Illini RB Ford hopes to dine on opposing defenses

CHAMPAIGN — If you find yourself at a barbecue with Illinois senior running back Jason Ford, don’t be scared by the unconventional food on the grill.

“I’d never had asparagus and squash and stuff like that,” Ford said. “I cooked it on the grill and I started eating that. I like that a lot.”

Why has Ford gone vegan? Because this is his last chance to gorge himself on the lion’s share of Illinois’ carries.

After being in less-than-optimal shape last season while teammate Mikel Leshoure developed into the Detroit Lions’ second-round draft pick, Ford sees he can become that guy.

Justin Harrison, the starting safety on the 2008 Rose Bowl team, spent the off-season revising Ford’s eating habits in his role as Illinois’ assistant strength and conditioning coach.

“He said he really wanted to step up what he was doing; change his body type,” Harrison said.

Ford has been asked to cut weight throughout his Illini career, but last year he tried to skip meals to accomplish that goal. Not smart.

“You need to get a good, healthy breakfast,” Harrison said. “Something you can work off, something that’s going to give you energy to go out and perform and get better.

“One of the biggest things we did was take the plate away. Everything he eats is out of a bowl, a smaller portion. If you get pasta, get it in a bowl. You get a portion of meat, get it in a bowl.”

While Ford reported to fall camp at 238 pounds — about 6 more than Ron Zook and his staff wanted — it’s a deceptive statistic.

Ford said he dropped his body-fat content from 15 percent in May to 9-10 percent today.

When it came time for Illinois’ pre-fall conditioning test — skill players must run around the field’s perimeter five times in 60 seconds with a three-minute break between each lap — Ford aced his runs for the first time.

“I feel like I can last through all of practice,” Ford said. “Last year, I’d take more breaks.”

Ford can’t afford to slack off because offensive coordinator Paul Petrino sounds just short of giddy when he talks about his pair of rookie running backs: Houston’s Donovonn Young and Naperville’s Josh Ferguson.

“Those two freshmen are awfully good,” Petrino said. “(Ford) might not get as many touches. I think the best thing is there’s a whole bunch of talent right there and there’s competition. That makes you the best you can be.”

The 5-foot-10 Ferguson looks and plays like a scatback, but the Joliet Catholic graduate benched 225 pounds 15 times when he arrived on campus in early June.

“He can cut on a dime,” Petrino said. “He’s got a great, low center of gravity. One thing right off — no doubt — you like to see him catching the pitch on the option.

“You like to see him catching those stretch routes as a running back. A lot of that stuff that Mikel did last year, but he’ll have an extra gear.

Young, meanwhile, was handed high expectations in June when Illinois assigned him No. 5 — the same jersey worn by Leshoure and Rashard Mendenhall.

“He’s a downhill, tough, hard-nosed guy,” Petrino said. “I think the thing that excites me about both them is, I knew Josh was real fast and I knew Donovonn was real downhill.

“They wear (jerseys) 5 and 6. On tape sometimes (it’s hard to tell the difference). Donovonn can make cuts and has vision and can do stuff. And Josh can run up in there. They’re interchangeable at times.”