Illini Football Media Day Notebook: Bielema Impressed By Ball Security in Saturday Scrimmage
The Illini’s preseason nagging injuries are likely to be healed by long before the season opener on Aug. 29 against Western Illinois.
Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer
August 12, 2025
CHAMPAIGN — When asked about the good news following the scrimmage inside Memorial Stadium, Bret Bielema responded in the way every head coach wants when they set up a preseason competition - no turnovers.
Illini Football 2025 Preseason Camp Practice Report No. 6 - Lots of Special Teams Work On Grass Fields
The Illinois football team has transitioned its second week of preseason practices to the grass fields in between the Smith Family Football Complex and Memorial Stadium.
Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer
August 12, 2025
CHAMPAIGN — Good afternoon and welcome to another preseason camp practice for the Illinois program for the 2025 season in the fifth campaign of Illini head coach Bret Bielema.
Checking on 2025 Illini Opponents
August 12, 2025
(Cover photo courtesy Hoosier Huddle)
Here's the latest on some of 12th ranked Illinois' opponents this season:
Illini Land at #12 in Associated Press Preseason Poll
By IlliniGuys Staff August 11, 2025 The most-hyped preseason […]
Around The Big Ten - Monday, August 11th
August 11, 2025 (Cover photo courtesy Starr Portice, Michigan […]
‘A disguised blessing’: Why Illini Coaches Aren’t Worrying About Early Camp Offensive Line Injuries
Illinois offensive line is currently out its top two offensive tackles on both sides of the line with nagging injuries but Bret Bielema’s coaching staff are getting intense looks at the youth of its depth chart.
By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst
August 9, 2025
(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)
CHAMPAIGN — Don’t get Bret Bielema wrong. The Illinois fifth-year head coach would obviously prefer to get through a month-long preseason camp without injuries to any of the projected starting lineup but as he enters his 16th season leading a power conference football program, he also realizes that request is only just short of an impossibility.
So, after one week of work, Bielema and his coaching staff are breathing easier that only one of the the six offensive line injuries in preseason camp is significant and none of the other five are expected to last before the Aug. 29 season opener against Western Illinois (6:30 p.m. CST, Peacock).
Ked's Recruiting Roundup: Illinois Men's Basketball Adds 2026 Forward Landon Davis - "Illinois Has a Great Track Record"
By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting
August 8, 2025
(Cover photo courtesy player's Instagram page)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois men’s basketball program continues to build its future with the addition of 2026 forward Landon Davis, a 6-foot-9, 210-pound standout from Waukee, Iowa, who spoke with IlliniGuys about why he chose to join the orange and blue.
Davis, a skilled and versatile frontcourt player, received his first Division I offer from Illinois, a moment he won’t forget. Illinois assistant coach Zach Hamer made the call, and Davis admitted the offer left him more than thrilled.
Davis visited Champaign last year during a football game, he told IlliniGuys, and that early interest laid the foundation for his decision.
Illini Football 2025 Preseason Camp Practice Report No. 5 - Illini Preparing for Saturday Scrimmage
Illinois has 16 returning starters from the 2024 season. That fact and the eight hours a week coaches have had with players in winter and summer leading to expedited installation right now.
Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer
August 7, 2025
CHAMPAIGN — Good evening and welcome to the sixth preseason camp practice for the Illinois program for the 2025 season in the fifth campaign of Illini head coach Bret Bielema that is one of eight practices that will begin under the lights in Memorial Stadium.
More Player-Coach Interaction in Winter and Summer Making Preseason Camp Less Trial & Error
Illinois has 16 returning starters from the 2024 season. That fact and the eight hours a week coaches have had with players in winter and summer leading to expedited installation right now.
Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer
August 7, 2025
CHAMPAIGN — The previous history of offseason rules in college football made for much more trial-and-error elements in preseason camps for power conference programs. In 2025, it’s all about installing what you’ve already tested months ago.
