Every school has a gimmick to get recruits. Southern California is famous for running backs, Miami loads up on quarterbacks and Illinois has been branded as Linebacker U.

Illinois has produced NFL Hall of Fame linebackers like Dick Butkus and Ray Nitschke. The list includes productive professional players like Simeon Rice and Kevin Hardy.

However, since 2000, the Illini have failed to have any linebacker that required national attention and merit. This drop off in recruiting has led to firing of three different defensive coordinators along with two head coaches. Illinois is now coming off a season where they finished near the bottom in the Big Ten Conference in nearly every defensive category.

Second year Head coach Ron Zook now looks to another linebacker in junior J. Leman for leadership on a defense that is young and athletic.

“We have to prove we’re a program that belongs in the Big Ten and can compete,” Zook said in Big Ten media day press conference. “You can talk about, but until you do it, it doesn’t mean anything.”

Zook made it clear to the returning players in preseason practice this summer in Rantoul that the one way of competing is an attitude change on defense.

“There’s two ways to change attitude,” Zook said. “You can bring in new attitudes and keep pounding in the ones you have.”

Leman is coming off a sophomore season where he was named the team’s most outstanding linebacker and is a nominee for the 2007 Butkus Award. The red-shirt junior has seen drastic changes in style and philosophy in his four years on campus.

“It’s a lot different this year,” Leman said during the Big Ten media day press conference. “We’re young but starting last year we had to earn our experience.”

In 2002, Leman was the first product from Champaign Central High School in over 20 years to commit to the Illini and Leman lists former Illinois linebacker Dana Howard as his Fighting Illini hero. Howard was the first Butkus Award winner in Illinois history in 1994. He signed with Illinois after he watched his hometown team win a Big Ten title and make its only BCS bowl game. That was the top of the mountain.

The bottom was a 63-10 embarrassing loss at home to Penn State last season on Homecoming when the Illini found themselves down 56-3 at halftime.

“I told them this was as bad as it was going to get, that it wasn’t going to get any worse,” Zook said. “It’s like a drug addict or alcoholic: You have to hit rock bottom before you climb back out.”

So as the Illini begin to revive its reputation with a new linebacker, they will meet an Eastern team in the opener that is building its own tradition on defense.

Clint Sellers became the second Panthers linebacker in school history to win the Ohio Valley Conference defensive player of the year award matching Nick Ricks in 2002.

Sellers’ goal last year was to mesh as a transfer to Charleston from North Iowa Area Community College and this year, along with being the preseason favorite to bring the award home again, his second job is to mentor the underclassmen.

“It’s weird how last year I was trying to think way too much early and get use to the system here,” Sellers said. “This year, I’m starting to realize that all I have to do is play football, be aggressive and not think too much.”

During its back-to-back playoff appearances in 2001 and 2002, it was Eastern’s defense that was the weak link to a strong team. But this season, like 2005, Eastern’s defense, led by Sellers and the eight other returning starters, is the key to another conference crown.

“It’s amazing how a year changes things,” Defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni said. “Last year, he was trying to listen to everyone around him and this year he’s the one explaining things to the backups.”

Bellantoni is looking forward to showcasing his players’ talents to the I-A giant but doesn’t see that chip on the Panthers’ shoulder as a major motivating factor.

“We want to go in there to win a football game because that’s the goal not because of any other outside reason,” Bellantoni said. “I’m not insulted because they don’t want me on their staff and are players should feel the same way. Big budgets, large recruiting numbers and nicer training facilities aren’t going to win this football game.”