Football

Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting
March 14, 2022

Illinois head football coach Bret Bielema has landed his basketball version of Ayo Dosunmu in football today.

Kaden Feagin is a 6-foot-3, 221-pound athlete from Arthur, Illinois, a four-star recruit who is definitely a difference maker.

Feagin has explosive speed, strength, and vision with 4.5 speed.

Why is this such a big deal for the coaching staff and the football program? In just his second year Bielema and his staff have proven they can now battle the upper echelon teams in the country.

Feagin picked Illinois over the likes of Iowa, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Notre Dame, Purdue, Tennessee, and Rutgers.

This verbal will show how serious Illinois is when it comes to keeping the best players in the state, which is what Bielema said he would do, and it shows nationally; if you come to Illinois, the days of just taking football without a fight are done.

The Illinois recruit told IlliniGuys previously, "I've been to campus a few times, the game time experience was amazing to me. With a new staff, Illinois is a completely new team now."

Getting this commitment from Feagin early will be a sign to other potential prospects that Illinois is going to win top-notch recruiting battles.

Please follow me on Twitter @KedPrince4

Email: PrinceKedric@yahoo.com

Zain Bando, IlliniGuys Student Correspondent March 22, 2022 CHAMPAIGN, […]

The Illinois football program will be operating its second set of spring practices under head coach Bret Bielema and first spring session with new quarterback Tommy DeVito and offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 22, 2022

CHAMPAIGN -- Bret Bielema gets to open his second set of spring practices this morning with numerous questions to answer and problems to solve before the Illini squad host the annual Orange and Blue Game on Thursday, April 21 under the lights at Memorial Stadium. 

Steve Sturm, IlliniGuys Football Analyst

March 15, 2022

Ryan Walters just loves to mix things up mid-season. 

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

March 14, 2022

Antwon Hayden, an outside linebacker at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds in the Class of 2023 from East St. Louis, Illinois, updates his recruiting with IlliniGuys.

Former Illinois defensive back Kerby Joseph arrived at Illini Pro Day Friday as a star after being a relative unknown through his first two years in Champaign. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

March 12, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- It’s safe to assume Kerby Joseph arrived Friday morning at the Smith Family Football Center with a different reputation than when he arrived in Bret Bielema’s office 13 months ago. 

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' […]