Football

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

February 26, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

As I write this, Aaron Henry has packed his bags for South Bend and Illinois is changing its defensive scheme under new defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck. One thing that's clear is that Illinois is looking at a rather bare cupboard in terms of linebackers. James Kreutz returns for his senior year and will be a starter and Joe Barna will be back as well, but after them you have to go all the way down to Grant Beerman and his 15 snaps to find the next most experienced linebacker. Let's try to make some sense of this!

Newcomers
Illinois added two linebackers in the portal and I think we'll see some productivity right away from both of them. The first new linebacker on board was Robert Edmonson of Colorado State, who will be a junior this year. Edmonson started the season deep on the depth chart for Colorado State but ended up with 335 snaps in Colorado's new 3-3-5 defensive scheme.

Former Illinois pass rusher Gabe Jacas will go through NFL scouting combine individual drills on Thursday afternoon including running the 40-yard-dash on NFL Network.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

February 25, 2026

INDIANAPOLIS — In his four seasons at Illinois, Gabe Jacas was lined up in a variety of ways.

If a National Football League personnel scout or executive wants to see the former Illini pass rusher line up as a stand-up edge rusher, there’s the 2022-23 and 2025 campaigns. You want to see the 260-pounder line up with his hand in the ground as a defensive lineman? Go ahead and pop in clips from the 2024 season.

The versatility of the jobs he took on is something Jacas hopes has already shown up before his arrival this week in Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine where he’s likely to interview and talk with team executives throughout the next few days.

“I think my work in college shows (NFL) teams that I can add value as a edge rusher or kick inside as an interior player, basically whatever they add from me is something I’ve done,” Jacas said. “The ability to play all across the line does nothing but add to my value. It doesn’t really matter where you line up but you have to be able to play with extension, have active hands and feet. The skills with being able to use my hands to disrupt the pass game in many ways is a big weapon of mine.”

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema has formulated a professional model system that separates his on-field coordinators and assistant coaches from recruiting and player acquisition responsibilities.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer

February 25, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN — One of the first things that Bret Bielema did after he accepted the head coach position at the University of Illinois was determine which members of Lovie Smith’s coaching staff he would retain.

At the time, this assistant coach retention philosophy was spotlighted by Corey Patterson being announced as the program’s running backs coach for the 2021 season. During his time in Champaign under Smith’s tenure with the Illini, Patterson was seen as key to Illinois' recruiting efforts in the St. Louis area as he brought over two of the highest rated Illini recruits in the modern era, Isaiah Williams and Shammond Cooper, who played under Patterson at Trinity Catholic High School while Patterson was establishing itself as one of the top high school programs in the state of Missouri.

Patterson went from being a corporate accountant in 2016 to being considered one of the most valuable assistant coaches at a power conference college football program in a five-year span.

The decision by Bielema to retain Patterson was more so based in the idea of retention of a Illinois roster, especially Williams - seen as the program’s best offensive athlete at the time, that Bielema had just acquired and understood had the pieces for a foundation that would in 2022 turn into an eight-win campaign highlighted by a New Year’s Day bowl berth less than 24 months after Bielema arrived in Champaign-Urbana.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

February 24, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

Illinois added three new faces in the late signing period, so I'm catching up on writing about them. Leslie Mosley Jr. is the most interesting of the three in my opinion because he has a high ceiling and an odd history that explains his lack of offers. Illinois signed the 5'10, 160 pound Mosley over some mediocre offers from FCS schools despite his 52 catches for 1,001 yards and 10 touchdowns at Class 1A state champion Cardinal Newman. Mosley will join Cardinal Newman alumni Xavier Scott, Xanai Scott and Dylan Frechette at Illinois this fall so he'll have plenty of friendly faces.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?
As a senior, Mosley was an elite playmaker

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

February 20, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Penn Athletics)

It's time to review the position we've all been wondering about: the defensive line. As Illini fans know, the portal was unkind to the Illini at this position as we saw player after player walk out the door and join other P4 programs, particularly in the Big Ten. The Illini have replaced those players with other portal entrants, especially from low major schools. But, there are questions upon questions, and as I write this more questions arise with the defection of defensive coordinator Aaron Henry. So, new DC Bobby Hauck will have the difficult job of sorting through this group and figuring out how this is going to work.

Newcomers
I wrote a spotlight piece on Carter Janki from Yale already. He's a solid player who started out as a high school quarterback and bulked himself up to the 300-pound range and is well-schooled in hand usage and foot positioning.

