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By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 26, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN — The closer we get to the 2025 season beginning, the less interested the folks who work inside the Smith Family Football Complex sound about making their play evaluations complicated.

While nobody surrounding the University of Illinois football program would deny Hudson Clement has found some adversities since arriving in Champaign-Urbana from West Virginia this past spring. Clement himself during the on-campus media day two weeks ago would admit the transition has had setbacks on and off the field including adjustment to the Barry Lunney Jr. offensive scheme and some nagging injuries that hampered not only his confidence but his summer conditioning program before entering preseason practices this month.

And after all of the meetings, practices, film work, conditioning drills and every analytical tool used to evaluate skill position players on a football field, Lunney Jr.’s answer to what he likes most about Clement since his arrival from the transfer portal was a back-to-the-basics formula that practically everybody can and should understand.

Bielema hints that players who were dealing with nagging injuries in preseason camp may be on a play snap count in Friday night’s season opener vs. Western Illinois.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 26, 2025

CHAMPAIGN — After he confirmed his star left tackle had returned to the practice field with full medical clearance, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema hinted that J.C. Davis may not be the only player on the roster being intently watched by this coaching staff.

As Bielema stated last week, the Illini head coach said Davis was given full medical clearance to return to practice on Saturday and was on the field for a Monday morning practice just four days before the No. 12 Illini host Western Illinois Friday night (6:30 p.m. CST, Peacock) at Memorial Stadium after being held out of most of the preseason training camp due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

"Today was his most reps by far," Bielema said. "He took all the team (reps) today and didn't have any issues.”

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

August 26, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois women’s basketball staff spent the summer evaluating potential recruits, attending AAU events to keep close tabs on players. Some of those athletes already hold offers, while others are still hoping the Illini will be the next to extend one.

One of the top players in that spotlight is Quincy native Khloe Nicholson, a four-star sophomore who received an offer from Illinois last year as a freshman.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema would rather not hear about historical disappointments following successful seasons and subsequent preseason hype.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 25, 2025

CHAMPAIGN — Yes, Bret Bielema knows the history of the football program he’s in charge of.

He understands Illinois will begin its 2025 season with a number by its name for the first time since 2008 after being ranked No. 12 in both the Associated Press and Coaches preseason polls. Bielema has been informed the last time Illinois began a season ranked in the preseason and finished a year ranked was 1990. Oh yes, he’s very well aware of all of this.

“I always go back to everything here seems to always go back to either 1990 or 2008 for whatever reason. I mean, every single stat known to mankind seems to go back to 1990 or 2008.”

Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular August 25, 2025 We […]

Pat Farrell came to Illinois in the 2022 recruiting class as a 235-pound outside linebacker but is now in the mix to start as a 280-pound defensive lineman in Bret Bielema’s developmental system.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 24, 2025

CHAMPAIGN — If there’s a representation of Illinois as a player developmental program, it may very well be Pat Farrell.

As a 235-pound stand-up rush linebacker, Farrell was recruited out of St. Rita High School in Chicago due to his high explosiveness and motor that led him to be named a 2022 All-Chicago Catholic League first-team selection. Farrell’s highlight tape constantly showed up laying players out with excruciating hits and running sideline-to-sideline to make chaotic plays in open space.

After two years in the Illini defensive system as an outside linebacker, Farrell transitioned his body to make the move into the positional room of his primary Chicagoland recruiter - Illinois defensive line coach Terrance Jamison.

The Illinois coaching staff continues to carefully deal with the plantar fasciitis of its projected All-Big Ten left tackle as the Illini transition out of preseason camp and into game preparation.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 23, 2025

CHAMPAIGN — Amongst the laundry list of injuries of Illinois offensive linemen throughout this preseason camp, JC Davis is the only one still on the inactive list of Illini head coach Bret Bielema.

In his final preseason media session Thursday afternoon, Bielema expressed Davis’ extended absence from action might be an intentionally ‘overly cautious’ move from the Illinois coaching staff to possibly prevent future damage to the preseason All-Big Ten left tackle.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

August 23, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Naperville Sun)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois men’s basketball program continues to line up key visits this fall, and with its national reputation, the Illini are attracting really good talent.

Cole Kelly, a 6-foot-6, 185-pound small forward from Naperville (Neuqua Valley High School), recently shared on Twitter (X) that he has two unofficial visits scheduled. He will visit Nebraska this weekend before making his way to Illinois on Sept. 27.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

August 22, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN - Illinois men’s basketball continues to establish itself as a national recruiting presence, with more than 35 Division I offers extended to members of the class of 2026.

