Coming into 2006, Ron Zook’s second year at Illinois, expectations were growing after the country got a look at some of the athletes he was bringing into the program. Juice Williams, Vontae Davis and Dere Hicks were just a couple of parts of an Illini recruiting class that modestly surprised some people in the college football world.

Michael Hoomanawanui and Jeff Cumberland, two members of that same class, were expected to open up the Illini offense and contribute early as tight ends. Hoomanawanui was first team All-State while at Bloomington Central Catholic (Bloomington, Ill.) and Cumberland was rated the 66th best prospect in the nation by ESPN.com and was a four-star recruit by both rivals.com and scout.com.

But the two have put up only meager production in their first two years as Illini. Hoomanawanui has five career catches in 21 starts, and Cumberland put up unassuming numbers on the end of the line before moving to receiver. He has since flourished, but has been slowed lately by a foot injury. Hoomanawanui, though, is coming off a fruitful spring season, which has his coaches excited to see increased production from the tight end spot.

“I think that Hoomanawanui’s put himself in a position to have a big year,” Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley said. “He had a really good spring and we were pretty pumped up about that … I’m looking forward to the tight end playing a bigger position for us.”

Locksley has been disappointed with his tight ends’ production since he arrived in Champaign and attributes some of that to players’ inexperience. But he pointed out that his offensive system successfully used the tight end to stretch the field when he coached on Ron Zook’s Florida Gators staff. A big reason for Locksley’s success at Florida was Ben Troupe, now with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who amassed 974 yards and seven touchdowns in his Gator career.

The coaches are not the only ones hoping for a breakout season from Hoomanawanui, freshman Hubie Graham and the rest of the tight end corps. Williams said he is more confident in Hoomanawanui after his spring season and thinks the coaches will be as well when they call the plays from the press box this season.

“Sometimes you’re not as confident with a position right off the top,” the junior quarterback said, “but as time goes on you begin to gain that confidence, and I think Coach Locksley has gained the confidence in his tight ends to go out there and make plays and stretch the field a little bit.”

Hoomanawanui is quick to point out that he needs to put in the work this fall to equal his spring production for this season, but he said he noticed a difference in his practice habits his third year on campus. And he hopes his attitude will rub off on the younger tight ends so they don’t have to endure the same growing pains he and Cumberland went through.

“There’s a lot of things to learn about the game that you didn’t know as a younger player,” Hoomanawanui said. “But … being an upperclassman and playing my first two years here, personally, I’ve taken on a leadership standpoint with the two tight ends that just came in.”

Hoomanawanui’s new role should make the Illinois coaches happy because they are counting on big things from the junior and his understudies to balance the offense. And perhaps in the near future the Illini will have tight ends following Zook’s and Locksley’s blueprints for their ideal tight end – one that can put up Troupe-like numbers in the passing game.