New Illinois defensive line coach Jordan Thomas brings an expertise in the 3-3-5 scheme while also having college and pro coaching history on his resume.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

February 17, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The major transition of the Illinois defensive coaching staff is now complete with the hiring of defensive line coach Jordan Thomas.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema said last week, during Bobby Hauck’s introductory media conference inside the Smith Center, that he had a coach inside the building on an interview who was familiar with the 3-3-5 scheme being brought to Champaign-Urbana by new defensive coordinator Hauck but had never previously worked with Hauck.

It turns out that person was Thomas as he was announced on Tuesday morning as the Illini’s new defensive line coach to replace Terrance Jamison. Thomas joins the Illini with 10 years of coaching experience ranging from college football to the National Football League, including stops at Boston College, the Cleveland Browns, and San Diego State.

“(Thomas) is a talented leader with experiences in our defense as both a player and coach, plus three years of developing defensive linemen in the NFL,” Bielema said in a university release. “We are excited to welcome Coach Thomas to our staff."

Days after hinting on WSCR in Chicago that he was “interviewing a Michigan guy”, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema hires former Michigan tailback and assistant coach Tyrone Wheatley.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

February 16, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Morgan State Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Just a few days ago, Bret Bielema hinted in a radio interview ‘a Michigan guy’ would likely be offered an assistant coaching opportunity and the Illinois head coach made good on that promise.

Tyrone Wheatley, a former 10-year NFL running back with 18 years of coaching experience most recently as a head coach of Wayne State University in Michigan, was officially named Illinois' running backs coach on Monday afternoon. Despite most Illini and Big Ten Conference football fans likely remembering Wheatley as the Michigan Wolverines physical running back of the early 1990s who totaled 4,187 career rushing yards, 510 receiving yards and 53 touchdowns in his playing career that included being named the 1992 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and the Most Valuable Player selection of the 1993 Rose Bowl, Wheatley coaching resume includes NFL running backs coach jobs with the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Denver Broncos, and at power programs of Syracuse and his alma mater of Michigan.

In a Friday morning radio spot on the ‘Mully and Haugh Show’ on WSCR in Chicago, Bielema told the show’s substitute anchor Ruthie Polinsky that “you’ll love this, we might be interviewing a Michigan guy” for one of the Illini’s open assistant coaching spots. Turns out that ‘Michigan guy’ was the man who currently still stands fifth on the Wolverines all-time rushing list behind only Mike Hart, Denard Robinson, Anthony Thomas and Jamie Morris.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

February 14, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Skyline Sports)

I had some insider info that the switch to 3-3-5 was coming, so I've been looking at this for a while. There are 23 teams in FCS that run it currently, but of course they all do things a bit differently, so I watched several games of Montana football against their best competition. Here are a few factors:

1. There aren't going to be three men on the line. I didn't see a single example of Montana lining up with three men on the line.

In describing the philosophical changes of Bobby Hauck’s 3-3-5 defensive scheme, Illini head coach Bret Bielema said he envisioned positional changes involving typically undersized players.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

February 13, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Bret Bielema might actually be the first one to admit publicly that he’s still in the process of fully learning the new defensive scheme coming to the Illinois football program.

The Illini’s head coach, who just finished his fifth season in charge of the Champaign-Urbana operation, has said multiple times, including on Thursday in an introductory media conference of his new defensive coordinator hire, that it’s a scheme he doesn’t have full expertise in but has been intrigued with for several years.

After hearing new Illinois defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck’s 15-minute media conference inside the Smith Center, Bielema said his primary vision for the most substantial change to the Illini’s defensive philosophy for the 2026 season could come in the form of how players are listed on the roster. Bielema hinted Thursday that Illinois, coming off 19 wins in the past two seasons, could substitute strength and power in its defensive line and linebackers with more speed and athleticism near the line-of-scrimmage.

“I think you’ll have some defensive ends that become [nose tackles], some outside backers become d-ends, some safeties become outside linebackers,” Bielema said on Thursday once Hauck’s news conference had concluded.

The first key to what Bielema said there is those three philosophical positional changes are about taking players and inserting them into a position not normally considered ideal height, weight and strength at this level of football.

Illinois will be moving Jordan Anderson, who started at […]

Roger Cooper, a four-year assistant coach to new Illinois defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck, is being considered as an option Bret Bielema’s coaching staff.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

February 11, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Montana Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The pipeline of former Montana State assistant coaches interested in following Bobby Hauck to Illinois is fully active.

Multiple sources have confirmed to IlliniGuys.com that Roger Cooper, a four-year assistant coach to new Illinois defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck, is being considered to join Bret Bielema’s coaching staff in Champaign-Urbana.

Skyline Sports in Montana was the first to report Cooper was interviewing with Hauck and Bielema for an open staff position on Wednesday morning.