Since head coach Brad Underwood’s arrival in March 2017, the Illini have resurrected their program to prominence largely through recruiting, now competing consistently for elite high school talent again. That work has paid off again, as Jasiah Jervis, ranked the nation’s No. 50 player by ESPN, has included Illinois in his final list of eight schools.

By IlliniGuys Staff

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

Illinois has been blessed with some immensely talented basketball players over the years.  All-Americans, Big Ten Players of the Year, and those who have reached the penultimate level in college hoops.

IlliniGuys co-owners Mike Cagley, Larry Smith, and Brad Sturdy and IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting Kedric Prince all grew up in the 1970s and 80s, so we posed the question - who is the greatest Illini small forward in your lifetime?

That was the debate in this edition of the I On The Illini podcast:

https://illiniguys.com/illiniguys-top-fighting-illini-sfs-in-our-lifetime-490/

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

August 21, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's Hudl page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fall typically signals the start of college football, but for those who follow basketball recruiting, it also means high school players begin narrowing their lists of potential schools, scheduling official visits, and in some cases, committing before their senior seasons tip off.

Quentin Coleman, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound shooting guard from The Principia School in Saint Louis, has announced his final six programs. His list includes Illinois, Saint Louis, Texas A&M, Iowa, Wake Forest, and Texas Tech. Each program is making a strong push to land the talented shooting guard, with hopes of getting him on campus soon and securing a commitment.

August 21, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletcs)

CHAMPAIGN — In his first four seasons as the head football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Bret Bielema has declined to produce any form of a player depth chart. With more immediate avenues of player movement, Illinois coaches have taken a conservative route to making public where players stand in terms of playing time and roles on the 74-player travel roster. The good news is here at IlliniGuys.com, we don’t work for Bielema or anybody else in the university’s athletics department so Matt Stevens decided he would produce a very unofficial depth chart for fans to use (for whatever it is worth) for the upcoming Aug. 29 season opener against Western Illinois (6:30 p.m., Peacock). Bielema and the folks are very much still encouraged to break tradition and produce a season-opening depth chart to make this one and any other fans might have seen during this preseason camp basically irrelevant.

Offense
Quarterback
Luke Altmyer

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

August 16, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. –  Illinois men’s basketball head coach Brad Underwood has successfully put the Fighting Illini back on the national stage. This is evident not only in their victories, but also in the number of players hearing their names called on draft day.

Diehard fans will remember Morgan Park star Ayo Dosunmu being called the "pied piper" when he became the first big name to commit to Underwood's Illini program. The dynamic guard went on to earn first-team All-American honors and gain national player of the year consideration while lifting Illinois from a school-record 21 losses his freshman year to a Big Ten championship and number one seed in the 2021 NCAA tournament. Dosunmu was taken early in the second round of that summer's NBA Draft by his hometown Chicago Bulls, but experts later surmised that his level of play his rookie season instead warranted being a lottery pick.

Fast-forward four years and Underwood and staff now carry a very special card in their pocket when visiting prospective players

Alexander Capka-Jones is looking to break out as a known commodity after not getting much attention as a high school player, junior college talent or even a returning member of this Illini roster.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 20, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN — In his first media session of preseason camp, Illinois wide receiver Justin Stepp spoke for eight minutes and 38 seconds on Aug. 5 and the noteworthy item from that interview was not about what was said but the name that wasn’t mentioned.

Stepp never mentioned the name Alexander Capka-Jones. To be fair to the Illini’s second-year position coach, nobody asked him about Capka-Jones, a receiver who had just two receptions for 21 yards in 2024.

Less than 24 hours after Stepp’s media session, the same player was first in line as an outside receiver for individual drills during the media viewing portion of the Illini’s preseason. It was the same outside receiver who had been first in line the day before and likely would be first in line the next days going forward - No. 7 Alexander Capka-Jones. It is for that level of consistency in his work, among many other things,

Luke Altmyer is excited about being named a team captain on a 2025 Illinois squad that will be attempting to produce back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in program history.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 20, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN — It may be possible that Luke Altmyer can sense any potential uneasiness amongst Illinois fans about whether their favorite team can have back-to-back successful football seasons for the first time in a generation.

When asked Tuesday by local media, what kind of captain he wants to be on the 2025 Illini squad after the quarterback was named one of six team leaders by a vote of his teammates, it’s more than telling the second descriptive word Altmyer came up with.

“Captains are leaders, visionaries, people who are not afraid of new territory like this team,” Altmyer said. “We’re facing a lot of new expectation, a lot of new waters. I mean, approaching it with the right attitude of a Christlike mindset, being tough, resilient and a lot of love and care. I’m excited for it. Love the opportunity that’s in front of us as a team.”