Just one year ago, Mike Dudek was a lightly recruited receiver entering his first spring practices.

Following a stellar freshman campaign that led to his selection as a Freshman All-American, Dudek enters his second round of spring practices with a new level of expectations.

“He’s got to understand, it’s going to be a lot different,” offensive coordinator Bill Cubit said. “It’s not like you’re a freshman coming in and nobody knows who you are. There’s an added, I don’t want to say pressure, but people are going to look at you a little more. You’re going to get different coverages.”

In his first season in Champaign, Dudek set freshman school records with 76 catches for 1,038 yards, while tying the freshman record with six touchdowns — highlighted by his performance against Purdue on Oct. 4, when he caught eight passes for 200 yards.

“I’m still kind of in awe of Big Ten football,” Dudek said. “It’s always been a dream of mine since I was a kid.”

Dudek enrolled for spring practice last season as an early enrollee after the Illini were his only FBS offer out of high school.

Though Dudek proved he belonged in the Big Ten, there are still slights for Dudek to use as motivation.

Despite leading the Big Ten in yards during conference games, with 716 yards in eight conference games — 89.5 yards per game — Dudek was left off the All-Big Ten team by the coaches and was a second-team selection by the media. He was a Freshman All-American by ESPN.com, in addition to making the Big Ten’s All-Freshman team.

Even with the accolades, Dudek still doesn’t feel as though he met the expectations he set for himself going into the season.

“I set mine as high as I can,” Dudek said of his personal goals. “Some people like to think that I did, but I don’t think that I did. I push to be an All-American fully, not just a Freshman All-American.

“But the main goal, of course, is to go out and win.”

While outsiders might have overlooked the 5-foot-11 product out of Naperville, Illinois, Cubit knew that Dudek had a chance to be an immediate playmaker from the slot.

“Everybody looked at him during recruiting and said ‘he’s too small’ or asks if he’s fast enough. So from that perspective, he did,” Cubit said. “But if you looked at him in practice in the spring and during camp, you say no. That’s what you expected from him.”

Heading into next season, Cubit said that Dudek has “a lot” of room still to grow as a player, and he will have to continue to progress to stay in front of defenses.

“All of little flaws he had, route running, he’s got to fix that in order to keep that added advantage,” Cubit said. “You’re going to get their best guy all the time. That’s going to be from the very beginning.”

Crouch now fully healthy after spring break

Monday’s practice was the first of the spring that saw backup quarterback Chayce Crouch in a navy blue jersey, which indicates a full practice participant. The redshirt freshman utilized spring break to rest an ailing hamstring.

Crouch currently sits second on the depth chart at quarterback behind junior starter Wes Lunt.

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