n Saturday, 12 Illini will be honored during their final game at Memorial Stadium.

They say the past few seasons have been a rocky road, but a journey they won’t forget.

Alan Ball (#18)

Cornerback

Alan Ball says he always wanted to play on Saturdays.

He remembers growing up in Detroit, playing high school football and dreaming of playing in front of a packed house.

“As a kid you always want to play on Saturdays,” Ball says. “I guess I’ll miss just playing on TV on Saturdays, miss the excitement of college football.”

Ball has started games in every season of his college career and currently ranks third in the Big Ten in passes defended. He was named the team’s outstanding defensive back in 2005.

But Ball says football has taught him as many lessons off the field as on it.

“I’ve learned a lot of life lessons,” he says. “You learn to deal with a lot of different types of people; there’s people from everywhere here, and you just learn to deal with everybody.”

E.B. Halsey (#26)

Running back

E.B. Halsey loves game day. Whether it’s getting a police escort on the way to Memorial Stadium or being booed as he steps onto an opponent’s field, Halsey says there’s just something about Saturdays.

“Just waking up on Saturdays, driving to the stadium, just the feeling of playing the game,” Halsey says. “When you’re home and you walk out on the field and see a bunch of orange it’s amazing, but then when you go out on the road and see all these fans cheering against you, you feed off that energy.”

Halsey has learned to use the mistakes he’s made on and off the field to help lead the younger Illini. And that may be his most lasting legacy.

“I’m so much wiser about the people I have around me, the decisions that I make,” Halsey says. “I feel as if now I’m in a position where I see the young guys come in and they’re full of a bunch of ideas. I can be a voice for them, and I can be a voice that has proven I’ve been through it.”

Pierre Thomas (#30)

Running back

When Pierre Thomas gets the ball, Illini fans never know what to expect.

Thomas is the two-time Illini MVP and currently leads the team in rushing for the third-straight season.

“When I’m on the field, I’m in the zone,” Thomas says. “Everything’s just blocked out.”

Thomas has a long list of games he’ll remember as favorites.

There’s the Michigan State road win this season, or when the Illini topped Indiana on Dad’s Day 2004. But Thomas says his all-time favorite is narrowly edging out Rutgers at the start of last season.

“It was such an exciting feeling, running over there to the fans in the Block-I, just celebrating with them,” Thomas says.

Thomas hopes his college success will translate into a shot at NFL stardom. But if that doesn’t work out, he’s got a backup plan.

“I see myself on TV, either being a comedian or being on a TV show, but doing something funny,” Thomas says. “I don’t know why, I’ve just got this feeling.”

Tim Brasic (#15)

Quarterback

Tim Brasic was never supposed to see game time.

When the Riverside native signed with Illinois, he expected to spend four seasons on the sidelines, happy to be on the team but unlikely to step onto the field.

“If someone would have told me my college career was going to be the way it was when I came in I wouldn’t have believed them,” Brasic says.

After redshirting in 2002, Brasic got in for one pass attempt against Illinois State in 2003. He did not play in 2004, falling fourth on the depth chart behind Jon Beutjer, Brad Bower and Chris Pazan. But when Beutjer graduated, Bower transferred and Pazan decided to turn his focus to coaching, Brasic found himself in the starting spot for 14 games.

“I wasn’t expected to ever be on the field, then I got to play a whole season and a couple games,” Brasic says. “But more than that, I got to meet a bunch of great guys and make some friendships that are going to last forever.”

Arthur Boyd #92

Defensive line

Even as a freshman, Arthur Boyd never had his sights set on the NFL.

And now that the Ohio-native is done with his eligibility, that doesn’t mean he’s done with college.

“I graduated in three years, so I’m in grad school now,” Boyd says. “I’m in a one-year masters program then I’m going to med school.”

Like his father before him, Boyd is a Division-I defensive lineman. And like his dad, who played at Florida A&M;, he knows the next step after college football will set him on a path toward emergency medicine.

“I want to do general surgery, shock trauma,” Boyd says. “I want to be in the ER.”

While he knows medical school will be a daunting task, Boyd had plenty of preparation balancing football and his chemistry classes as an undergraduate. He says the skills he learned the last three years are already paying off for him in grad school.

“It’s really hard because you’re pulling all nighters, but I just kind of did it,” Boyd says. “I guess when I was going through it I was always running, trying to finish work.”

But he says that’s not the No. 1 thing he’s gotten from being an Illini.

“I’ve learned how to get along with everybody,” Boyd says. “Everybody comes from a different walk of life, different parts of the country, different classes. I’ve loved just getting to know everybody and making new friends.”

