Just in case anyone cares about the game next week - Ha.
While Illinois has been pretty hush-hush about a lot of things, there are plenty of nuggets we can extrapolate by piecing together various media reports, other sites, message board fodder, and coach/player interviews.
Offensive Line - most experience on the roster at 3 key spots.
LT, C, and RT are settled with returning starters. The LT Vederian Lowe, is the best of the bunch and a legit NFL draft prospect.
LG will be manned by Blake Geretsay, a transfer from Wofford, where he played Center. He is 6'1 295 and will be the smallest starting Offensive Guard in the Big Ten.
RG is a bit more in flux at the moment. This is the spot manned last season by Kendrick Green, who is now in line to start for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Green absolutely dominated Nebraska last season, as much as one offensive linemen can in a game.
There are 3 possible suitors for that spot:
- Former Walk-on Tight End Alex Pihlstrom - he started 2 games due to injury last season vs. Purdue and Minnesota where he was terrible. Of course Nebraska wasn't lucky enough to face him a week later. lol.
- 2nd String RT Julian Pearl might move inside - This seems more like a move out of necessity because nobody else has won the job.
- Transfer Guard Jack Badovinac - he transferred from Colgate where he hasn;t played football since 2019. Bodovinac is also a smaller dude at 6'0 300. If he earns the starting job, Illinois would have the two smallest starting Offensive Guards in the Big Ten. Here's a comment from Jack about his first practice this Fall:
“The first day of pads, I was a little taken aback by the d-line’s quick get-offs, but I’ve adjusted,” Badovinac told Illini Inquirer. “I’ve kind of gotten used to it and know how much time I have to get off onto ‘backers or how fast I have to shoot my hands on pass blocks and whatnot. So I’ve adjusted. It’s going well. …I wanted to push myself and kind of see what kind of level I could take my game to. It’s been a good transition so far."
WR - This is their weakest position group on offense
Brian Hightower is there #1 receiver. - he transferred from Miami before last season, and had a decent year with the Ilini but he was always facing #2 corners as Josh Imatorbhebhe was their definitive #1. This will be his 3rd offensive system in 3 seasons. In Last year's game vs. Nebraska, he faced Cam Taylor-Britt for most of the 1st Half in man coverage situations, and was shut down. After Imatorbhebhe kind of abused Bootle for most of the 1st half, Nebraska moved CTB over to their #1. Hightower didn't do much and finished with 1 catch for 12 yards.
- You have to like the idea of CTB matching up well with Hightower again.
Donny Navarro will be moved to the boundary this season. He played primarily out of the Slot last season. In man coverage, Domann shut him down, but he got loose for a 25 yard catch vs. Zone Coverage. Illinois did a pretty good job of exploiting Nebraska's linebackers in coverage last season. Then again, every team did that when they tried to deceive with RPO action. You know how you limit the RPO? Stop the GoD Damn Running game. Then the RPO loses its effectiveness, but Nebraska didn't do that last year at all.
Former 4 Star or 5-Star Isaiah Williams - was moved to WR, from QB, after Spring practice # 12 last season. He never actually started practicing full time as a wideout until Fall Camp. Long term, I think it will be a great move for Illinois because he's a pretty dynamic runner. Isaiah has allegedly struggled early catching the football in traffic along with other intricacies of the position. - JoJo Doman shut down Rondale Moore last season at Purdue. I love the matchup going against Williams in his first game ever at WR. - I think the bigger threat from Williams might be on a reverse or some type of gadget play where they get him in space.
2 Grad Transfers - Desmond Dan from New Mexico State and Jafar Armstrong from Notre Dame - Armstrong is a shell of his former self. He started his career at Notre Dame as a Running Back, but two ACL injuries later, he found himself moved to WR and phased out for the Irish. At Illinois he's been running with the 2nd or 3rd teamers. His impact will be minimal beyond some leadership possibilities. Dan hasn't played since week 3 of 2019 when he suffered an injury. In 2018, he was a starter at NMSU. - He's currently 2nd or 3rd team right now.
