jones said.

Jones has talked the talk his first three years on campus but, unlike Deion, hasn’t torn the college world apart with a Mr. T starter kit once he stepped on campus. The coaches say Jones was inconsistent. Jones calls his play sporadic.

Jones’ two biggest accomplishments thus far have been blocking a punt against Arkansas State in 2002 and making Sports Illustrated’s college football preview last year. The magazine highlighted the fact Jones was the only returning Illini with a pass reception. He had one catch.

Now those numbers will go up. Jones caught a 19-yard diving touchdown pass on Illinois first possession Saturday. When he got into top gear the defense didn’t have its own primetime to contain primetime.

Jones flew by the secondary, looking like an offensive version of Deion, when he effortlessly grabbed a 54-yard bomb.

What makes Jones even more impressive is how he rebounded after dropping the first ball thrown his way. He could have fallen back into his old inconsistent pattern. But not this year.

“I told (Jones) we were going to go back to you (after his first drop) and you’re going to make the next one,” Turner said. “And he did.”

If Jones keeps playing like this, a new word can describe his play – reliable. He spent the spring working with Jon Beutjer so the two could become as fluid as when Kurt Kittner and Brandon Lloyd were roaming Memorial Stadium. Saturday, Beutjer looked to throw to Jones as often as he could. A lot like Kittner would with Lloyd.

“We built a chemistry,” Jones said of himself and Beutjer. “He felt he could throw it up and I could get it wherever it was.”

If Jones keeps it going, the Illini may have found their new number one wide receiver, but then again it’s tough to call. Trying to figure out who the top wideout is tougher than deciphering Ozzy Ozbourne during the seventh inning stretch.

One day Jones starts alongside Ade Adeyemo. The next day, Mark Kornfeld and DaJuan Warren look like All-Big Ten players with freshman Brian Creamer making an acrobatic catch. That is five different names and I haven’t even mentioned last year’s returning starter, Lonnie Hurst.

During Saturday’s scrimmage the group showed their collective talent. When the quarterbacks got the ball in the air, the receivers moved the first down chains. The only thing to stop the group was the dim lighting at the Rantoul High School field. It would have been better if the game had been played at the Liquor Locker, located across the street from the field, which had a better glow radiating from its neon signs.

In the Big Ten, illumination technology should be up to date so vision shouldn’t be a problem, and that is almost as good of news as the attitude Jones had after the game. The immature kid was gone and a man with a vision had taken his place.

“I’m trying to be somebody (the team) can count on every down to get something done,” Jones said.

Doing that will get primetime to his limelight.