J.J. Simmons #57

Left tackle

J.J. Simmons didn’t expect to sit out his senior season. But when he tore his ACL against Purdue last year, he faced the gruesome possibility of missing the final 13 games of his college career.

In a strange way, though, that game might be his proudest moment.

“When I got hurt last year, I was playing as hard as I could,” Simmons says. “And I ran off the field.”

Simmons hopes to earn a medical redshirt and a sixth season at Illinois for 2007. He’ll be the only returnee from his signing class, but says it will be worth the title of oldest Illini.

“I love hearing the drums on game day, running out there and seeing all the fans,” Simmons says. “Even going on the road where people hate you; I love that type of thing too.

“Basically I really like playing football, so I really wouldn’t mind.”

Sharriff Abdullah #22

Cornerback

It doesn’t take long for Sharriff Abdullah to identify his favorite thing about college football.

“You get to beat people up without getting in trouble,” he says jokingly. “But really, just the competition is fun. I just like playing.”

After redshirting the 2002 season, the 5-foot-8, 170 pound Abdullah played every game of his freshman through junior seasons, In 2003, Abdullah recorded a career-best against Michigan State with 10 tackles. He has seen less action as a senior. But the Detroit native, who went to the same high school as fellow senior cornernack Alan Ball, says he has no regrets about his college career.

Abdullah graduated in May with a degree in sports management.

“I live one day at a time,” Abdullah says. “I get up every day, I go as hard as I can every day, and just let God take me where I’ve got to go. I just do what I’ve got to do every day.”

Adam Wilk #61

Defensive lineman

Adam Wilk says the first game of his college career was also his favorite.

“UCLA my freshman year,” he says without hesitation. “It was the first game I played in, first game I traveled in, and it was in the Rose Bowl.”

Wilk has struggled with injuries throughout his career, including a season-ending knee injury in the first game of last season. He says dealing with those kinds of setbacks has been the greatest challenge of his college career.

“The hardest part of being a football player is staying healthy the whole time,” Wilk says.

But he says the hardest part of leaving will not be stepping away from the action. Instead it will be parting ways with the teammates he’s shared each experience with.

“All these people you’ve been friends with for the past four years are now going to be gone, they’ll be different places,” Wilk says. “The bonds you’ve made through 6 a.m.s, doing things with your team that you hated doing but now you look back and realize you made it and all your friends were there.” and they all push you through all the hard times.”

Matt Maddox #67

Right guard

Matt Maddox has changed more than just his position in five years at Illinois.

“I’ve changed my looks a lot; I’ve gotten a lot better looking,” he says. “I guess you could say I’ve become more mature but that’s expected.”

Maddox started his college career at right guard, then moved to center in 2005. This season he switched back to right guard. The former freshman All-American and last year’s Outstanding Offensive Lineman has started all 44 games since 2003-but now has just a pair left to play.

“I don’t have one particular game I remember,” Maddox says. “But being out here, playing with my teammates, giving up the blood, sweat, tears, playing through injuries, I’m going to remember that forever.”

Edgar Mourans #24

Wide receiver

Edgar Mourans spent just three years as an Illinois football player. Mourans didn’t play as a freshman, but joined the squad in 2004.

The walk-on receiver has never played in a game. Each week he wears an orange jersey in practice and stands on the sidelines come game day, but he says it’s all been worthwhile.

“I’ve had a great time playing football at U of I, I’m really going to miss it, but at the same time I think it’s time for me to move on,” Mourans says. “It’s my time to leave.”

Mourans, a finance major, played high school football at Niles West with fellow Illini Walter and Rashard Mendenhall. While both Mendenhall brothers will be back next season, Mourans says it is time for him to go.

“I guess my favorite memory will be of the team, all the times we’ve worked out together, all the summers here, being down in the weight room just building as a team,” Mourans says. “It’s been a great experience, and I’m really grateful for that.”

Tyler Keely #56

Long snapper

Tyler Keely is leaving Illinois with a season of eligibility left. But the long snapper from Oswego guarantees he’ll be back next season.

“I’ve got a little brother who’s a freshman on the team,” Keely says, “So I’ll be back for at least three or four more years, watching them get better, get to a bowl game next year.”

This spring, Keely will graduate with a degree in Community Health. He says his next step will be to begin work toward a masters degree in science and nursing.

“I’m excited to end my stay here at U of I,” Keely says. “But I want to get my masters at a big-time University like U of I.”

As a freshman, Keely remembers being harassed by upperclassmen who told him “you’re just a specialist.” But looking back, he says, it’s been a great four years.

“Seeing the team come together, we’ve had a huge bond since my freshman year, we still hang out with all the same people we hung out with in the dorms,” Keeley says. “The foundation started here.”