One of Illinois running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn's closest friends, a Chicago Bears fan, turned to him soon after Lovie Smith’s hiring and uttered something that Vaughn has never forgotten.
He loves -- loves -- to run the ball. You could be like a Matt Forte.
Vaughn didn’t know much about the former NFL head coach back in early March. But his friend knew all about him, maybe not specifics, like how Smith felt the running game was the "quarterback’s best friend," or how Forte racked up more than 7,500 yards from scrimmage under Smith -- but he knew the Illinois sophomore was almost certainly in line for a heavier workload in 2016.