CHAMPAIGN - Don't count on Kyle Hudson shedding his longer-than-most-football-player hair or his earrings just because Illinois football coaches suggest it.

Illini coaches also suggested the former Mattoon sports star take a rest after his rare football/baseball freshman year, but Hudson didn't follow that advice either, perhaps tilting his way over the good side.

If Hudson's time on the diamond - he hit .370 for the Illini - kept him from improving in spring drills and adding bulk onto his slender frame, coach Ron Zook was not making those complaints public.

"No, I wasn't disappointed," Zook said. "If Kyle wouldn't have been as important part of the baseball team, I might have been. After baseball season, we thought he looked tired. We tried to give him a week off, and he wouldn't take it. He took two days. That's the kind of kid he is.

"He's got a little swagger now. I like that. We've been teasing him about his hair and earrings."

Told about those comments at Illinois' football media day, Hudson smiled and said: "Coach Zook is always harping about my earrings. They say I should get a haircut. We'll see."

A former state track champion in the high jump and state qualifier in the 100-meter dash, Hudson is not sprinting or jumping to a barber shop to appease coaches because, well, he probably does not have to provide the perfectly conformed look after being named Illinois' football Rookie of the Year. He led the team with 469 reception yards on 31 catches last year.

The mighty mite receiver is not claiming to draw any Samson-like football strength from his hair, then again, the fashion statement does not hamper his game either.

"It's for the women," Hudson said with a laugh. "Let's just say it's for the women."

Looks probably would not keep Hudson from attracting the co-eds.

After being the scared kid trainers mistook as a cross country runner instead of football player last preseason, Kyle Hudson became the BMOC.

"He's the busiest man on campus," said Decatur product Brit Miller, who roomed with his former Big 12 Conference foe last year. "We never had time to get on each other's nerves because we didn't see each other that much."

Maybe that rigorous spring schedule - though perhaps not all that different from Hudson's high school days - kept the former four-sport all-Big 12 star from adding weight at the same time Miller was shedding pounds.

"I think Hudson had more trouble putting on the weight than I did taking it off," Miller said. "I lost about 20 pounds. I'd say 'Hud, you've got to eat.' "

Listed at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds in Illinois' media guide, Hudson estimates he is up to 170 now.

"I was able to put on about 10 or 12 pounds," he said. "It's tough with all the running we do. But I played a lot lighter last year."

And he played more than most expected from the true freshman.

"The biggest thing is now we know what we have," Illini offensive coordinator Mike Locksley said. "Last year, we were wondering about the skinny kid from Mattoon. Then (receivers) coach (Dino) Dawson said, 'This kid is making plays,' and so we moved him into the offense."

Quarterback Tim Brasic said: "Kyle really came out of nowhere with his competitiveness and his heart. It doesn't matter how big and fast you are, although he's very fast and he plays like he's 6-4. I feel I know when he's going to make his break. We kind of had that that naturally last year, and this summer we built on that."

Hudson finds himself in a more crowded receiving corps.

"I would hope we would build on his role," Locksley said. "With the young receivers, it gives us more depth. It should push Kyle more.

"We're going to play eight receivers. You've got to be two-deep at all four positions. It doesn't do you any good to have a guy running half speed because he's tired."

If not running in as many plays as last year, Hudson might be running farther.

"I was an X and moved to Z," Hudson said. "It's a lot different routes, deeper routes. That's what I did in high school. I moved my senior year from an X to a Z, and that worked out all right."

More Illinois receivers might mean that Hudson does not get the chance to have 31 catches like last year, including a 10-reception, 114-yard day against Wisconsin.

"You know, I'm not really worried about that," he said. "I just want to help the team win. Coaches all week have been talking about the competition and that it's going to be good for us."

Others in camp now know that Hudson is not likely to back away from that competition.

In fact, on Sunday, Zook used him as an example for media not to discount players because of troubles early this preseason.

"You remember Kyle Hudson," the coach said. "Last year, the first couple of practices I thought, 'I don't know' - but we know the year he had."

Brian Nielsen can be reached at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-6856.