Football

For the third straight season, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema will be on the opposite sideline with Ryan Walters, the first defensive coordinator he hired in his Illini rebuild, on Saturday.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 24, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Nick Wagner/Seattle Times)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When a reporter asked about the dynamic of Bret Bielema’s Illinois team facing a defensive unit led by Ryan Walters for the third consecutive year, the Illini head coach quickly corrected the accuracy of the question.

“I would argue this is five years in a row,” Bielema said Monday with a smile.

The two other years are the daily routine of first-string offense versus first-string defense in the Illini’s practice sessions in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Bielema wouldn’t script those middle-of-the-week practice sessions in a way so the Illini could see some success in the type of way where in a given scenario and the defense could rebound in another scenario. No, this was Walters and his fellow lieutenants on the defensive assistant coaches including Terrance Jamison, Kevin Kane, Aaron Henry and Andy Buh game-planning to have success and build confidence against an Illini offensive unit where Bielema says he sat in on their meetings to scheme against Walters’ bunch.

“Even when (Walters) was here, I’d probably go over to the other side of the ball and work with them to even it up and make things fair and interesting,” Bielema said in his weekly media conference inside Gies Memorial Stadium.

Since arriving as the top-ranked junior college pass rusher in the 2024 recruiting class, Illinois OLB Daniel Brown has seen injuries delay what coaches have hoped is an instant impact.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 23, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Even two years later, Bret Bielema still tells the story of during an October bye week in the 2023 season, the Illinois head coach visited multiple junior colleges in the Iowa and Kansas area during a five-day period where nearly all of those program’s head coaches had the same question for the Illini third-year leader.

“They all stopped me and said, ‘Oh, you have to be in on (number) 32, that edge rusher from Hutch, right?,” Bielema said Wednesday.

While wearing number 32 at Hutchinson Community College in that 2023 season, Daniel Brown had already established a reputation as one of the nation’s best pass rushers at the junior college level.

Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry believes his unit needs to become more focused on creating takeaways that have led to their five wins in 2025.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 23, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Just because it’s been almost 15 years since he graduated with as a consumer trends major while playing at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Aaron Henry hasn’t forgotten what a mathematical trend looks like.

So, when the third-year Illinois defensive coordinator is shown a spreadsheet or statistical analysis split, it won’t take him long to identify during the five Illini wins in 2025 is when his defense and the Illinois special teams unit has produced 10 takeaways. It will likely take Henry even less time to find that in the two losses, Illinois has produced a single momentum-shifting turnover from the opposing offense.

Henry’s assessment of his defensive unit through the first seven games in an internal self-scout that his boss and former head coach at Wisconsin, Bret Bielema, requires of all his three coordinators during a off week produced a simple conclusion.

By IlliniGuys Staff October 22, 2025 (Cover photo courtesy […]

Mike Cagley, Co-Host IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular October 21, 2025 […]

With 12 FBS job openings before Halloween, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema acknowledges Monday his profession “is a hard deal” and he’s reached out to some of the terminated men in this 2025 season.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 20, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Every time he sees that somebody in his coaching fraternity is terminated, Bret Bielema can’t help but recall the one and only time he was terminated from a job.

After a 48-45 loss to Missouri, Bielema was walking off the playing surface of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas when his interim boss, Julie Cromer, handed him termination papers immediately ending his five-year run as the Arkansas head football coach before he got to the tunnel of the home locker room of the season finale.

“Some of these guys (who have been fired) are guys I would consider friends. I know that when I was handed papers saying I was no longer wanted, I know I liked hearing from people even though I really, at the time, didn’t want to hear from them,” Bielema said Monday.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema has repeatedly said he and his staff are using this off week to answer questions about specific problem areas of a his football team after seven straight games.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 20, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Let’s immediately start with what would have to be considered encouraging news for Illinois fans from regarding the running game.

According to his Wednesday afternoon Zoom media conference, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirmed he expects all personnel from his running back room to be healthy for its next game on Oct. 25 at Washington following this current off weekend. This would obviously include Ca’Lil Valentine, who injured his leg/ankle in the first half of the 34-16 loss to No. 1 Ohio State, along with Kaden Feagin, who injured his shoulder in the first half against the Buckeyes but returned to action after halftime and Aidan Laughery, who had been slow to fully recover from a severe ankle injury in the win at Duke over a month ago.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

October 19, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Kedric Prince/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — According to a national recruiting site, the Illinois football program has offered 28 potential recruits, which speaks volumes about those players. Very few sophomores receive offers this early, and those who do are typically the type of difference-makers coaches recognize right away.

IlliniGuys subscribers, meet Avery Thompson, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound wide receiver from Paducah, Ky. The talented sophomore has quickly made a name for himself on the recruiting trail with his size, athleticism, and ability to make plays downfield.

By IlliniGuys Staff October 19, 2025 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - […]

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema has repeatedly said he and his staff are using this off week to answer questions about specific problem areas of a his football team after seven straight games.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 18, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The obvious lesson from the 63-10 loss at Indiana for Illinois offensive line coach Bart Miller was something he says he learned at six years old when dealing with a school bully.

Miller says one day after school he told his parents that he got physically dominated by the bully and instead of punishing him for being in a fight, his mother gave him a quick directive.

“You have to deal with it and she told me ‘Do you think the fight is over just because you got knocked down?’,” Miller said on Sept. 30 just days following the Illini’s 34-32 win over Southern California. “I thought our guys were pretty resilient in learning from that experience and responding like the veteran mature group that we thought they were.”

As Illinois (5-2, 2-2 in Big Ten Conference) finally approaches its first off weekend of the 2025 season, they went into Friday night still last in the 18-team Big Ten Conference in sacks allowed with 23 in seven games. However, this statistic may not adequately represent the improvement of Miller’s veteran five-man operation in the last three games following the 53-point blowout loss in Bloomington.

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

October 16, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Four-star offensive tackle Cameron Wagner, one of the top prep prospects in Illinois’ 2027 class, continues to draw major attention on the recruiting front. The 6-foot-6, 300-pound standout from St. Joseph-Ogden High School in St. Joseph, Illinois, has quickly become one of the most sought-after linemen in the Midwest.

Wagner, who recently visited Memorial Stadium to watch then-No. 17 Illinois take on Ohio State, said the trip was another reminder of how close he is to home, and how much the Illini mean to his community.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema has repeatedly said he and his staff are using this off week to answer questions about specific problem areas of a his football team after seven straight games. We’ll first start with an issue Bielema has mentioned multiple times as a point of impact during this off weekend - third-down defense.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

October 16, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Bret Bielema can still clearly see Ohio State’s first third-down conversion in his mind from last weekend’s loss.

On a third-and-8 situation, Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin found Jeremiah Smith on a crossing pattern for 18 yards on a play that allowed the Buckeyes to cross midfield for the first time during what would eventually be a 34-16 victory over the Illini for the top-ranked team in the country.

“You just can’t ask for a better scenario on an opening drive than a third-and-8,” Bielema said on Wednesday. “In my opinion, we did some things in the rush and we did some things in the coverage that are just little details that result in big things in the end.”

As we detailed earlier this week in the IlliniGuys.com Film Review, Ohio State did an excellent job of taking away Illinois pass rusher Gabe Jacas and challenged the rest of his Illini teammates near the line-of-scrimmage to make plays.

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