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With seven games already played before its first off weekend, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema had to go to some ‘Plan B’ decisions on first-year talents showing special teams contributions.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 15, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — After a month-long preseason camp and seven consecutive regular season games before its first off week, Bret Bielema knew he’d long have to decisions made on the four-game redshirt threshold for first-year players.

In his Wednesday Zoom media with media, Bielema confirmed that he and his coaching staff have made up their minds on which freshman will likely be participating in more than four regular season games and obviously not be receiving a redshirt season.

The fifth-year head coach gave examples of linebacker Grant Beerman and defensive back Andre Lovett Jr. as players who have impressed so much they’ve reached the status of being on the 74-player travel roster as depth pieces in their positional groups but more so on specific special teams units.

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

October 15, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Kedric Prince/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - One of the most coveted four-star recruits in the country was on campus when Illinois hosted defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Ohio State this past weekend. Jordan Haskins, a 5-foot-11 cornerback from Bryan Station High School in Lexington, Kentucky, was among the visitors.

Rivals.com/On3 lists the 2027 prospect as the fourth-best player in the state of Kentucky for his class and the No. 32-ranked safety in the nation. Co-Host of the IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular syndicated radio show, Mike Cagley, said previously, “Illinois recruits well, but if they want to take the next step, they must recruit more speed. All of the really good college football teams have it.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra6r-J1FwDE    

By IlliniGuys Staff

(Cover photo courtesy Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette)

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 center in your lifetime?

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

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/illiniguys-top-5-fighting-illini-cs-in-our-lifetime-493/id1548299600?i=1000720671211

A major factor in the Illinois being unable to get any kind of pass rush Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is the Buckeyes doubled and sometimes tripled-teamed Gabe Jacas.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 14, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Give credit to Ohio State’s trio of coaches that scheme up their passing attack including head coach Ryan Day, offensive coordinator Brian Hartline and co-offensive coordinator & tight ends coach Keenan Bailey.

What these three coaches do so very well when they’re playing the likes of Illinois, Washington or another opponent where they’re a significant favorite (mostly because the Buckeyes have acquired a severe talent advantage on its roster) is identify and initially slow down the defensive disruptor who can individually wreck a drive, quarter and game on that underdog team.

The identification part is relatively easy. As No. 1 Ohio State approached the preparation for a road test at Illinois, Gabe Jacas had Plan A, B and probably C to converting big plays and staying on the field on third down. It’s also likely most of the sold-out capacity crowd at Gies Memorial Stadium knew Jacas was the player who needed to be highlighted and kept out of the Buckeyes backfield for a large portion of success for the road team to consistently happen.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

October 14, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

Not ready for prime time. That was my and most people's take after the painful loss to Ohio State Saturday. Illinois outgained the Buckeyes. They played them evenly on the line of scrimmage and held their own at the skill positions. Luke Altmyer probably outplayed Julian Sayin. But Illinois lost 34-16 and was generally out of reach of the win because of 3 turnovers and a punting foible that was basically a turnover too. In other words, Ohio State looked like a CFP team, while Illinois looked like a team that isn't quite good enough for that. Still though, despite the odd voting that left Illinois out of the AP poll with losses to the 1st and 3rd best teams in the nation, Illinois continued to look like a top 20 type of team. And really, if they take the right lessons away from Saturday's loss, they can still reach that next level.

This play was destined for a loss from the start. Sometimes you can get away with not blocking the end man on the back side of a running play if you create a threat with the quarterback. However, that works a lot better on the wide side of the field, and more importantly, Ohio State's Kenyatta Jackson is just too athletic to be delayed by that type of minor influence. He eats this TFL up like he's back in high school. Note that Collin Dixon has a rare lack of effort on this one. Ohio State's Davison Igbinosun takes inside leverage on this one so it's going to be a tough block, but Dixon lets him free after a token shove.

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

October 14, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Fighting Illini women’s program has long sought to keep top in-state talent at home, especially Miss Basketball, a feat not accomplished since 1998 with Taylorville’s Allison Curtin. This year, Chicago Whitney Young guard Destiny Jackson is changing the narrative.

Standing 5-foot-6, Jackson is bringing her elite skills and athleticism to Illinois under the direction of four-year head coach Shauna Green. Jackson is already making an impression on her coaches and teammates as she prepares for her freshman season. She was ranked No. 29 nationally by ESPN and is part of a top-10 recruiting class for 2025.

