CHAMPAIGN — Ca’Lil Valentine’s touchdown run against Duke was the type of play the Illinois coaching staff thought they could get when they recruited the shifty running back out of Chandler (Ariz.).
Valentine took the inside handoff from Luke Altmyer, got through the first level of the Blue Devils’ defense and then made a sharp cutback to his right that put Duke safety Ma’khi Jones on skates. With Jones on his back on the turf and out of the play, Valentine had a clear path to the end zone and put on a burst of speed to finish off the 23-yard touchdown run.
That fourth quarter score, however, was not the play Illinois coach Bret Bielema considered a defining moment for the 5-foot-11, 200-pound sophomore running back.
The play that caught Bielema’s attention was Valentine’s 12-yard reception late in the third quarter. Valentine leaked out into the flat, snagged the pass from Altmyer and lowered his shoulder into Duke cornerback Kimari Robinson. A spin move out of the point of contact generated a few more yards before Valentine was forced out of bounds.
“That was, to me, a defining Ca’Lil Valentine moment,” Bielema said. “He knew he could do that. I think everybody else in the crowd didn’t know it. There’s usually a very specific point where a player does something in a big, competitive environment where he shows what he knew he could do to everybody else. Then everybody else sees it, and that’s very empowering.”
Valentine generating extra yards after catch by popping Robinson played into a pair of sayings Illinois running backs coach Thad Ward has instilled in his group. The Illini backs are all about “DFD” — defeat the first defender — and “DHBG” — downhill bull gang.
“It just felt like it was a great opportunity to lower my shoulder,” Valentine said. “I feel like that’s what he wanted. He lowered his shoulder, I lowered mine and the best man wins.”
Bielema mentioned after last week’s win at Duke that he entered that game certain Valentine would have a big moment. The touchdown run was part of a six-carry day and 44 total rushing yards for the Hayward, Calif., native. Production that came as the result of the work Valentine put in before Illinois made the trip to Durham, N.C.
“We saw his preparation,” Ward said. “The way he was hitting those lanes. The way he was playing fast. The way he was being decisive. We saw that last week at practice.
“Definitely a sign of progress. We think he’s going to be a special player for us. He’s starting to get better and better and better coming into his own. … We challenged him to be the best version of himself. I was really happy with the way he came in and performed.”
Valentine said his typical game week preparation beyond the hours on the field for practice includes plenty of film review and a lot of listening. He’s continued to lean on the more experienced running backs in the room like Aidan Laughery and Kaden Feagin in addition to Ward.
“Being prepared, well prepared through practice, helps me excel in the game,” Valentine said. “Locking in on the details, the small things. … Anything that can give me an edge to play the next game.”
Work in the weight room has helped, too. Valentine is playing at 10 pounds heavier this season than he did last fall as a true freshman when he rushed 53 times for 212 yards and one touchdown across 12 games.
“He runs bigger than what he is and he runs with authority,” Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. said. “Good things happened when he’s touched the ball. He’s a playmaker. I thought he made some plays the other day that really brought a lot of enthusiasm and energy to our team.”
Valentine could be in line for a bigger role Saturday for the ninth-ranked Illini (2-0) against Western Michigan (0-2) depending on Laughery’s health. The Illinois senior was pulled from last week’s game at Duke with an ankle injury, and while he did practice this week he remains a game time decision against the Broncos.
An opportunity, perhaps, for Valentine to build on last week’s successes. Because he’s far from a finished product, and Ward continues to challenge him to do more.
“There’s another level there, which we talk about on the daily,” Ward said. “He understands what we need to do. He always understood what to do. It’s just a matter of how to do it.
“He was challenged by us as a group, and he stood up. He responded. The precision — the decisiveness that you want to see a guy play with — you want to see practice reps look like game reps. I think that’s what we saw as a staff. We saw another level of speed. We saw another level of decisiveness.”