Football

Illinois football assistant coach Ben Miller announced Thursday afternoon […]

New Illinois quarterback Tommy DeVito says his favorite NFL player is Aaron Rodgers - a priority recruiting target by then-Illini head coach Ron Turner. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuy Staff Writer

March  , 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- In his first and only live media availability in early February, new Illinois transfer quarterback Tommy DeVito admitted that his favorite National Football League signal caller was Aaron Rodgers. 

Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

March 1, 2022

Antwon Hayden, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound athlete from Saint Charles, Missouri, picked up an Illinois offer Wednesday night.

(Publisher's note: This was republished with permission from Illini […]

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

February 26, 2022

Quincy Riley, a 6-foot-0, 172-pound athlete from Columbia, South Carolina, recently received an offer from the Fighting Illini football program.

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

February 25, 2022

Now that the basketball coaching staff has looked numerous times at St. Rita’s, the football staff is looking there as well.

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

February xx. 2022

Illinois assistant coaches Andy Buh and Terrance Jamison have made a big impact on Dante Barone, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound tight end from Princeton, New Jersey, who recently received an offer from the Fighting Illini.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Contributor/Analyst

February 22, 2022

I'm going to recap the season and give everyone a peek at the next season position by position this offseason and, since we've had the most immediate news on the offensive line lately, I thought I'd start there. 

Illinois was blessed with a wealth of experience on the offensive line in 2021, as the Illini were able to lean on five fifth or sixth year seniors as well as a couple of experienced returning players in Alex Pihlstrom and Julian Pearl.  However, Illinois will lose stalwarts Vederian Lowe and Doug Kramer as well as transfers Doug Jeresaty and Jack Badovinac in 2022, so there's bound to be a lot of shuffling in the five line positions.  I'm sure experienced fans know that filling the offensive line positions is a unique problem because experience is so important for success.  So, players with a lot of experience will surely be more effective, yet you also need to get younger players some experience somehow.  Not only that, but the physical nature of the position usually requires new players to spend a year or two sitting on the sidelines before they're even ready to take their shot, so it's difficult to manage the window in which a staff can get a player ready and still take advantage of the time he has to play.

What happened last year?

Courtesy Illinois Athletics February 14, 2022 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois' […]

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

February 11, 2022

The Fighting Illini coaching staff continues to recruit the rich state of Florida.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

February 10, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Bret Bielema certainly came prepared for the home visit of the quarterback he was recruiting out of the transfer portal. 

The Illinois head coach, along with offensive line coach Bart Miller, arrived at the home of former Syracuse quarterback Tommy DeVito ready to go through the normal process with his parents, Tom Sr. and Alexandra and Tom, and sell everything that the Illini program could provide for the quarterback for his final year of eligibility. 

What Tommy DeVito, his parents and everybody in the Cedar Grove, N.J. home (a 25-minute drive from the home of MetLife Stadium, the location of the Illini coach’s last gig with the New York Giants) possibly didn’t expect was has been quickly learned around Champaign-Urbana as a classic Bret Bielema film session. 

“So, yeah, he just sits in this chair right next to me, pulls out this tablet and says ‘Okay, I want to show you something’,” DeVito said to IlliniGuys.com following his first media availability in Champaign since signing with Illinois. “I was immediately blown away.” 

The Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday afternoon that the […]

Illinois announced the return of five-year offensive line starter Alex Palczewski for another year of college football where he’ll bring stability to a critical position for Illini head coach Bret Bielema.

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

February 5, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Less than three days after Illinois head coach Bret Bielema said he and his staff had a “trick up his sleeve” regarding the return of a veteran player, we now know that move involved bringing back five-year starter Alex Palczewski for a sixth season. 

Courtesy of Illinois Athletics February 4, 2022 Look for […]

Steve Sturm, IlliniGuys Football Analyst

February 4, 2022

Illinois was able to save on travel costs with its two most recent additions as 5'11, 180-pound Xavier Scott from Dwyer High School in Palm Beach Gardens