LOS ANGELES - If you're a football player, his name resonates with god-like status. His voice should make you shake. His silhouette should make you tremble. His handshake should bring you to your knees.

So when Dick Butkus walked onto the edge of the University of Illinois Rose Bowl practice field Friday, word spread quickly and players snapped to attention.

"You could actually hear players saying, 'Wow!'" said Curt Mallory, Illinois' interim co-defensive coordinator.

Butkus is regarded in most circles as the meanest, most fierce linebacker in the history of the game, an All-American at Illinois who played in the 1964 Rose Bowl and a Hall of Famer with the Chicago Bears.

Butkus is a California resident now, and he was asked to address the Illini team as it prepares to take on Southern Cal Tuesday in the Rose Bowl. He didn't complicate his message.

"He said, 'Guys, just go out there and hit them,' " said Brit Miller, an Illini linebacker. "I didn't expect anything profound because he's a simple kind of guy. But the way he said it got me all fired up. I wanted to tackle him, but I let him go, seeing how he's a legend and all.

"One of the coolest things I've ever done is meet Dick Butkus because I know what he represents as a former player at Illinois and with the Bears, which is my team.

"When he walked out, someone said, 'Dick Butkus is here! Start picking it up! We're linebackers!' And everyone started flying around. It was an exhilarating experience to meet 'The Man.'

"The guy has bear-claw hands, too. I shook his hand and wow … his hand just engulfed mine. I felt kind of bad about myself. It was a surreal experience."

Linebacker J Leman said Butkus joked that he's also talked to the Illini football team that played in the 1984 Rose Bowl, and that talk helped result in a resounding 45-9 loss to UCLA.

"He said he gave a long speech to that team, and it didn't do any good, but he was going to correct that," Leman said.

A reporter from California asked Miller about that 1984 Illini Rose Bowl team.

"Word was they got caught up in all the distractions and couldn't focus on the game. What have you done to prepare for that?" the reporter asked.

"We have Michael Jordan in Champaign now," Miller deadpanned. "We had him come in and train us up a little bit. We have paparazzi following us around now, so we're used to it."

Mallory said when Butkus spoke, the team was mesmerized with his presence.

"It was only the second time I'd ever seen him," Mallory said. "He was at our spring game two years ago. He just told our guys to go out there and hit people. That's pretty good advice. It's what you'd expect from him."

Butkus told the players he plans to attend the Rose Bowl game on Tuesday.