EVANSTON – The Illini went up against a former Illini on Saturday. Sean Bennett, who played two seasons of baseball for UI coach Itch Jones, now is a fullback for Northwestern.

The senior played sparingly. The one time he touched the football – a short pass reception – the gain was negated by a Northwestern penalty.

“One of the hardest-working kids I ever had,” Jones said. “He worked hard for two years before he sat down and decided he wasn’t going to make it as a baseball player.”

Bennett was a part-time center fielder for the Illini before transferring to Evansville, where he developed into a Division I-AA All-American in football. When the Aces dropped football last year, he moved.

Bennett, listed as the third best-conditioned Wildcat (he benches 375 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds), has 17 carries for 75 yards this season.