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Illinois had to lean on Tarique Barnes at inside linebacker last fall because he was basically the only one that stayed healthy. Calvin Hart Jr. suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fourth quarter of the season opener against Nebraska, and Jake Hansen was lost for the year after another torn ACL in late October. Barnes was the constant, making 10 starts in 12 games and finishing with 80 tackles (one shy of Sydney Brown's team high), six tackles for loss, five pass breakups, two sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception.

Barnes will be back in the middle of the Illinois defense this season as a likely starter. Hart's return this spring allowed the two to develop some important on-field chemistry given Hart's injury last fall after transferring from North Carolina State meant they didn't play much together. The Illini will again need Barnes to be the type of playmaker that generated three turnovers last fall, but after one season, defensive coordinator Ryan Walters knows he has a solid performer in a key position. - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#46 ILB) rSr/2024

ILB Tarique Barnes, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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08/11/22 - Alex Pihlstrom, rSr/2023, Illinois, 6-5, 302 (DS#11 C) + More +

Alex Pihlstrom made the move to center this offseason and showed the Illinois coaching staff enough that they didn't pursue a veteran at that position in the transfer portal. Pihlstrom repped as the No. 1 center throughout spring practices and was back in that role when training camp opened. He doesn't have the same level of on-field experience as freshman roommate and fellow sixth-year offensive lineman Alex Palczewski, but the 23-year-old Pihlstrom will still fill a leadership role in the middle of the Illini line. - News-Gazette

(DS#11 C) rSr/2023

C Alex Pihlstrom, Illinois
News Source: News-Gazette
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08/10/22 - Luke Ford, rSr/2023, Illinois, 6-6, 268 (DS#43 TE) + More +

Last season was Ford's best season, but it can't really be called a breakout season. Ford did start all 12 games at tight end for Illinois - a first in his career - and set new career highs in the first game of the season. That it was three catches for 30 yards and his first Illini touchdown, however, showed how involved the tight ends were in the passing game. Ford would go on to catch just 12 more passes for 84 yards and another touchdown in the final 11 games of the season.

Maybe this is the year Illinois will actually throw it to the tight ends. Daniel Barker transferred to Michigan State because he wasn't sure it would happen. Ford stuck around because maybe it would under new offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. given his history with Illinois coach Bret Bielema. Ford needs it to happen. He looks exactly like an NFL tight end should and needs to follow through on that potential. - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#43 TE) rSr/2023

TE Luke Ford, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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08/10/22 - Julian Pearl, rSr/2024, Illinois, 6-6, 312 (DS#26 OT) + More +

Julian Pearl was sidelined during spring practices with a broken thumb he suffered during a pick-up basketball game (the last he'll play during the rest of his Illinois football career). That didn't change the fact he'll return as a starter this fall. With Palczewski settling back in at his normal position at right tackle, Pearl has the positional versatility to flip to left tackle to replace Vederian Lowe or stay next to Palczewski again at right guard. The same is true for junior college transfer Isaiah Adams, which gives offensive line coach Bart Miller some options. - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#26 OT) rSr/2024

OT Julian Pearl, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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08/10/22 - Seth Coleman, rSr/2025, Illinois, 6-4, 246 (DS#24 OLB) + More +

Seth Coleman has waited his turn. When he arrived at Illinois as a true freshman in 2019, he had multiple defensive ends ahead of him on the depth chart from Lovie Smith mainstays Owen Carney Jr. and Isaiah Gay to USC transfer Oluwole Betiku Jr. and surprise breakout performer Ayo Shogbonyo. The depth chart calculus didn't really change in 2020, either. Carney and Gay had the starting defensive spots on lock, and that was essentially the same in 2021 when that duo used their bonus year of eligibility as outside linebackers in new defensive coordinator Ryan Walters' system. Now Coleman is "the guy." The 6-foot-5, 240-pound outside linebacker is in line for a major starting role after an injury last fall disrupted what was a breakout in the making after taking Gay's starting spot.