TE - One really good starter
Daniel Barker - This dude might be the most undervalued player in the Big Ten. Wisconsin, Iowa, and Penn State TE's always seem to garner the biggest headlines. The Big Ten media is lazy in that regard. They just follow the status quo. Barker is a great athlete and will likely be a 3rd day NFL Draft pick. He is a better pass catcher than blocker, and will probably used on a lot of boot legs or playaction.
Luke Ford- As much as Barker is underrated, Ford is overrated. He was a former 4-star transfer from Georgia where he was ran off for attitude issues. His impact at Illinois has been minimal, and he was already in the Dog House with Brett Bielema for being late to practice and workouts. The dude definitely has a big time TE body, but he won't be much of a threat.
RB - The Deepest Position on Offense
The Illini have 5 running backs with basically the same body type, size, and skill set. Chase Brown will be the starter, but don't be surprised if 4 dudes get at least 7 carries vs. the Huskers. Mike Epstein has spent most of his career flashing big play potential, but also is injury prone. He has finally reached 100% last week. Reggie Love III is another quick dude who can also be used in the passing game. Chase Hayden, a transfer from Arkansas, was actually recruited by Brett to Arkansas 5 years ago. He graduated and transferred to East Carolina last season where he did basically nothing. he may actually be their return guy at Ilinois.
QB - Below average Power 5 QB
Brandon Peters- New OC Tony Peterson has mentioned that Brandon Peters is a bit different mentally than other QB's he's worked with because he's not really a guy who leads from the front of the line. (What ever that means) Peters has said he has had to get used to Coach Peterson making him feel uncomfortable at times. He's been working some from the Pistol and that's been a transition. This new offense will be the 4th different scheme Peters has played in over the last 5 seasons, and his 3rd different offense at Illinois. Josh Imatorbhebhe was his safety net the last two seasons. I would imagine he will now look more for the Tight Ends, but the offense probably won't be built to throw the football more than 25 times per game.
DL - 3 Man Front - worst depth on the team
DE - Keith Randolph - will be making his 1st career start vs. Nebraska after playing some back up minutes last season at DT. He has good height for a 3-4 DE at 6'5 290. Will be asked to play 2-Gap responsibility for first time.
Nose - Roderick Perry - transferred from South Carolina State prior to the 2019 season and had a good 1st season as a DT. Huge body at 6'6 325, will be asked to play 2-Gap which he didn't have to do to much last season, but had some experience in the 3-4 at SC State. This is his 6th year in College football, but he is not on the Senior Bowl watch list. Can be leveraged in the run game.
DE- Jer' Zhan Newton - has two career starts at DT for the Illini from 2020, he has less than ideal size as a 3-4 DE at 6'2 285. What's interesting is he will NOT turn 19 until 3 days after the Nebraska game. He's also one of 5 Brothers named, Jervon, Jerquan, Jerjuan, and Jershaun.
Back up Nose - Calvin (do we have room) Avery - He showed up in camp overweight and it was troublesome enough that the Coaches moved RG Verdis Brown to the defensive side of the Ball. Both Brown and Avery are BIG DUDES. But Avery is in the dog house and hasn't ever played 2 gap yet. Brown has not played DL since he was 15 years old.
Back up DE's Deon Pate and Jamal Woods - there are big concerns about depth along the D-line for the Illini for a few reasons. One is just the overall level of innexperience. Woods has actually started 6 games the last two seasons at DT, and Pate has been around for 4 years as a 2nd teamer. But the bigger issue is their size. Both dudes were undersized DTs in the 4-3 at 6'2 280 to 290, but as DEs in the 3-4, they're going to be even further out manned, especially defending the run. - I wouldn't be surprised if either of these dudes have transferred out or are completely buried on the depth chart in year 2 of the Bielema regime.
