I don't think I am. Mendenhall got nearly 300 touches last year and averaged over 6 yards a carry. That's more than PJ Hill, Knowshon Moreno, or Jamaal Charles. Juice was the QB and only got about 430. Juice's completion percentage and INTs were not appreciably better as the season progressed, and he'll likely be facing more passing downs without Mendenhall. I don't doubt the ability and athleticism of the Illinois receivers, I doubt the ability of Williams to consistently get them the ball. I think counting on marked improvement from Juice without as strong a running game is pretty optimistic. pierre thomas was the starter in 06, and averaged 6 ypc splitting time with mendenhall. i'm not worried about the running game. we have dufrene (6.3 ypc last year), pollard, and jason ford (remember the name) who will all get time and offer their own different looks as running backs. the illini won't struggle for yards on the ground. juice only rushing for 430 last year isn't really the point. in the big games where they needed him to run, he got the tough yards. against the vaunted defense of ohio state, he sat on the ball the entire 4th quarter in a hostile environment because that's what they needed him to do. he may break the 500 yard mark this year, but he'll run just enough to be threat while the other backs get enough carries to lead the conference again, behind the big wall up front. in his last 4 games last year, down the stretch, he put up very good numbers, and 2 of those games were aginst top 5 competition. if the running game isn't as strong, he'll throw more, and the illini will be fine. in his first 5 games he posted completion percentages 50 or below, then only once the rest of the way. in those last 4, he had one game below 60, and that was aginst osu, where he threw 4 tds and then parked it in the 4th. as far as not expecting him to progress from his sophomore to junior campaigns, well, i can't really offer anything more than what i've heard and what i've seen. i'm telling you that the kid is getting it and ready to go. Don't forget about Leshoure either. I think the running game, and the offense as a whole, will be just fine for the Illini this year. i would have liked to have seen leshoure redshirt and then move to FB, he's a large one.