Football

(From University of Illinois Sports Information Office) CHAMPAIGN, Ill. […]

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 17, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Welcome to one of the final days of a preseason football camp for the Illinois program for the 2022 campaign in the second year of Illini head coach Bret Bielema.

Today was the last 15-minute viewing period of preseason camp but here are some quick notes:

The Illini team was on the grass fields behind the Smith Family Football Center.

Mike Farrell, IlliniGuys National Football Recruiting Expert

August 17, 2022

(Mike Farrell also has his own website: https://mikefarrellsports.com/)

Ohio State dominates the Big Ten in wide receiver recruiting and development.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

August 16, 2022

Brandon Hansen is a 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive tackle from Mundelein, Illinois. To say the Illinois football staff is now ahead of schedule would be a lie. When was the last time in early August the next year’s recruiting class is nearly complete? 

This gives Illinois room to start working on the next couple of classes, which is why Hansen made the trip downstate. 

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirms his coaches pulled certain players out of Monday’s full-contact scrimmage including quarterback Tommy DeVito. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 15, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- If local media are listening carefully to Bret Bielema’s post-scrimmage media session, you can deal a conclusion that the quarterback competition phase has ended and a starter has emerged. 

Just 40 seconds into a 14-minute media session following the Illini’s second and final scrimmage before the Aug. 27 season opener against Wyoming (3 p.m., BTN), the Illinois second-year head coach began to rattle off names of players who were removed from the scrimmage after the halftime break for precautionary reasons.

Mike Farrell, IlliniGuys National Football Recruiting Expert

August 15, 2022

(Mike Farrell also has his own website: https://mikefarrellsports.com/)

Bret Bielema knows power football and knows running backs. Kaden Feagin is likely to play linebacker in college but that was also the plan for Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen and look at him now.

Steve Sturm, IlliniGuys Football Analyst

August 14, 2022

Illinois managed to convince three-star rated North Carolina commit Zachary Tobe to switch his allegiance to the Illini and by doing so the Illini added another talented and athletic Floridian to its core of defensive backs.

Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr.’s transition from UTSA to Champaign has involved an evolution of when, where and how to mix up the pace and speed of his system. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

August 13, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Long before he became a football coach, Barry Lunney was drafted twice into Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher so the new Illinois offensive coordinator knows something about changing speeds.

Mike Farrell, IlliniGuys National Football Recruiting Expert

August 12, 2022

(Mike Farrell also has his own website: https://mikefarrellsports.com/)
Illini QB commit Caleb Swanson courtesy Ardmore HS Athletics

Illinois isn’t known for producing great quarterbacks over the years, that’s the sad fact.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 11, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- We all catch ourselves saying things that are drastically outdated and well, stupid. 

For example, I will still, to this day, say “I’m taping that '' or “I am recording that”' when asked about an upcoming game or television/ streaming service show. The fact is there is no physical tape and because I’m a streaming television/service customer, it doesn’t actually record as much as get placed in a file of stuff I intend to watch whenever I have time to binge. So, why do I say “I’m taping that”? Because my appreciation for the language I make a living writing causes me to almost audibly sigh when we’re forced to turn the DVR process into a verb (DVRing). Whether it’s the vocabulary we use or the beliefs we illogically hold onto, the social marketplace will always dictate the most important aspect of life: Relevancy. 

One would think that in 2022, the sophisticated fan wouldn’t need this refresher course on this issue but unfortunately there are those who are following famous talking heads spouting outdated and borderline platitudes that cloud the reality of what is college sports.

Of the eight newcomer offensive linemen brought in this offseason, only three are under 300 pounds and Illini looking to start one of the largest o-line units in Big Ten in 2022. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 10, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- When Hunter Whitenack walked into the weight room for summer conditioning work, the sheer look of his body got the attention of his older teammates. 

The freshman, 19-year-old from New Carlisle, Ind., measured in for preseason camp at 6-foot-7 and weighed in at 345 pounds - which is 55 pounds heavier than his listed weight as a three-star prospect at New Prairie High School where he was a three-time all-area, and all-conference selection. 

“I look at Hunter Whitenack and have to think how I was 215 (pounds) and now I was a walk-on tight end at the time but my God, I can’t imagine being that big and moving that well at 19 years old,” Illinois center Alex Pihlstrom said on Aug. 1. “I have work so hard to keep my flexibility and mobility and I’m only 305 to 310. This kid has 20-30 pounds on me. As of today, Hunter benches more than most of the offensive line and he’s never blinked at anything. All of these are worlds ahead of where they probably should be.” 

Mike Farrell, IlliniGuys National Football Recruiting Expert

August 10, 2022

I’ve broken down the offensive and defensive recruits in the 2023 class for Illinois, but the transfer portal could be even more important.

Harkless’ decommitment announcement represents a major blow to the top of Illinois’ 2023 recruitment class board and makes them thin again at a coveted position group. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 9, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The spotlighted committed figure on defense for Illinois’ 2023 recruiting class is no more. 

Jamarrion Harkless, a three-star defensive tackle prospect from Lexington, Kentucky, who served as the highest-ranked and biggest recruiting win for the Illini’s 2023 recruiting class has publicly announced he is no longer verbally pledged to Illinois and will likely be signing with another Power Five Conference program. 

Harkless committed on June 5 after a completing a weekend visit in Champaign - the only official visit he’s taken during the recruitment process for the 290-pound defensive tackle prospect from Frederick Douglass High School in Lexington. 

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

August 9, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Your Sports Edge)

Illinois' recruiting class for next fall took a big hit this afternoon when defensive tackle Jamarrion Harkless announced he was decommitting from Illinois and re-opening his recruitment.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

August 8, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Welcome to the eighth day of fall preseason football camp for the Illinois program for the 2022 season in the second year of Illini head coach Bret Bielema.

Today marked the first preseason scrimmage work during the fall camp season where players were allowed to tackle to the ground for the first time since camp practice had opened in late July. With less than three weeks before Illinois hosts Wyoming on Aug. 27 (3 p.m. CST, BTN), the coaches used this as one of the eight allowed days in full pads before the season opener.