LB - Strength of the Defense
ILB - Jake Hansen - he is basically their Ben Stille or JoJo Domann in the sense that he didn't have to come back. He could've gone to the NFL and you could argue Hansen would've been drafted higher than both Ben or JoJo. He was actually perfect for the Tampa 2, but the rest of their defense sucked too much for it to make a difference. He will have a lot less coverage responsibilities in the Tampa 2 and should shine well in pursuit needed vs. the run in the 3-4. However, it will be a challenge to see how he handles linemen getting to him on the second level. There is a lot of reason to be skeptical about the D-line protecting these backers.
ILB Calvin Hart or Khalan Tholson - Tholson had an injury which held him out of the Spring and limited him early in Camp. I think he's the starter if he's healthy and should flourish in the 3-4 as he's a terrific downhill tackling machine. Hart is a transfer from NC State where he played a lot of 2nd team reps, but was never a starter. I personally think he will get a rude awakening as a 3-4 ILB in the Big Ten. Physically speaking, the running games are a different animal in the Big Ten compared to the ACC. If Tholson is healthy, I think he starts, but Hart might be the dude in week one.
Much like Nebraska, once you get passed the top 3, there is a significant drop off.
OLB - Owen Carney- dude has been a decent pass rusher from the 4-3 DE spot having accumulated 8.5 career sacks in 26 career starts. Last season he had 5 sacks, with 3.5 of them coming in game vs. Purdue against a 1st game starting LT. He also had a good game vs. Bryce Benhart, who was making his 4th career start. In the other 5 games last season, Carney totalled 1/2 a sack and 1 tackles for loss. Phil Steele has ranked Owen Carney as a Preseason 1st Team All-Conference selection. He's a shorter dude at 6'2 and that may be halting him from being on NFL radars. The tweener moniker can be a killer come draft time. You have to imagine he will be on the Weak Side and be rushing the LT whether its Banks or Turner.
OLB Isaiah Gay - he has the more ideal pass rusher frame at 6'3 240- really struggles vs. the run and will be a liability if asked to be used in coverage vs. a Tight end or a RB. Not a great pass rusher, but can clean up if someone gets sloppy. 5th year at Illinois and has 7 career starts.
CB - Good Experience but terrible size for shift to the 3-4
Tony Adams - has started a shit ton of games for the Ilini, but he's spent his whole career playing primarily zone coverage. While I'm sure Illinois will try to mix up some coverages, this scheme is designed for the Corners to play a lot of man. In order to handle the man coverage, the Corners need to be bigger and have the versatility to take on bigger receivers at the point of attack. - Adams is a really solid tackler though.
Devon Witherspoon - 7 career starts, but very little man coverage experience. He's also smaller than Adams.
Bama Transfer Eddie Smith- will potentially be the Nickel Corner for the Illini, but is essentially the 3rd Corner at this point. He's bigger than Adams and Witherspoon but has not taken a starting spot yet. Only played in 9 games during 3 years at Bama - But also played behind a lot of talent.
Safety - Least Experienced group on the Defense
Sydney Brown- while the group as a whole is extremely green, Sydney Brown has 25 career starts in Lovie's scheme. He's an undersized thumper and loves to go for the Kill shot- not great in coverage, but will definitely hurt someone if given the chance.
Jartaviaus Martin- used to play Corner for the Illini where he started 10 games in 18 and 19, but moved to Safety last Spring. Only made two starts in 2020 as he was passed up as a CB after struggling each season. He is probably one of the least talented starting safeties in the Big Ten.
Safety Depth for Illinois - Yikes - Illinois brought in a Grad Transfer former Walk-on Running Back from Georgia named Prather Hudson. Despite never playing the position in college, he has already cemented himself as the 2nd Team Strong Safety behind BRown. They only have true freshman and a converted QB behind him. Back up Kirby Joseph has been at Illinois for 4 seasons with no career starts. He has proven to be solid in run support though.
8/28 Forecast for Champaign, IL : Sunny, dry, low humidity, very little rain, 81 degrees for the High. - almost seems to good to be true.
