Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirms on ‘Illini Pella Saturday SportsTalk’ on WDWS that left tackle J.C. Davis has opted out of Music City Bowl.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — For the first time in 25 games, Illinois will have a new starting left tackle when the offense lines up for its first play of the 2025 Music City Bowl.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirmed Saturday morning on the ‘Illini Pella Saturday SportsTalk’ show on WDWS that J.C. Davis has informed Illini coaches and administration he has chosen not to participate in the Music City Bowl game against Tennessee on Dec. 30 (4:30 p.m. CST, ESPN).

“J.C. will not be with us for the game but I kind of knew that,” Bielema said.

Bielema explained to radio hosts Steve Kelly and Loren Tate that the contract Davis signed to return to Illinois for the 2025 season was negotiated to automatically allow the 335-pound left tackle the option to not play in a postseason game that wasn’t affiliated with the College Football Playoffs.

“There were already conversations around non-CFP bowl games and I’ve known this one was coming and we’ve been playing around it really since fall camp started,” Bielema said. “He already had told me that if the postseason game wasn’t in the playoffs, he would be somebody who didn’t feel like he needed to play in a bowl game. I gave him and his people some things to think about but he and his people made a decision based on their direction in life right now.”

Davis, who has 49 consecutive collegiate starts at left tackle including 25 with the Illini, was an All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection by the league’s coaches and a second-team selection by the league’s media contingent. Davis was the No. 3 graded left tackle in the nation during the 2025 regular season, according to Pro Football Focus data and PFF analysts have him currently rated as the No. 126 selection in the 2026 National Football League Draft.

“He’s a guy that gave us a lot and needs to be celebrated for what he did in an Illinois jersey, not for what he isn’t going to do,” Bielema said. “Super excited for J.C. and his bright future at the next level.”

The options Bielema and Illinois offensive line coach Bart Miller could use in the bowl for Davis’ left tackle spot include Ayden Knapik, who transferred from Idaho with one season of eligibility remaining but, per NCAA rules, bowl games do not count toward a player’s eligibility. Nathan Knapik, who followed his older brother to Champaign-Urbana this past offseason and played seven offensive snaps of action is also a possibility. Illinois could also attempt to move one of its members of the right side of the offensive line: right guard Brandon Henderson and right tackle Melvin Priestley over to the left side as well.

21-year-old outside linebacker Gabe Jacas, who led the Big Ten Conference in sacks in the 2025 season with 11, announced in a social media post Friday afternoon that he was ending his collegiate career and would be opting out of participating in the 2025 Music City Bowl in order to begin his preparations for the 2026 National Football League Draft. Bielema confirmed Saturday morning on WDWS that Jacas and Davis will be the only two Illini players opting out of the Music City Bowl “for NFL Draft reasons”. The 2026 NFL Draft is slated to be held in Pittsburgh from April 23–25.

Illinois (8-4) will play Tennessee (8-4) in Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Dec. 30 in the Illini’s first ever participation in this particular bowl game and the first matchup of the two power conference programs. In the on-campus Music City Bowl acceptance media conference inside the Smith Family Football Complex last weekend, Bielema confirmed he has conducted one-on-one meetings with players out of eligibility after this postseason game. Illinois has begun practices in the indoor facility of the Smith Center this week with the starters in the 2025 season mostly inactive.

Davis is now the sixth Illinois player electing to opt out of a bowl game in the Bielema era that has includes Jacas along with three players in the 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl loss to Mississippi State (cornerback Devon Witherspoon - No. 5 overall pick in 2023, safety Sydney Brown - No. 66 pick in 2023 and Chase Brown - No. 163 pick in 2023) and one player in the 2024 Citrus Bowl win over South Carolina (Pat Bryant - No. 74 pick in 2025).

Luke Altmyer confirmed Friday what Bielema hinted last weekend that the Illinois' third-year starting quarterback will participate in the bowl game in what will be his 35th and final start for the Illini in Nashville.