CHAMPAIGN — When he arrived in Champaign in March 2016, Lovie Smith passed on keeping Mike Bellamy — one of Tim Beckman’s more effective recruiters — on his Illinois staff.

But Smith is giving Bellamy, a star receiver at Illinois in the 1980s, a second chance at his alma mater. Illinois will hire Bellamy as its running backs coach, multiple sources told Illini Inquirer.

After spending one season as a quality control coach and analyst at Mississippi State, Bellamy spent the last two seasons as the wide receivers coach at Toledo.

Bellamy gives the Illini staff someone who is very familiar with the program, has had individual success as a coach and has a lot of experience recruiting the state of Illinois and Chicago.

Bellamy joined Beckman’s staff as an assistant director of player personnel and relations. But after just one year, he was elevated to wide receivers coach after Beckman parted ways with co-offensive coordinators Chris Beatty and Billy Gonzales.

Bellamy’s group of wide receivers found a lot of success. After playing safety for three seasons, Steve Hull put together one of the best receiving seasons in Illini history in 2013, hauling in 993 receiving yards (top-10 in school history) and seven touchdonws. The following season, Mike Dudek — whom Bellamy recruited — became a Freshaman All-American under Bellamy’s tutelage, hauling in76 catches for 1,038 yards and six touchdowns. Bellamy also coached Geronimo Allison, who totaled 1,480 yards and eight touchdowns in two seasons with the Illini, and now plays on the Green Bay Packers.

At Toledo, Bellamy helped develop Diontae Johnson, who caught 74 passes for a school-record 1,278 yards, in 2017. Johnson and Cody Thompson both earned First Team All-MAC honors in 2018.

In both of Bellamy’s two seasons at Toledo, the Rockets finished with the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the MAC.

Bellamy’s recruiting wins at Illinois including Dudek, current senior defensive tackle Jamal Milan, current senior safety Stanley Green, defensive back Patrick Nelson and wide receiver Sam Mays, among others.

As a player for the Illini (1988-89), Bellamy earned Second Team All-American Honors as a senior, hauling in 59 receptions for 927 yards and eight touchdowns — catching passes from No. 1 NFL Draft pick Jeff George. He also is second in Illini history in kickoff return average (26.4 yards). He was a second-round selection by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1990 and played for the Colts, Bears and Raiders from 1992-95.

Werner's take

Bellamy checks a lot of boxes for what Illinois needs. He is a proven recruiter in the Midwest, including Chicago and the St. Louis area. At Illinois, he has recruited Texas, an area where the Illini want to delve further. After rising quickly on Beckman's staff, he proved himself again at one of the MAC's best programs. In many ways, he slots nicely into Thad Ward's vacancy. He also is a passionate Illinois alum, which Illinois lost when Luke Butkus left for the Green Bay Packers. Bellamy developed wide receivers well at Toledo, but he now gets the opportunity to diversify his portfolio as a running backs coach. This could benefit him in the future if he wants to eventually become an offensive coordinator. All around, this feels like a move that made a lot of sense for both sides.