Football

Illinois uses a light-work Monday evening session to get corrections made from last weekend’s closed scrimmage session inside Memorial Stadium.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 15, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Good evening and welcome to the 13th spring football practice for the Illinois program for the 2025 season in the fifth campaign of Illini head coach Bret Bielema.

This low-intensity 90-minute practice session was held in Memorial Stadium without players in shoulder pads (just spider pads) and no full-contact hitting. The session was attended by several high-dollar donating ICON members and several season-ticket holding members of the 77 Club.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting
April 14, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Once again, the state of Florida has delivered for the Illinois football program. Early this morning, defensive back Almirian Thomas announced his commitment to the Fighting Illini. While sources close to the program expected the decision, Thomas was so excited he couldn’t wait any longer to make his announcement public.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting April […]

Former Mississippi State and Purdue punter Keelan Crimmins represents the only new kicking member of the Illinois special teams unit for the 2025 season. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

April 12, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Keelan Crimmins has done a lot of things as a two-year starting punter at two different programs in his college career since the then-22-year-old arrived in the United States from the highly popular Prokick Australia program. 

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

April 10, 2025

Illinois continued its run of running backs from the Sunshine State when 6-foot, 205-pound Javari Barnett of Tampa Tech pledged to the Illini Sunday to break the Illini hoops stranglehold on recruiting news.  Barnett drew early offers from some of the biggest names in college football early on, but when he sprained a knee ligament in the third game of his junior year the recruiters from schools like Alabama, Tennessee, USC and Penn State backed off while Illinois continued to make Barnett a priority.  The continued attention paid off for the Illini with the commitment from the prototypical 21st century running back.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

Kedric Prince, IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

April 6, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The state of Florida has been very kind to the Fighting Illini football program under the Bret Bielema era. On Sunday, Illinois received a commitment from Javari Barnett, a three-star running back from Tampa Bay, Florida.

TeRah Edwards college football career is officially over after the NCAA Eligibility Center ruled the Illini defensive tackle does not qualify for a waiver exemption for the upcoming 2025 season.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 3, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The waiver request submitted by the University of Illinois compliance office on behalf of defensive lineman TeRah Edwards was denied by the NCAA Eligibility Center.

In a university statement released Thursday morning, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirmed his office received the news of Edwards’ waiver appeal denial “last week”. Bielema said on March 13 during his Illini Pro Day media session inside the Smith Family Football Complex that paperwork has been filed to the NCAA Eligibility Center in order to potentially get Edwards another year of eligibility in college football.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

March 30, 2015

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Former Rock Island standout Cole Rusk was an exceptional wide receiver in high school, but due to his 6-foot-5, 250-pound frame, he has developed into a major asset as a tight end.

Hopefully, he'll be able to do that for Illini Offensive Coordinator Barry Lunney Jr.'s system this fall.

Illinois doesn’t have many healthy safeties for the 2025 spring season is a major reason Bret Bielema doesn’t wish to participate in a intra-squad scrimmage due to depth concerns.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

March 30, 2025

CHAMPAIGN — With all the offseason surgeries affecting the defensive backs, Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry doesn’t have a robust list of healthy bodies this spring in his safeties and nickel cornerbacks meeting room.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Good evening and welcome to the fifth spring football practice for the Illinois program for the 2025 season in the fifth campaign of Illini head coach Bret Bielema begins in the early hours at Memorial Stadium.

Former Illinois sixth-year linebacker Ryan Meed put up numbers comparable to the highest ranked draft-eligle linebackers at the Illini Pro Day workouts earlier this month.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

March 27, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The only thing more impressive than watching Ryan Meed perform the track and field drill portion of the Illinois Pro Day workouts was watching his Illini teammates react in real time to his numbers.

Whether it was Meed’s 4.51-second 40-yard dash time, which would've been third among all linebackers invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, or the 37.5-inch vertical jump, which would've been sixth among all linebackers at Scouting Combine) or the 25 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press, which would have been third among all linebackers at Scouting Combine, the vocal reaction by his peers to the show being put on by Meed inside the Illinois indoor facility of the Smith Family Football Complex was audible.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

March 27, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Fighting Illini's head coaches, Brad Underwood of the men's basketball program and Bret Bielema of the football team, appear to be teaming up to land the state's top football recruit, Nasir Rankin. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound athlete, who stars as a wide receiver, is also one of Illinois' top five basketball prospects in his class.

Illinois third-year athlete Jordan Anderson is working full-time in the tight end room this spring after spending his first two seasons with the Illini at running back.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

March8 26, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Jordan Anderson has officially moved closer to the line-of-scrimmage in the Illinois offense.

The third-year athlete has officially been moved from tailback to tight end. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirmed the positional move is permanent in his media session inside the Smith Family Football Complex following the Illini’s fourth spring practice of the 2025 season.

Barry Lunney Jr. and Aaron Henry are both set to become the program’s first ever pair of seven-figure coordinators when Board of Trustees approves their three-year contract extensions.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

March 19, 2025

CHAMPAIGN — The nine Illinois football assistant coaches who are set to Bret Bielema’s staff for the upcoming 2025 season are likely to officially have new deals by Thursday afternoon.

The new, multi-year contract extensions for all of the Illini assistants except the newly promoted outside linebackers coach Trent Harris are on the agenda for the University of Illinois Board of Trustees meeting slated to begin at 8 a.m. CST in Springfield.

Bielema, who enters his fifth season as the Illini head coach, remained confident and steadfast that the contracts for his assistant coaches would make it to a Board of Trustees meeting long before the end of spring practices concluded in April.

“For me and my staff, the core group of guys (along with) my 10 main coaches for the most part, I feel really good about all of those guys being back in the mix,” Bielema said on Jan. 26. “I think all of those [contracts] will likely be announced sooner rather than later pending [Board of Trustees] approval so working through the things there.”

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

March 15, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy MaxPreps)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The 2026 football recruiting class for the Fighting Illini is progressing as well as anyone could expect. It has even garnered national attention, with the long-time Rivals.com network ranking the class ninth in the country.

Illinois currently sits ahead of traditional powerhouse programs such as Penn State, Ohio State, Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan, and Alabama.