Cooper, 44, just finished his fourth season working for Hauck’s staff at Montana, most recently serving as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the past two years. Prior to serving as co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach, Cooper worked exclusively with Montana’s linebackers in 2023, and safeties in 2022.

Cooper has been a significant part of Hauck’s transformation of Montana’s defense and helped produce some of the best Football Championship Subdivision defenses while also being responsible for mentoring some of the program’s all-time great defenders.

Days after announcing Bobby Hauck as Illini’s new defensive coordinator, IlliniGuys.com has learned Bret Bielema is expected to hire one of Hauck’s former assistant coaches at Montana to the Illini’s staff.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

February 10, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy James Dobson/MTN Sports)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Bobby Hauck is bringing a familiar face from his University of Montana staff with him to Illinois.

Multiple sources have confirmed to IlliniGuys.com that Ronnie Bradford has agreed to become the first assistant coach hire to Bret Bielema’s coaching staff since Hauck was named the Illini’s defensive coordinator earlier this week.

Bradford, 55, has 22 years of experience as an assistant coach at the collegiate and National Football League level and is expected to join his former boss, Hauck, after serving in several assistant coach roles at Montana including assistant head coach, defensive coordinator, cornerbacks coach and safeties coach from 2021-23.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

February 10, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Recruiting can move fast, but even by today’s standards, few stories illustrate that better than Mount Zion wide receiver Jacob Harvey’s recent run of decisions. Last Monday, Harvey committed to Illinois State. By Tuesday, he had received an offer from Illinois and quickly pledged to the Illini.

At IlliniGuys, recruiting coverage means digging deeper into the moments that shape decisions. Harvey sat down one-on-one to explain how everything unfolded in less than 24 hours.

Kedric: Jacob, congratulations on your commitment to Illinois. You recently committed to Illinois State. How did this transpire?

Jacob: I have been in contact with Illinois since

Bobby Hauck, Montana’s 14-year head coach, has agreed to become the new defensive coordinator at Illinois.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

February 9, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Skyline Sports)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Bobby Hauck and his 3-3-5 defensive scheme is coming to Illinois as the 61-year-old longtime head coach has agreed to be the Illini’s new defensive coordinator.

Hauck, who has spent the last eight years in his second stint as the Montana head coach leading one of the powerhouse programs in the Football Championship Subdivision, was announced as Bret Bielema’s choice to replace Aaron Henry as Illinois’ new play-caller for the upcoming 2026 season.

Hauck is expected to bring with him a 3-3-5 defensive scheme that was mentored to him by former San Diego State head coach Rocky Long when Hauck was on Long’s staff as a special teams coach from 2015-17.

Montana finished in the top 20 among FCS programs in scoring defense on three occasions over the last five seasons using this scheme and have ranked in the top five of the Big Sky Conference in scoring defense, total defense, and sacks every season. His defenses have ranked in the top 10 among FCS programs in turnovers forced three times in the last five years, including finishing third nationally last season (27) and second nationally in 2021 (30).

“Since meeting Coach Hauck early on in my head coaching career, I have had tremendous respect for who he is, what he stands for, and the program he has built,” Bielema said via a university release. “He is a family man with incredible attention to detail and a great ability to teach the game to both his staffs and players. Coach Hauck's aggressive defensive scheme, which he learned at San Diego State and developed at Montana, will be an exciting new style that has never been seen here at Illinois.”

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

February 7, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

I hope you all enjoyed the Hank Beatty senior season. Just like Pat Bryant and Isaiah Williams before him, Beatty turned in a fantastic final year where he became a huge factor in the offense and put all of his development and growth as a player to good use. Hudson Clement is the only senior on the roster at this point, so if you're a gambling man, you should take the over on his receptions and yards for 2026.

Newcomers
Illinois was very active in the portal seeking to replace the guys I mentioned below, adding Jayshon Platt from Florida Atlantic, Alex Perry from Florida International, and Ty Robinson from Ball State. Platt had 46 catches for 720 yards at Florida Atlantic and added 23.6 yards per kick return. Platt has both track speed and film speed and I was especially happy to see that he'd already added 20 pounds to his skinny frame so that he'd be ready to play right away in the Big Ten at 6'1 195. At this point he's not running the entire route tree, but I'd still project him to be effective on deep balls and even passes or runs that allow him to run in open space. Platt has taken a long time to develop and has only one year of eligibility left, which is a shame because this is a guy who has the tools to be special if he puts it all together. As of this writing I'd project him for a Justin Bowick type of role. If he learns to block, then he could be a starter.

I'm not as high on fellow Floridian Alex Perry from Florida International.