IlliniGuys.com 2023 Positional Preview: Inside Linebackers

Illinois will be led by three-year starter Tarique Barnes but need to figure out his sidekick in fall camp.  

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

July 19, 2023

(Cover photo courtesy David Banks/USA TODAY Sports)

For all the talk of Illinois being a cradle of middle linebackers in the history of the game with names like Dick Butkus, Dana Howard and Kevin Hardy, the last time the Illini program saw an inside-the-box linebacker be selected in the draft by a National Football League franchise was Martez Wilson in 2011. 

This statistic of futility may likely . . .

 

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