​Aug. 6—CHAMPAIGN — Bret Bielema ran into Melvin Gordon last week in Chicago at Big Ten media days.The Illinois football coach couldn’t help but reminisce about the Wisconsin teams he coached with Gordon a go-to option in the run game. It didn’t start out that way, of course.Gordon might have stacked up award after award in 2014 when he led the nation in rushing with a staggering 2,587 yards, but the eventual Pro Bowl running back and Super Bowl champion started his Wisconsin career fourth on the Badgers’ depth chart at running back.That was the team Bielema thought of first when he crossed paths with Gordon at the Hilton Chicago. The running back room that included Montee Ball, James White and Jeffrey Lewis in addition to Gordon.”I’m not saying we’re quite there, but I do think our running back room is getting close to what we had going some other places,” Bielema said about the collection of running backs he has this season in Champaign.Leading rusher Ca’Lil Valentine is back this fall for Illinois. So is fifth-year back Aidan Laughery. Those two project to receive the bulk of the snaps in 2026, with Kaden Feagin, last year’s second-leading rusher, moving to tight end.Jordan Anderson completed the Feagin trade, moving back to running back from tight end, and gives Illinois an experienced trio. A group of veteran backs bolstered by sophomores John Forster and Cedric Wyche II and freshmen Javari Barnett and Nelsyn Wheeler.Wheeler turned some heads this spring after enrolling early. Barnett, who Illinois flipped from Alabama and didn’t arrive until summer, could give the Illini a big back with speed at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds with a 100- and 200-meter dash sprinter background.”We don’t lack talent,” Laughery said. “Those guys need seasoned a little bit — they’re raw — but they’re making steps every day. I’ve been impressed with them so far.”Laughery has also impressed new Illinois running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley. The former Michigan star and 10-year NFL pro replaced Thad Ward in February after Ward left for Kansas State.Wheatley is the third running backs coach Laughery has played for during his five seasons at Illinois, following Ward and Cory Patterson. That collection of coaches has helped shape the former Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley standout into a Big Ten-caliber back.”It’s funny, being a younger guy, you’re trying to put it all together,” Laughery said. “At this point, I’ve had three different coaches. It’s good when you know the offense, you know the scheme. You don’t really have to take steps backward. You can apply things a new coach brings in and hear things from a different perspective, and that’s always good.”Training camp marked the first time Wheatley has had his entire group on the field together since Barnett’s summer arrival. What he learned during the spring and has only been reinforced in the lead-up to camp and a few practices is how Illinois’ running backs can mix their competitive edge and their ability to get along and