Fielding questions from reporters after Tuesday’s practice, Mikel Leshoure took a second to shake his head when he was referred to as a “star” on the team.

“Star?” the junior running back and Champaign native said with a smile. “That’s big right there.”

Leshoure may hesitate from labeling himself a “star” on the Illini offense, but with a first-year signal-caller in redshirt freshman quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase and a switch to a pro-style offense under new offensive coordinator Paul Petrino, Leshoure has found himself at the crux of the Illini offensive game plan.

“He’ll need to carry us when we need to be carried,” Illinois running backs coach DeAndre Smith said.

A strong sophomore campaign in 2009 catapulted Leshoure on to the national scene, when he led the Illini in rushing with 734 yards on 108 carries. His 6.8 yards per carry last season was the highest among BCS conference running backs, he finished the year with a career-best 184 rushing yards on 11 carries for an average of 16.7 yards per carry and also notched both a rushing and receiving touchdown. In the offseason, Leshoure was named to the Watch List for the 2010 Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the nation’s top running back.

And Leshoure has picked up right where he left off, with back-to-back 100-yard games to start the 2010 campaign. He opened the season with a 112-yard rushing performance against Missouri, following it up by rushing for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Southern Illinois last week.

“Things are going (well) for me,” Leshoure said. “I feel like I’m getting a chance out there to establish a rhythm, and I’m just working hard.”

And with Leshoure, the key has been being more physically capable of shouldering the load for the team — something he can trace back to an incident his freshman year.

An altercation in 2008 with then-teammate Jeff Cumberland left Leshoure with a broken jaw, forcing him to miss the last three games of the season.

And while most freshmen combat the “Freshman Fifteen” that comes with late-night pizza and carb-heavy dorm food, Leshoure had his jaw wired shut for six weeks, leaving him with a liquid diet consisting of mostly soup and blended spaghetti.

“It definitely played a big factor in losing weight,” Leshoure said. “A liquid diet will do that to you.”

Leshoure said at one point his weight was up to 238 pounds, but now weighs in at 226. He arrived at training camp this offseason with 4.2 percent body fat.

“I feel better, can play better, play faster, and just be out on the field longer and be more productive,” Leshoure said.

Continuing to lose weight, Leshoure said, will continue to be a point of emphasis for him, especially during the season.

“The practices aren’t as intense during the season, so your diet is really important,” Leshoure said.

The drop in weight has allowed Leshoure to out run opposing secondaries to become a big-play threat in the Illini backfield.

Last season, Leshoure notched three different runs of over 60 yards, including a 70-yard scamper against Fresno State. This season, Leshoure has already had a 42-yard run against Missouri and a 35-yard run against Southern Illinois.

Scheelhaase, who routinely ran sprints with Leshoure during the summer, called Leshoure “one of the most deceptively fast people I’ve been around.”

“When he gets on the field, he’s able to kick it into another gear that not a lot of backs in the Big Ten have,” Scheelhaase said. “He’s definitely a tough guy to stop because on game day he comes with another gear and another level of performance.”

Leshoure’s physical development isn’t the only point of improvement for Leshoure, with coaches praising his growth in maturity.

“He’s been growing up,” Smith said. “There’s something to be said about maturing and getting better every year. He’s worked on his body and he’s worked on his attitude.”

Leshoure has had a few run-ins with the coaching staff on top of his 2008 altercation with Cumberland. Last season, Leshoure was suspended for the Illinois State game for violating team rules but has made progress this year.

“He’s been great, he’s been a leader,” Smith said. “Since training camp, he’s been everything we wanted him to be. He’s a leader that’s really stepped up both on and off the field. The coaching staff has seen him grow as an individual.”

The maturation process off the field, Leshoure said, has come hand-in-hand with his development on the field.

“I’ve been able to establish trust within my teammates, and my role on the team has changed since my freshman and sophomore years,” Leshoure said. “Maturing as a player has made me better on and off the field.”

A consensus All-State running back at nearby Centennial High School, Leshoure wasn’t always sold on attending his hometown university.

Leshoure considered offers from several schools, including Missouri, Kansas and Wisconsin.

But Leshoure became more familiar with the program when his best friend from high school, Mike Locksley Jr., joined the Illinois football team when Leshoure was a senior in high school.

“Through him, I got to hang out with a lot of guys on the team, and I got pretty close to them,” Leshoure said. “That was a big reason why I came.”

Leshoure has been especially productive at home, averaging 131.3 rushing yards per game in his last five games at Memorial Stadium.

“It feels good to be able to play in front of family and friends, in front of people that have been watching me since grammar school, middle school and high school,” Leshoure said. “It’s great to have that support out there.”

And even though Leshoure shies away from the star spotlight, he is eager to answer Smith’s call to carry his hometown team.

“I definitely feel like I can be that guy,” Leshoure said. “I want to be that guy.”