Football

Former Alabama head coach Mike Shula will call plays for South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl in his debut as Gamecocks new offensive coordinator hire. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

December 28, 2024

ORLANDO, Fla. — When the NCAA Division I Board of Directors officially agreed to a waiver for former junior college players, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema knew exactly where he was spending Christmas Eve. 

Immediately following the NCAA Division I Board of Directors, composed of university presidents, announcing a waiver had been granted for former junior college players who had exhausted their eligibility with this 2024-25 season, Bielema scheduled a private jet flight to Oakland Calif., to spend the day before Christmas with J.C. Davis and his family. 

Justin Stepp’s first season on Bret Bielema’s coaching staff will end with him going up against his most recent former employer in the 2024 Citrus Bowl matchup.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

December 27, 2024

ORLANDO, Fla. — Not likely in his wildest imagination would Justin Stepp believe that he’d be on the opposite sideline of his most recent former boss in the final game of his first season at Illinois.

However, this will be the exact situation as Stepp, who was hired as the new wide receivers coach in February by Illinois head coach Bret Bielema, and the entire No. 20 Illini squad will play No. 15 South Carolina on New Year’s Eve on Tuesday at 2 p.m. CST on ABC.

In his first Citrus Bowl media conference from inside the Smith Family Football Complex, Bielema made no secret about how much Stepp would love the opportunity, maybe more than anybody on this Illini staff, to knock off the Gamecocks to provide Illinois its 10th win in a season for the first time since 2001.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

December 27, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois head football coach Bret Bielema has tapped into the Wisconsin football program to address key needs for the 2025 season.

Under Bielema and his coaching staff, the Illini have utilized the transfer portal strategically—not to rebuild the roster, but to fill critical gaps. When backup quarterback Donovan Leary entered the transfer portal, Illinois quickly secured a strong replacement in Northern Illinois quarterback Ethan Hampton.

Illinois guard Zy Crisler was one of two Illini players given a waiver by the NCAA to play in the 2025 season after being junior college transfers.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

December 27, 2024

ORLANDO, Fla. — Despite being in the transfer portal, Illinois offensive lineman Zy Crisler made the trip with the team to Orlando and is slated to play in the Citrus Bowl.

December 27, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy South Carolina Athletics)

#20 Illinois faces 15th ranked South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl at Orlando's Camping World Stadium next Tuesday. It's a matchup of 9-win teams and programs that haven't seen consistent success over the years. A win on New Year's Eve would give Carolina only its fourth 10-win season ever, while an Illinois victory would be just the fifth double-digit win campaign in Illini history.

Who are the Gamecocks?  Here's what the locals are saying about the team:

Steve Sturm, IlliniGuys Football Analyst

December 25, 2024

Regardless of what happens with Tomiwa Durojaiye (Du Ro Jie ee) in the future, let's all pause and appreciate this moment because Durojaiye will have completed the P4 Yahtzee once he joins the Illinois football team.

James Thompson Jr., a two-year defensive lineman starter at Wisconsin, has elected to spend his final season of college football playing for Bret Bielema’s Illini as a graduate transfer in the upcoming 2025 season. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

December 25, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Christmas Day represented the biggest and most important gift for the Illinois football program. 

Steve Sturm, IlliniGuys Football Analyst

December 25, 2024

Illinois took its time before jumping into the transfer portal waters, but now that they're in, the portal commitments are coming rapidly.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

December 24, 2024

One of the glaring options on Illinois' offseason football shopping list was an additional wide receiver, and the Illini checked off that item when they took a commitment from Ball State wide receiver Justin Bowick on Saturday.  Bowick is a big and fairly fast wide receiver at 6'4, 200 and would make a nice target for Luke Altmyer in 2025.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular and Big Sports Radio […]

The addition of Tomiwa Durojaiye continues the philosophy of finding developmental talent who have yet to reach their potential out of the transfer portal.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

December 23, 2024

(Cover photo courtesy Ben Spicer/Warchant)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Illinois football program continue to show the philosophy of being a developmental power conference program can and should also exist with transfer portal additions.

Illinois added to this ideology of slow, multi-year program building Monday with the reported addition of defensive lineman Tomiwa Durojaiye.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

December 23, 2024

I hope you're all enjoying the first part of portal season as Northern Illinois' Ethan Hampton switched his commitment from Wake Forest to Illinois to provide Illinois with some veteran depth at quarterback for at least the 2025 season.  Hampton started at NIU for a memorable 2024 season that featured the only victory over Notre Dame this year.  Most Illini fans will look at fellow senior MAC transfer John Paddock from the 2023 season and like Hampton's switch to that situation.  However, the truth is Hampton is a bigger addition than Paddock.  Much bigger.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

December 21, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois head football coach Bret Bielema, who gained national recognition during his tenure leading the Wisconsin Badgers to several successful seasons, has continued tapping into his former program’s talent pool this week as defensive lineman Curtis Neal committed to the Illini on Saturday.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema speaking about his recruiting frustrations involving financial inefficiencies in the sport of college football and institutional hurdles at his current employer.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — As the highest paid state employee in Illinois, Bret Bielema elected to use part of his local media session Tuesday to point out what he would consider institutional inefficiencies affecting his ability to recruit talent.

When asked Tuesday inside the Smith Family Football Complex if he felt he had the proper resources from the university’s athletics department to acquire top-level talent in the transfer portal, the Illinois fourth-year head coach didn’t hold back on his frustration with specific institution issues to restrict his program’s ability to recruit out of the transfer portal.

“One of the biggest battles we fight here at the University of Illinois is being able to get kids (out of the transfer portal) enrolled in school,” Bielema said on Tuesday.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

December 21, 2024

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois secured an important commitment from Ball State transfer Justin Bowick.