ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Everything indicates that Jeff Cumberland should be one of Illinois' most feared weapons on offense.

Everything but his track record for production, that is.

Cumberland is 6-foot-5, 250 pounds and runs like a deer. That's why the Illini coaching staff converted him from tight end to wide receiver.

And while there have been flashes of what a big, swift athlete can do at the position, Cumberland has lacked the consistency to win the coaching staff's confidence. Then a stress fracture to his foot knocked him out of commission for a month.

He returned to the field for Louisiana-Lafayette but still looked rusty. Then Saturday, on one play, Cumberland showed why no one is giving up on him.

On the fourth play of the third quarter, Cumberland streaked down the left sideline, and quarterback Juice Williams hit him in stride with a strike that turned into a 77-yard touchdown pass. The score increased Illinois' three-point lead to 24-14 and helped trigger a 45-20 victory.

It was Cumberland's first catch of the season, but coach Ron Zook hopes more will follow.

"I think you'll see more and more from him," Zook said. "We talked about him last night and what's happening is, the more weapons you have, the more it will help push everyone for playing time.

"When you are out of football like he was for a few weeks, you want him to come right back, and that's usually not how it is. This will be a big boost for his confidence."

Ironically, the touchdown catch came one play after Cumberland was flagged for a holding penalty.

Had it been a flagrant example of poor blocking, the coaching staff would have yanked him off the field.

But from the coaches box above the field, offensive coordinator Mike Locksley thought Cumberland had done a pretty good job of moving a Michigan defender out of the way. So he left Cumberland out there for the play that turned out to be a touchdown.

"I think coming off of this injury the coaches wanted to make sure I was 100 percent," Cumberland said. "Now that they see I'm OK, hopefully I can fit into the offense a little more.

"On the holding call, I just drove the guy 10 yards off the ball. The coaches knew it wasn't really holding, but I had to make up for it on the next play. And I did that. Juice made a really good throw."

Extra point

Freshman Russell Ellington started at outside linebacker in place of sophomore Martez Wilson. But Wilson played most of the game and finished with seven tackles.

mtupper@herald-review.com|421-7983