Illini tight ends to reckon with
Today: Illini Jeff Cumberland and Michael Hoomanawanui
CHAMPAIGN -- After Illinois' first practice this fall, Jeff Cumberland strutted out of the Memorial Stadium locker room wearing nothing but an icepack wrapped around his upper body and a flowery skirt wrapped around his legs.
Well, it wasn't exactly a skirt.
To signify his closeness with fellow sophomore tight end Michael Hoomanawanui -- whose father, Isy, grew up in Hawaii -- Cumberland willingly donned what's known on the islands as a "kikepa."
A kikepa, according to Answers.com, is a sarong worn by Hawaiian women. Those with more open fashion sense consider it also to be a stylish, breezy wrap for the fellas.
"It's not a skirt," said Cumberland, half-jokingly worried about the word's connotation. "It's not a skirt at all."
Regardless, what matters in this case isn't what Cumberland wore -- it's the unique physique the kikepa revealed.
You're heard all of the stories about Martez Wilson's and Arrelious Benn's absurd athleticism. Cumberland deserves to be grouped with the five-star freshmen, or perhaps elevated into a group of his own. He's 6-feet-5 and 247 pounds, yet he runs 4.45 40-yard dashes and wins Gus Macker dunk contests.
As Illinois heads into a 2007 season that carries the program's highest promise in at least five years, Cumberland (and Hoomanawanui) represent the position where the Illini offense seems most likely to field a breakout star.
Cumberland boasted the same raw ability when he arrived in Champaign last fall -- Ron Zook and Co. somehow sneaked the nation's No. 66 recruit out of Columbus, Ohio -- but the Illini couldn't tap into it as much as they wanted.
Cumberland caught 16 passes for 232 yards and 1 touchdown, but there was a slight problem with his role as a tight end. He didn't know how to block.
Opponents knew if Cumberland was on the field, then Illinois was likely to pass. And if Hoomanawanui (whose only catch last year was a 2-point conversion) was on the field, then the Illini intended to run.
"Exactly," said Illinois tight ends coach Jim Pry. "That's where we were. Fortunately, we're not there anymore."
It wasn't an easy learning process for either of them, but more so for Cumberland. At Brookhaven High School, the coaches lined him up wide and let him fly.
"He had zero (blocking experience)," Pry said. "Just getting him into a stance has been a hard thing for him."
So why didn't the Illini simply allow Cumberland, who ran a 10.6 in the 100 meters in high school, to remain a wideout? Judging by the number of dropped passes each week, it seems clear he wouldn't have supplanted an all-star cast.
"What we want is a really athletic tight end," Pry said. "Jeff can run a long route from the tight end position. He can run a corner. He can run a streak.
"It's hard to find that guy, so defenses really have to defend his (butt) whenever he's lined up. That's a linebacker that has to be on him."
Meanwhile, Hoomanawanui worked on tightening his route-running skills. Now the 261-pound Bloomington native, whose high school highlight tape was riddled with one-handed catches, figures to be a more prominent target on crossing routes and bootlegs.
"Jeff made huge strides in his blocking and I felt I made big strides in the passing game," Hoomanawanui said. "Hopefully we can come together and be complete tight ends."
The tight end file
Names: Jeff Cumberland and Michael "Uh-Oh" Hoomanawanui
Class: Sophomore
Cumberland's size: 6-5, 247
Hoomanawanui's size: 6-5, 261
Position: Tight end
Cumberland's hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Hoomanawanui's hometown: Bloomington
Experience: Cumberland started five games as a true freshman and caught 16 passes for 232 yards and 1 touchdown. Hoomanawanui started three games and caught 1 2-point conversion.
Quote: "Jeff had some blocking skills to accomplish before we could put him out there all the time. 'Uh-oh' had some route-running skills he had to take care of. They both improved through the summer. Right now, either one of them can play either way."
-- Jim Pry, Illinois tight ends coach