RANTOUL - When Illinois was rolling to the Rose Bowl in the 1983 season, wideout David Williams pulled in 69 receptions. The next year, he had 101 and then grabbed 92 the season after that. The All-American's career total of 262 receptions is the best in school history by nearly 100. | NCAA football page

When Illinois was winning the Big Ten Conference title in 2001, quarterback Kurt Kittner relied on a foursome of skilled receivers that included Brandon Lloyd, Greg Lewis, Walter Young and Aaron Moorehead. All of them landed in the NFL.

So Illinois is no stranger to production at the wide receiver position.

But never in school history has Illinois been so absolutely loaded with talented wide receivers as this season's team. The roster is overflowing with speedy, athletic, game-breaking pass catchers, and one of the most difficult decisions the coaching stuff will face is deciding which of them to play and which of them to sit.

Fortunately, depth at the position is vital in Illinois' spread offense. Coordinator Mike Locksley will often use four receivers at a time and he has shown an inclination to rotate fresh bodies in and out of the lineup. So opportunities abound.

But with 14 receivers on the roster, the competition for playing time is already heating up.

"I'm not going to say there's too much talent out there because some of them are green as grass," outside receivers coach Kurt Beathard said. "But they're as talented a group as I've ever coached."

On Friday, the receivers took turns making acrobatic catches and flashing the kind of speed that makes defensive coordinators grimace.

Decatur's Marques Wilkins, one of the inside receivers, never looked better, an indication that the competition is pushing players to rise to a new level.

"It's a fun group to be around because these are guys who want to be good and they want to make an impact," Beathard said. "But I want to see how they sort things out in a scrimmage. That will be a better indicator."

The first full-go scrimmage will take place at 6:15 Monday evening at Rantoul High School, and Locksley said that's when the coaching staff will get a better idea of how to rank the deep group.

"They all look good playing two-hand touch," Locksley said. "Once we can go live, that's when I expect them to separate themselves."

Who's looking the best so far? That's hard to say.

Without question, having Big Ten Freshman of the Year Rejus Benn at full health assures he'll have a primary role. He led the team with 54 catches last season despite playing the entire year in a harness that stabilized his separated shoulder.

No receiver seems to have more game-breaking speed than converted defensive back Chris Duvalt, who makes two or three electrifying plays every practice.

"The kid loves to play football," Beathard said. "He's like a little crash dummy out there jumping around and making plays."

Jeff Cumberland is a huge target at 6-foot-5, 251 pounds. Speedy Will Judson is just the opposite, a water bug at 5-8, 163.

Also back to full health is Chris James, who missed all of last season when he tore his ACL in training camp.

"We have a lot of guys who can play, and none of us are really selfish," James said. "If one of the other guys scores, that's seven points for us. If I get my block after Rejus catches the ball, it's a touchdown. The competition is making all of us better."

Four talented freshmen are pushing the more experienced receivers.

The most heralded of the group is 6-4 Cordale Scott, who Illinois pried away from Ohio State. A.J. Jenkins, who was a major recruiting catch from Jacksonville, Fla., is even faster. Another Floridian, Fred Sykes, enrolled in January and has the benefit of playing spring ball.

But the sleeper of the mix could be Jack Ramsey, who was an option quarterback at Chicago Simeon and who has the look of a dynamic playmaker as a slot receiver.

"He's a run-after-the-catch guy who has some open-field skills," said Locksley, who may find some creative ways to get the ball into Ramsey's hands.

Although not as explosive, walk-on Alex Reavy of Springfield could find the field, too, mainly because Beathard said he never makes a mental mistake and has outstanding hands.

The depth at receiver has allowed coach Ron Zook to shift Brian Gamble to safety, and Illinois appears more than capable of absorbing the loss of Mattoon's Kyle Hudson, who bypassed his senior season to play professional baseball.

And not yet figuring in the mix is one of the most explosive players on the team, Jared Fayson, a transfer from the University of Florida who won't be eligible until next season.

At practice on Friday, an interested onlooker was Nathan Scheelhaase, the Kansas City prep quarterback who has committed to the Illini and will be on campus next year.

As he looked out on the practice field, he couldn't help but see a flotilla of receivers flying around the field like jets. He probably doesn't know the wide receiver position at Illinois has never been in such wonderful shape.