While Illinois has been pretty hush-hush about a lot of things, there are plenty of nuggets we can extrapolate by piecing together various media reports, other sites, message board fodder, and coach/player interviews.
Offensive Line - most experience on the roster at 3 key spots.
LT, C, and RT are settled with returning starters. The LT Vederian Lowe, is the best of the bunch and a legit NFL draft prospect.
LG will be manned by Blake Geretsay, a transfer from Wofford, where he played Center. He is 6'1 295 and will be the smallest starting Offensive Guard in the Big Ten.
RG is a bit more in flux at the moment. This is the spot manned last season by Kendrick Green, who is now in line to start for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Green absolutely dominated Nebraska last season, as much as one offensive linemen can in a game.
There are 3 possible suitors for that spot:
- Former Walk-on Tight End Alex Pihlstrom - he started 2 games due to injury last season vs. Purdue and Minnesota where he was terrible. Of course Nebraska wasn't lucky enough to face him a week later. lol.
- 2nd String RT Julian Pearl might move inside - This seems more like a move out of necessity because nobody else has won the job.
- Transfer Guard Jack Badovinac - he transferred from Colgate where he hasn;t played football since 2019. Bodovinac is also a smaller dude at 6'0 300. If he earns the starting job, Illinois would have the two smallest starting Offensive Guards in the Big Ten. Here's a comment from Jack about his first practice this Fall:
“The first day of pads, I was a little taken aback by the d-line’s quick get-offs, but I’ve adjusted,” Badovinac told Illini Inquirer. “I’ve kind of gotten used to it and know how much time I have to get off onto ‘backers or how fast I have to shoot my hands on pass blocks and whatnot. So I’ve adjusted. It’s going well. …I wanted to push myself and kind of see what kind of level I could take my game to. It’s been a good transition so far."
WR - This is their weakest position group on offense
Brian Hightower is there #1 receiver. - he transferred from Miami before last season, and had a decent year with the Ilini but he was always facing #2 corners as Josh Imatorbhebhe was their definitive #1. This will be his 3rd offensive system in 3 seasons. In Last year's game vs. Nebraska, he faced Cam Taylor-Britt for most of the 1st Half in man coverage situations, and was shut down. After Imatorbhebhe kind of abused Bootle for most of the 1st half, Nebraska moved CTB over to their #1. Hightower didn't do much and finished with 1 catch for 12 yards.
- You have to like the idea of CTB matching up well with Hightower again.
Donny Navarro will be moved to the boundary this season. He played primarily out of the Slot last season. In man coverage, Domann shut him down, but he got loose for a 25 yard catch vs. Zone Coverage. Illinois did a pretty good job of exploiting Nebraska's linebackers in coverage last season. Then again, every team did that when they tried to deceive with RPO action. You know how you limit the RPO? Stop the GoD Damn Running game. Then the RPO loses its effectiveness, but Nebraska didn't do that last year at all.
Former 4 Star or 5-Star Isaiah Williams - was moved to WR, from QB, after Spring practice # 12 last season. He never actually started practicing full time as a wideout until Fall Camp. Long term, I think it will be a great move for Illinois because he's a pretty dynamic runner. Isaiah has allegedly struggled early catching the football in traffic along with other intricacies of the position. - JoJo Doman shut down Rondale Moore last season at Purdue. I love the matchup going against Williams in his first game ever at WR. - I think the bigger threat from Williams might be on a reverse or some type of gadget play where they get him in space.
2 Grad Transfers - Desmond Dan from New Mexico State and Jafar Armstrong from Notre Dame - Armstrong is a shell of his former self. He started his career at Notre Dame as a Running Back, but two ACL injuries later, he found himself moved to WR and phased out for the Irish. At Illinois he's been running with the 2nd or 3rd teamers. His impact will be minimal beyond some leadership possibilities. Dan hasn't played since week 3 of 2019 when he suffered an injury. In 2018, he was a starter at NMSU. - He's currently 2nd or 3rd team right now.