During summer workouts, Jackson sustained a minor wrist injury, but she appears ready to go as the season nears, and Green appears to feel she's ready to go.

IlliniGuys.com football writer/analyst gives his outlook of the college football world as we enter the month of October.

October 13, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — We’ve reached the first off weekend for the Illinois football team and after a month-long preseason camp and seven straight weeks of games, the proverbial pause button has likely come at the perfect time for Bret Bielema’s bunch in Champaign-Urbana.

However, without an immediate game to look forward toward and discuss, IlliniGuys.com realizes with its midseason Top 25 poll and College Football Playoff projections realizes that the there is still potential for a best case scenario for the Illini (5-2, 2-2 in Big Ten Conference) regarding the 2025 Big Ten Championship Game. Is it the Illini being a participant for the first time in school history? No…not directly.

With losses to both No. 1 Ohio State and No. 3 Indiana, two programs that failed to play each other in the regular season, there is a multiverse world (for all my comic book lovers out there) that could easily become a reality where the undefeated Buckeyes and undefeated Hoosiers meet in Indianapolis in the final game of the college football regular season to decide who will likely be the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff bracket when it’s revealed on the next afternoon. If that scenario were to play out,

By IlliniGuys Staff October 13, 2025 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - […]

By Zeno Jo - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

October 13, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's social media)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – One of the first glimpses that the world caught of Andrej Stojakovic in Illinois colors was of him dressed in the team’s orange jersey with two flags draped over his shoulders – the Greek flag on his right shoulder and the Serbian flag on his left. He carries his identity with him everywhere he goes, and says that his upbringing, both as the son of an NBA great and as a foreigner, has shaped him on and off the court.

The last name should ring a bell for those who were basketball fans in the 2000s. Stojakovic is the son of former NBA champion and three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, who was a career 40-percent three-point shooter who had his most iconic years with the Sacramento Kings.

Stojakovic is ethnically Serbian and was born in Greece. Both countries are part of the Balkan Peninsula.

By Kedric Prince Staff Writer

October 12, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.- When IlliniGuys first reported that Keaton Wagler, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound shooting guard from Shawnee, Kansas, committed to Illinois in September 2024, many considered him an under-the-radar prospect due to his low national ranking. For example, Rivals.com ranked him as the nation's 67th-best shooting guard in the 2025 class.

But Illinois appears to have found a gem. While most major programs passed, the Illini identified his talent early. The only other Power Four school to actively recruit him was Minnesota.

At Illinois media day recently, head coach Brad Underwood made a bold comparison about Wagler.

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

October 12, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois women’s basketball program, which currently boasts the nation’s No. 9-ranked 2025 recruiting class, is looking to build for the future. Recruiting never stops, and for head coach Shauna Green and her staff, it’s about developing meaningful relationships early. That’s exactly what they did recently with a rising star from Kentucky.

Charlotte McCurry, a 6-foot shooting guard from John Hardin High School in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and a member of the 2029 class, made the trip to Champaign for an unofficial visit. IlliniGuys caught up with McCurry as she reflected on her experience.

Illinois likely had to play extremely well to pull off a memorable upset of No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday and everybody saw today that certainly didn’t happen.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 11, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Bret Bielema watched the entire campus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign prepare for what he called “a moment”. Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer circled this game on the Illini schedule from the moment it was officially released in the summer. Both of these men have been around college football long enough to know that when No. 1 in the country comes to your town, you’d like to put up your effort to create a memory worth noting for decades to come. Instead, No. 17 Illinois (5-2, 2-2 in Big Ten Conference) found themselves falling into the mistakes that teams create for themselves when they’re not ready to push through and have an opportunity to be great. The 34-16 loss to No. 1 Ohio State (6-0, 3-0 in Big Ten) in front of a capacity crowd of Gies Memorial Stadium shows the Illini aren’t ready for that kind of leap just yet.

The first lesson Illinois head coach Bret Bielema imparted on this football program is in order to win games, you have to stop yourself from losing games on your own. Illinois is not ready to stop losing games against elite teams.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 11, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — That very much needed to be seen. That very much needed to be felt. That very much needs to be remembered.

The first lesson that Illinois head coach Bret Bielema attempted to impart when he flew in on Dec. 2020 to take over a football program that had seen decades of losing memories and defeatist attitudes in its locker room, fanbase and even maybe coaching staffs was more college football games are lost than won outright.

By IlliniGuys Staff October 11, 2025 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - […]