After four years of developing into one of the more productive receivers in Illini history, Pat Bryant will enjoy a Senior Day celebration at Memorial Stadium.

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

November 16, 2024

Michigan State at Illinois

Date/Time/Place: Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024: 1:30 p.m. CST, Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Ill.

Surface: Field Turf

Capacity: 60,670

Records: Michigan State 4-5, 2-4 in Big Ten; Illinois 6-3 3-3 in Big Ten

Betting Line: Illinois by 2.5

Series notes: Michigan State leads the all-time series 27-19-2 and remains one of the few original Big Ten teams that Bret Bielema hasn’t defeated in his four-year tenure as head coach of the Illini.

TV: FS1; Alex Faust (play-by-play) and Robert Smith (analyst)

Radio (Illinois): Brian Barnhart (play-by-play), Carey Davis (analyst), Michael Martin (sideline), and Steve Kelly (pre/half/post).  The broadcast can be heard live on TuneIn online radio, SiriusXM, the SiriusXM App, and at FightingIllini.com/live.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The thumbprint technology that is the only way inside access is granted at the Smith Family Football Complex might have well been designed for people like Pat Bryant.

Every 5 a.m., Bryant scans his thumb to be one of the first people inside the building before any secretary, janitor or staff worker not named Bret Bielema gets inside the football facility at the University of Illinois.

When asked by reporters this week, before his final home game at Memorial Stadium, why his daily routine includes a 5:30 a.m. workout and film session before sunrise, Bryant just shrugs off the question.

“I never wanted anybody to outwork here, and I always thought being the first one in the building was a good way of making sure I was working harder than anybody else,” Bryant said Wednesday.

When asked why Bryant has had so much success at Illinois long before and during his one season with the fourth-year receiver, Illini assistant coach Justin Stepp didn’t hesitate with his answer.

“Because he absolutely works his tail off and everything he gets, he’s earned,” Stepp said. “The reason we want to be called coach is to mentor people that want to put the work in like Pat Bryant.”

After becoming the 14th Illini wide receiver in program history to start at least three games as a true freshman in 2021, Bryant’s legacy was born in the first play of the 2022 season. In what the novice fan would consider a classic Bielema-style offensive philosophy, an outside sweep for a 38-yard run by Chase Brown was created because of a pancake block - by Bryant as the perimeter wide receiver on the play.

“Yeah, it was a block, right? The block against Wyoming - that play kinda defined what I wanted to be about here at Illinois,” Bryant said. “At the time, (Illinois wide receivers coach George McDonald) wanted guys who were willing to be tough, smart and dependable. When we came in for film on Sunday, he just kept rolling that clip over and over saying that’s what we’re about. I don’t think I’ll ever get more credit for a block as a receiver than after that play.”

In that 38-6 win over Wyoming on August 27, Bryant would lead the Illini with 44 receiving yards and a touchdown reception from Tommy DeVito, but it was the block that wasn’t shown in the box score that earned him the reputation of being the guy who would do anything to get on the field.

“I remember as a freshman asking (McDonald) once what I could do to get on the field more because I came to Illinois to be a productive member of a winning team and I remember being caught off guard with the answer,” Bryant said. “He said to just do what we ask you do no matter what it is and do it with the best effort you can every single time. I was surprised because I said ‘That’s it? That’s all I got to do?’ Coach Geo looked at me and smiled saying ‘You’ll be surprised how hard what I just said is to do’. And he was right.”

Bielema, who routinely beats the sunrise to the football facility every morning, immediately noticed Bryant being a player roaming the halls of the Smith Family Football Complex using the weight room or getting a workout at the indoor field hours before a practice, classes or individual workout was scheduled.

“He’s a guy who watched Isaiah Williams go about his business and learned what it took to be the best version of himself,” Bielema said Thursday as he got emotional describing Bryant, one of his favorite players in his four years as the head coach at Illinois. “Senior Day is always special but to see people like Pat Bryant get rewarded is why we do this. It’s why we coach.”

Bryant will be honored today in the Illini’s final home game against Michigan State (1:30 p.m., FS1) along with at least 14 players on its 2024 roster in their final season of eligibility, which is tied for the lowest among any power conference with Iowa State. Bryant and co-captain Seth Coleman will be the anticipated names to hear their name called during the pre-game ceremony.

“It means a lot, especially knowing that I've been here for four years, fought with these guys all four years, and never had the thought of leaving,” Bryant said about staying at Illinois through a head-coaching change before he arrived on campus and a positional coach change before his final season in Champaign-Urbana. “They told me these four years would go by so fast, and I always thought that was weird to say because four years is a long time. They were right because it’s like I remember that block against Wyoming to start out 2022 like it was yesterday.”

For Illinois (6-3, 3-3 in Big Ten Conference) today, Bryant is going to have to do more than block. He enters this week with seven touchdown catches, ranking 21st in the nation and leads the Big Ten with eight receptions of 20 or more yards. He represents the big-play threat in the passing game for Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer as the receiver with the fourth-most all-time receiving touchdowns in program history and has at least one reception in 18-straight games, dating back to 2023.

Michigan State (4-5, 2-4 in Big Ten) arrives in Champaign ranking 30th among FBS programs in total defense, allowing 323.6 yards per game. The Spartans have held five opponents under 300 yards of total offense this season (Florida Atlantic, 248; Prairie View A&M, 140; Boston College, 292; Iowa, 283 and Michigan, 265).

“Sometimes it’s hard to not focus on the future because I really want that opportunity to play in the National Football League, but we have three more games to do something special here,” Bryant said. “I want to be part of the group that helped turn this around at Illinois. That’s part of why I came here in the first place.”