TE - One really good starter
Daniel Barker - This dude might be the most undervalued player in the Big Ten. Wisconsin, Iowa, and Penn State TE's always seem to garner the biggest headlines. The Big Ten media is lazy in that regard. They just follow the status quo. Barker is a great athlete and will likely be a 3rd day NFL Draft pick. He is a better pass catcher than blocker, and will probably used on a lot of boot legs or playaction.
Luke Ford- As much as Barker is underrated, Ford is overrated. He was a former 4-star transfer from Georgia where he was ran off for attitude issues. His impact at Illinois has been minimal, and he was already in the Dog House with Brett Bielema for being late to practice and workouts. The dude definitely has a big time TE body, but he won't be much of a threat.
RB - The Deepest Position on Offense
The Illini have 5 running backs with basically the same body type, size, and skill set. Chase Brown will be the starter, but don't be surprised if 4 dudes get at least 7 carries vs. the Huskers. Mike Epstein has spent most of his career flashing big play potential, but also is injury prone. He has finally reached 100% last week. Reggie Love III is another quick dude who can also be used in the passing game. Chase Hayden, a transfer from Arkansas, was actually recruited by Brett to Arkansas 5 years ago. He graduated and transferred to East Carolina last season where he did basically nothing. he may actually be their return guy at Ilinois.
QB - Below average Power 5 QB
Brandon Peters- New OC Tony Peterson has mentioned that Brandon Peters is a bit different mentally than other QB's he's worked with because he's not really a guy who leads from the front of the line. (What ever that means) Peters has said he has had to get used to Coach Peterson making him feel uncomfortable at times. He's been working some from the Pistol and that's been a transition. This new offense will be the 4th different scheme Peters has played in over the last 5 seasons, and his 3rd different offense at Illinois. Josh Imatorbhebhe was his safety net the last two seasons. I would imagine he will now look more for the Tight Ends, but the offense probably won't be built to throw the football more than 25 times per game.
DL - 3 Man Front - worst depth on the team
DE - Keith Randolph - will be making his 1st career start vs. Nebraska after playing some back up minutes last season at DT. He has good height for a 3-4 DE at 6'5 290. Will be asked to play 2-Gap responsibility for first time.
Nose - Roderick Perry - transferred from South Carolina State prior to the 2019 season and had a good 1st season as a DT. Huge body at 6'6 325, will be asked to play 2-Gap which he didn't have to do to much last season, but had some experience in the 3-4 at SC State. This is his 6th year in College football, but he is not on the Senior Bowl watch list. Can be leveraged in the run game.
DE- Jer' Zhan Newton - has two career starts at DT for the Illini from 2020, he has less than ideal size as a 3-4 DE at 6'2 285. What's interesting is he will NOT turn 19 until 3 days after the Nebraska game. He's also one of 5 Brothers named, Jervon, Jerquan, Jerjuan, and Jershaun.
Back up Nose - Calvin (do we have room) Avery - He showed up in camp overweight and it was troublesome enough that the Coaches moved RG Verdis Brown to the defensive side of the Ball. Both Brown and Avery are BIG DUDES. But Avery is in the dog house and hasn't ever played 2 gap yet. Brown has not played DL since he was 15 years old.
Back up DE's Deon Pate and Jamal Woods - there are big concerns about depth along the D-line for the Illini for a few reasons. One is just the overall level of innexperience. Woods has actually started 6 games the last two seasons at DT, and Pate has been around for 4 years as a 2nd teamer. But the bigger issue is their size. Both dudes were undersized DTs in the 4-3 at 6'2 280 to 290, but as DEs in the 3-4, they're going to be even further out manned, especially defending the run. - I wouldn't be surprised if either of these dudes have transferred out or are completely buried on the depth chart in year 2 of the Bielema regime.
