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Pat Bryant’s “traits” all led to the former Illini wide receiver being the perfect player to grab in the third round of the 2025 National Football League draft this weekend.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 29, 2025

Several reasons can be cited for how Pat Bryant became the perfect candidate to be drafted earlier than most, if not all, draft analysts had the former Illinois wide receiver hearing his name called in the draft this past weekend.

Pretty much all of those reasons center around the idea that the two highest ranking football people inside the Denver Broncos facility (general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton) are in philosophically in sync on an old-school gut check way of scouting and evaluating prospects.

Ben Humrichous will be fifth active player and sixth […]

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

April 28, 2025

The Illini added their top target in the portal Andrej Stojakovic on Monday when he chose Illinois over North Carolina for his junior season. With the roster now essentially set, here’s a look at what they have and where there may be some holes still.

There is no question that this team is older than a year ago, and they are more physically imposing in the frontcourt. Depth up front is greater than it has been in a long time and they have 3 bonafide playmakers on the perimeter. Here’s a look at each position.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

April 28, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois football continues working the transfer portal to fill needs, and on Sunday the Illini landed a commitment from Northern Iowa transfer Carter Hewitt to beef up their defensive line play.

The eldest son of former All-NBA sharpshooter Peja Stojaković […]

Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular April 28, 2025 This […]

UCLA overtakes the Illini from an eight-shot deficit to […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – From the moment Shauna Green took over the Illinois women’s basketball program, she leaned into her recruiting ties, particularly from her days at Dayton. One of the most significant early results of that effort was the commitment of five-star forward Berry Wallace who she kept close tabs on.

While recruiting rankings often serve as coffee talk and message board speculation, Wallace, a 6-foot-1 forward from Pickerington, Ohio, more than validated the hype during her freshman season.

After two days of competition, Illinois is in a […]

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

April 26, 2025

What do you make of a guy who has numerous Big Ten and SEC offers plus Miami and Louisville from the ACC, yet isn't rated by any service as one of the top 20 prospects in the State of Illinois?  What do you make of a guy who plays with tremendous aggression, violent hands, and quickness on the offensive line, yet looks like an overgrown linebacker compared to his peers?  Well, you make him a defensive lineman.  That's what Tony Balanganayi is going to be at Illinois, and that is why you can look into his background and see that numerous great football programs want him despite his poor fit at the next level at his primary position.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

Bryant represents the highest drafted Illini wide receiver in […]

Illinois sophomore Max Herendeen holds a three-shot lead at 7-under-par following a bogey-free 63.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

April 25, 2025

Despite every inconsistency Illinois head coach Mike Small said existed throughout the 2024-25 regular season, the Illini find themselves once again in a familiar position after day one of the Big Ten Championships - at the top of the leaderboard.

Illinois will sleep on a seven-shot lead after posting a 10-under-par opening round as Illini sophomore Max Herendeen has a three-shot lead at 7-under-par following a bogey-free 63. The Illinois second-year talent, who is currently ranked as the 30th best amateur player in the world, once again proved postseason play and major tournament is when his game shines the most. Herendeen, who turned 20 years old in January, matched a career-low round at the East Course of the Baltimore Country Club with a back-nine 30. He also matched the all-time low round in a Big Ten Championship in an 18-hole opening day that catapulted him into the leadership spot for the race for the medalist honors of the league title tournament.

Luke Altmyer didn’t suddenly become a better person for spurning the post-spring transfer portal in the same way he wouldn’t have become a worse person for making the opposite decision.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 25, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Luke Altmyer has the right to consider himself the same person this week as he was last week.

Altmyer, who turns 23 years old in October and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign this past December, has the same value system this week that he had a months ago. And it’s a pretty safe bet he’ll be of the same moral character a few months from now too.

In the effort of full disclosure, I will admit to having a very high opinion of Altmyer. I voted for the Illini quarterback to win the 2024 version of the newly-formed Loren Tate Award given by our local group of beat reporters to “the Illinois football player who not only is most cooperative with local media but exhibits himself with professional integrity in all interactions”.

Illinois head coach Mike Small knows that this part of the season is where his program has annually met the expectations of being nationally competitive.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

April 24, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When the Illinois men’s golf team arrives in Baltimore this week for the 2025 Big Ten Conference Championships, they’ll be the favorites to win, they’ll be a top 15 nationally ranked squad and they’ll be the owners of 13 of the last 15 league titles.

And the reason Illinois head coach Mike Small loves this time of the year is everything described in the previous paragraph, while very much true, is completely irrelevant once all 90 players representing 18 programs stick the tee in the ground on their opening hole of the tournament.

“You can’t get (players) all riled up and emotional and then tell them to go play golf because that’s when the hole shrinks on you and you can’t just go to place and expect to beat people because of who you are. You have to hit your standard,” Small said. “Hopefully our standard has increased over the last two or three months.”

(From Illinois Sports Information Office) CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini women's […]