Ked's Recruiting Roundup: Illinois Football Adds Another Piece to 2026 Class with Australian Punter Jack Gray
By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting
August 7, 2025
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois head coach Bret Bielema gave fans the familiar signal that good news was on the way, and on Thursday morning, that hint became reality.
The Illini received a commitment from Jack Gray, a punter from Adelaide, South Australia. Gray will join Illinois on a full scholarship, continuing the program’s tradition of featuring an Australian punter, a streak that dates back to the 2017 season.
Dylan Rosiek Planning on Instant Rebound Following 2024 Injury
Illinois middle linebacker Dylan Rosiek missed the final four games of the season last season after suffering a fractured foot but returns in 2025 to an experienced positional room.
By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst
August 6, 2025
(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)
CHAMPAIGN — During the 25-17 home loss to Minnesota last November, Dylan Rosiek heard what he thought was a strange pop or a ripping noise.
Initially, before looking down at his left foot, the Illinois starting middle linebacker was convinced his football cleat had split open and broken. The reason for this assumption was Rosiek had never suffered an injury in his football career that required any kind of major surgery so he wasn’t sure what something that significant would feel like.
When he realized his cleat was structurally intact, there was only one conclusion left. The foot inside the cleat was very much not. The fracture in his left foot was taken care of with surgery the week after Illinois’ final loss of the 2024 season which led to months of rehabilitation before he was medically cleared for contact shortly before the start of spring practices. And then Rosiek suffered a broken bone in his hand, ending his journey back to the playing turf.
Ked's Recruiting Roundup: Illinois Lands 2026 Commitment from Waukee (IA) Forward Landon Davis
By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting
August 5, 2025
(Cover photo courtesy Prep Hoops)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois men’s basketball added another key piece to its 2026 recruiting class with the commitment of Landon Davis, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward out of Waukee, Iowa.
Davis joins 6-foot-4 guard Ethan Brown of Rolla, Missouri, as the second pledge in Brad Underwood’s 2026 class. Brown was the first to commit, but the addition of Davis shows the Illini are wasting no time building for the future.
IlliniGuys Rank The Top Shooting Guards
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 shooting guard in your lifetime?
That was the debate in this edition of the I On The Illini podcast:
https://illiniguys.com/i-on-the-illini-fighting-illini-top-5-sgs-superman-movie-review-489/
Illini Football 2025 Preseason Camp Practice Report No. 4 - Illini Special Teams Units Getting Extra Attention
Illinois has several special teams spots to fill before the Aug. 29 season opener against Western Illinois (6:30 p.m. CST, Peacock) and many of those may go to projected starters.
By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst
August 5, 2025
CHAMPAIGN — Good evening and welcome to the fourth preseason camp practice for the Illinois program for the 2025 season in the fifth campaign of Illini head coach Bret Bielema that is one of eight practices that will begin under the lights in Memorial Stadium.
This media viewing session was a bit shorter than the first three practices but it also again did not involve any full-team activities. This was the second preseason practice in full pads for the Illini in August and is one of the final preparation practices before Illinois will conduct a fully-closed scrimmage session on Saturday inside Memorial Stadium.
One of the more interesting elements of Monday night’s practice took place during special teams work when rookie quarterback Jershaun Newton was seen practicing punt return skills for the time during preseason camp.
Ked's Daily Double: Inside Illinois Men's & Women's Basketball 2025-26 Roster - Hayven Smith
By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting
August 5, 2025
(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)
Today’s “Double Dribble 2-1 Focus” begins with Illini women’s basketball center Hayven Smith and Mihailo Petrovic
Player Biography: Hayven Smith, a 6-foot-6 center out of Lincoln-Way East High School, was one of the first in-state players to commit to head coach Shauna Green and her staff following their arrival in Champaign. A standout in her prep career, Smith earned a long list of accolades in 2024 including Herald-News Player of the Year, SouthWest Suburban Conference Blue co-Athlete of the Year, IBCA All-State, Illinois AP All-State, and Southtown All-Area honors. She also reached the 1,000-point plateau. Her father, Greg Smith, was a football player at Vanderbilt in the mid-1980s.
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