LB - Strength of the Defense
ILB - Jake Hansen - he is basically their Ben Stille or JoJo Domann in the sense that he didn't have to come back. He could've gone to the NFL and you could argue Hansen would've been drafted higher than both Ben or JoJo. He was actually perfect for the Tampa 2, but the rest of their defense sucked too much for it to make a difference. He will have a lot less coverage responsibilities in the Tampa 2 and should shine well in pursuit needed vs. the run in the 3-4. However, it will be a challenge to see how he handles linemen getting to him on the second level. There is a lot of reason to be skeptical about the D-line protecting these backers.
ILB Calvin Hart or Khalan Tholson - Tholson had an injury which held him out of the Spring and limited him early in Camp. I think he's the starter if he's healthy and should flourish in the 3-4 as he's a terrific downhill tackling machine. Hart is a transfer from NC State where he played a lot of 2nd team reps, but was never a starter. I personally think he will get a rude awakening as a 3-4 ILB in the Big Ten. Physically speaking, the running games are a different animal in the Big Ten compared to the ACC. If Tholson is healthy, I think he starts, but Hart might be the dude in week one.
Much like Nebraska, once you get passed the top 3, there is a significant drop off.
OLB - Owen Carney- dude has been a decent pass rusher from the 4-3 DE spot having accumulated 8.5 career sacks in 26 career starts. Last season he had 5 sacks, with 3.5 of them coming in game vs. Purdue against a 1st game starting LT. He also had a good game vs. Bryce Benhart, who was making his 4th career start. In the other 5 games last season, Carney totalled 1/2 a sack and 1 tackles for loss. Phil Steele has ranked Owen Carney as a Preseason 1st Team All-Conference selection. He's a shorter dude at 6'2 and that may be halting him from being on NFL radars. The tweener moniker can be a killer come draft time. You have to imagine he will be on the Weak Side and be rushing the LT whether its Banks or Turner.
OLB Isaiah Gay - he has the more ideal pass rusher frame at 6'3 240- really struggles vs. the run and will be a liability if asked to be used in coverage vs. a Tight end or a RB. Not a great pass rusher, but can clean up if someone gets sloppy. 5th year at Illinois and has 7 career starts.
CB - Good Experience but terrible size for shift to the 3-4
Tony Adams - has started a shit ton of games for the Ilini, but he's spent his whole career playing primarily zone coverage. While I'm sure Illinois will try to mix up some coverages, this scheme is designed for the Corners to play a lot of man. In order to handle the man coverage, the Corners need to be bigger and have the versatility to take on bigger receivers at the point of attack. - Adams is a really solid tackler though.
Devon Witherspoon - 7 career starts, but very little man coverage experience. He's also smaller than Adams.
Bama Transfer Eddie Smith- will potentially be the Nickel Corner for the Illini, but is essentially the 3rd Corner at this point. He's bigger than Adams and Witherspoon but has not taken a starting spot yet. Only played in 9 games during 3 years at Bama - But also played behind a lot of talent.
Safety - Least Experienced group on the Defense
Sydney Brown- while the group as a whole is extremely green, Sydney Brown has 25 career starts in Lovie's scheme. He's an undersized thumper and loves to go for the Kill shot- not great in coverage, but will definitely hurt someone if given the chance.
Jartaviaus Martin- used to play Corner for the Illini where he started 10 games in 18 and 19, but moved to Safety last Spring. Only made two starts in 2020 as he was passed up as a CB after struggling each season. He is probably one of the least talented starting safeties in the Big Ten.
Safety Depth for Illinois - Yikes - Illinois brought in a Grad Transfer former Walk-on Running Back from Georgia named Prather Hudson. Despite never playing the position in college, he has already cemented himself as the 2nd Team Strong Safety behind BRown. They only have true freshman and a converted QB behind him. Back up Kirby Joseph has been at Illinois for 4 seasons with no career starts. He has proven to be solid in run support though.
8/28 Forecast for Champaign, IL : Sunny, dry, low humidity, very little rain, 81 degrees for the High. - almost seems to good to be true.
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