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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Lovie Smith is under no illusions about the degree to which his team will rely on senior quarterback Wes Lunt, but the first-year Illinois coach emphasized Sunday how much he wants the Illini to be able to run the ball.Lunt, Smith said Sunday at the teams preseason media day, is a good decision-maker with a strong arm.But like his NFL teams, Smith believes the Illini must run the ball, and more than they did last season. Illinois ran the ball on 43 percent of its snaps in 2015.We have an excellent tailback in KeShawn Vaughn. Kendrick Foster has looked good in our preseason drills. You start with that, Smith said.What lies behind those two, though, is a major question.As a freshman last season, Vaughn averaged 4.6 yards a carry on 157 carries and scored six touchdowns. Foster, a junior and the most experienced backup on the roster, has a career 15 carries for 78 yards. Behind him is a redshirt freshman, Reggie Corbin.Vaughn, at 5-10 and 210 pounds, says hes ready to handle the bulk of the carries and believes the backs behind him can do the rest.Somebody will have to come in and tote the load when I get tired, he said.Smith said the emphasis on the running game does not mean he believes he needs to go out of his way to take pressure off of or protect Lunt, who has a history of injuries that have sidelined him in college.I dont. This is what we feel like we need to do to play winning ball with our offense, Smith said.Other things to know about Illinois football after media day:TIGHT ENDS AND FULLBACKS: Tight ends have long been a source of Illinois fan frustration.Ive been told that, Smith joked Sunday.Over the past decade Illinois has a long list of strong tight ends who have sometimes disappeared in the offense. Some, like the New Orleans Saints Michael Hoomanawanui, were good enough to go on to the NFL.Smith said he wants tight ends to be a big part of Illinois passing game, and fullbacks, too. Illinois hasnt used a true fullback in several seasons, forcing Smith to convert a pair of former linebackers, Nathan Echard and Austin Roberts.HOME MOMENTUM: Starting with the Sept. 3 opener against Murray State, Illinois will play its first three games and four of its five at home.Coming off a 5-7 season and the firings of two football coaches in the past year -- not to mention and facing a Big Ten schedule in which they will usually be underdogs -- the Illini need to use that friendly early schedule, Smith said.If we could get some momentum early on, we want to have a home-field advantage, simple as that, he said. In order to get the rebirth of our football program, we need a home-field advantage. Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Online . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. Wholesale MLB Jerseys .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. http://www.cheapmlbjerseysusa.com/ . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Discount Baseball Jerseys . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. With no roster depth at center, the Washington Wizards agreed Saturday to pay Ian Mahinmi $64 million over four years, his agent, Bouna NDiaye, told The Undefeated, confirming earlier reports.The deal cant?be finalized until at least July 7, when a leaguewide moratorium is lifted on signings and trades.Mahinmis Twitter account had a message directed at the Wizards account.The Washington Post first reported the terms of the contract.The agreement came shortly after another player Washington reportedly was hoping to sign, Al Horford, chose to join the Boston Celtics.Mahinmi should be able to provide defense and rebounding for the Wizards. He is a 6-foot-11, 250-pound center who averaged career highs of 9.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and about 25 minutes in 71 games last season, all starts for the Indiana Pacers.The 29-year-old Mahinmi, who is from France, was drafted in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs in 2005 and made his NBA debut in the 2007-08 season. For his career, he has averaged 5.1 points aand 4.dddddddddddd3 rebounds in less than 17 minutes.Mahinmi is the first new player added to the Wizards since the start of free agency, although they did agree Friday to a $128 million, five-year contract that will keep shooting guard Bradley Beal with the team. Beal, who teams with John Wall to give Washington a dynamic backcourt, was a restricted free agent.Washington made sure to clear plenty of cap space heading into this offseason, and even after the contracts for Beal and Mahinmi, the team has only seven players signed. The only other center on the roster at the moment is last seasons starter, Marcin Gortat.Last season, the Wizards went 41-41 to finish 10th in the Eastern Conference and miss the playoffs, after two consecutive trips to the second round. Randy Wittman was fired as coach and replaced by Scott Brooks.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ' ' '