For those of you coming back to Champaign-Urbana this weekend to participate in the Homecoming festivities, there are a lot of things around campus that you might not have noticed before.

Sure, there are those huge buildings towering over campus, and the new stores on Green Street are starting to make Campustown look more like Naperville than an east central Illinois town, but there are changes happening all over the gridiron as well.

Players changing positions in college football isn’t a new or revolutionary idea, but the Illini are using this strategy to upgrade the entire team by trying to put game-changing players at important positions.

Usually coaches will move an under-performing player to a different position in order to give him a chance to find playing time.

Remember troubled Illini backup quarterback Kisan Flakes? After not seeing the field in 2005 and with senior Tim Brasic returning to as the starter in 2006 as well as some freshman named Juice coming to campus, the coaches decided to try Flakes out as a wide receiver. The experiment failed, but since then, Illinois has used player positions to benefit the team rather than the individual.

Some of you may recall when Xavier Fulton was an up-and-coming defensive end in 2004 and 2005.

Now the 6-foot-5, 300 pound senior is playing his second year as the starting left tackle.

“The coaches approached me about it first,” Fulton said of the switch that took place in the spring of 2007. “I went over and I knocked a few people down and (head coach Ron Zook) liked it. So I stayed.”

With the Illini transitioning to a spread offense that required their lineman to be able to attack the outside faster and get downfield quicker, the coaches turned to Fulton for speed up front and placed him into a key position.

That gamble is now paying off, as Fulton is the anchor of an offensive line ranked second in Big Ten rushing offense (210.8 yards per game) that is sure to be on display against Minnesota this Saturday.

Fulton isn’t Zook’s only key change since taking over the Illini program that is now paying off in 2008.

Juniors Chris Duvalt and Jeff Cumberland have been moved to wide receiver in order to take pressure off of sophomore Arrelious Benn.

Duvalt spent his first two seasons in an Illini uniform playing a reserve role at defensive back while Cumberland saw some playing time at tight end.

Now as wide receivers, Duvalt leads the team in touchdowns receptions with three catches for scores, and Cumberland has solidified himself as a player capable of making big catches downfield.

“(Duvalt) is really happy with the change because he was frustrated playing on the defense,” Fulton said of his locker room neighbor. “And (Cumberland) finally found a spot where he can be a huge asset to the team.”

With Duvalt turning into one of quarterback Juice Williams’ favorite scoring threats and safeties having to worry about Cumberland as a deep threat, more space has been opened in the secondary for Benn to do what he does best: catch the ball and then makes plays in the open field.

The coaching staff also made changes to the defense by moving senior Will Davis from tight end to defensive end.

As a freshman, Davis struggled while seeing limited playing time on offense. The coaches then moved him to defensive end, and now Davis is one of the best defensive lineman in the conference.

In 2007, Davis was named to the Second Team All-Big Ten defense and this season Davis is a pre-season Third Team All-American end.

The coaches even change their positions in the abstract sense to better use a players specific strengths.

For example, who thinks Juice is actually a running back who happens to be really good at throwing the ball? My hand is raised.

Juice leads this team in rushing attempts (83), rushing yards gained (485) and rushing touchdowns (4) – something you hardly expect from a “quarterback”. Zook and the coaching staff recognized Juice’s potential as a runner early in his Illinois career and have started to alter their play-calling to compliment his ability to move the ball like a running back.

Now the offense uses their quarterback in a nontraditional sense: run the ball to control the clock and wear down the defense. Games like last year’s upset of Ohio State and last weekend’s blowout of Michigan come to mind as prime examples.

Sometimes changes like the ones Zook has made since coming to Champaign can go unnoticed, but don’t be surprised to see more changes in the future (Martez Wilson to defensive end?) because the coaches have proven they want to get their best players in the best position to succeed.

After all, it is these position changes that have the Illini switching positions in the conference and moving to the upper tier of Big Ten football.

Kyle Betts is a graduate student. He can be reached at [email protected].