Two missed games from Coleman was enough to let Gay reclaim his primary role. Now Gay is gone, so is Carney, and Illinois is turning to Coleman to be a playmaker on the edge. "He's got no choice but to be the guy," Walters said. "He's taken ownership over that role, and that's what we need from him...He's acting that way. He's transformed his body from a year ago. Again, I can't speak highly enough of (strength and conditioning coach Tank Wright) and his crew and what they were able to do during that eight weeks over the summer. I think that's given him confidence. He's prepared, and preparation breeds confidence." - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#24 OLB) rSr/2025

OLB Seth Coleman, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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08/09/22 - Kendall Smith, rSr/2023, Illinois, 6-1, 211 (DS#28 SS) + More +

Kendall Smith entered the transfer portal two days after last season ended with every intention to use his sixth and final season of eligibility somewhere else. Somewhere he might have a better shot at a starting spot on defense. Then the situation changed at Illinois. Kerby Joseph entered the NFL draft, and the Illini coaching staff convinced Smith to stay. After a solid spring, Smith is now in line to replace Joseph at free safety with versatility - he also played cornerback and wide receiver in his time in Champaign - to fill multiple roles in the secondary. - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#28 SS) rSr/2023

SS Kendall Smith, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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08/04/22 - Clayton Bush, rSr/2024, Illinois, 6-0, 212 (DS#76 SS) + More +

2022 PRESEASON MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL SECOND TEAM (COACHES/MEDIA): DB Clayton Bush, Southern Illinois,...Started all 13 games at free safety in 2021...Recorded 63 tackles, including 23 in the last three games...Tied for the team lead in interceptions (3)...Returned an INT 22 yards at Kansas State and had a 16-yard INT return in playoff game at South Dakota...Had a season-high 9 tackles in games vs. North Dakota and at North Dakota State. - Southern Illinois Football

(DS#76 SS) rSr/2024

SS Clayton Bush, Illinois
News Source: Southern Illinois Football
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08/03/22 - Tommy DeVito, rSr/2023, Illinois, 6-1, 210 (DS#18 QB) + More +

Bret Bielema will tell you there's going to be a quarterback competition when Illinois football training camp opens Saturday in Champaign. In fact, the Illini coach said exactly that Wednesday during Big Ten Media Days at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. It's been the same refrain from offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. this summer. The starter for the Aug. 27 season opener against Wyoming in Champaign hasn't been decided. Tommy DeVito and Art Sitkowski - and to a much, much lesser degree the rest of the quarterbacks on the Illinois roster - will get their shot in camp. But let's be realistic. It's DeVito's job to lose. The 23-year-old Syracuse transfer who celebrates his 24th birthday on Aug. 7 didn't uproot his college football career on a whim. Sure, leaving the Orange was always in the cards after he ultimately lost the starting job there despite a breakout 2019 season, but he didn't zero in on Illinois to ride the bench again. "The spring game kind of gave you a glimpse of what he's capable of doing," Bielema said, with DeVito completing 16 of 20 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns more than three months ago at Memorial Stadium. "He's got a live arm, and I think a very accurate arm. He does have the ability to get the ball in some tight windows. Sometimes, he gets a little too gunslinger for me, but I think he's learned what we're asking." - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#18 QB) rSr/2023

QB Tommy DeVito, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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08/03/22 - Ezekiel Holmes, rSr/2025, Illinois, 6-4, 273 (DS#171 DE) + More +

Ezekiel Holmes played in all 12 games last fall after a position change. Recruited to Illinois as a defensive end by former coach Lovie Smith, Holmes was flipped to outside linebacker to fit new defensive coordinator Ryan Walters' scheme. The only real difference for any outside linebacker - the edge rushers - in Walters' defense was the chance to play standing up instead of with a hand on the ground every snap. Holmes had a backup role in 2021 and finished with five tackles for the season, including one tackle for loss.

This fall will mark Holmes' fifth season at Illinois. Four of those seasons included little to no opportunity to get on the field. That included a redshirt season in 2018, where he didn't play despite the new redshirt rules going into place. This fall will be different. It's basically a wide-open competition at outside linebacker given the overall lack of experience for players at that position. Holmes has the physical makeup of an ideal edge rusher. Will on-field production follow? - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#171 DE) rSr/2025

DE Ezekiel Holmes, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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08/03/22 - Devon Witherspoon, Sr/2023, Illinois, 6-0, 181 (DS#1 CB) + More +

The biggest holes defensive coordinator Ryan Walters has to fill are in the secondary. Illinois lost a serious playmaker in Kerby Joseph and a veteran cornerback in Tony Adams. It isn't totally bleak, of course. Sydney Brown returns to punish anyone with the ball close to the line of scrimmage, and Devon Witherspoon is back as a potential lockdown corner. But Illinois still has to find another cornerback, figure out where to use Quan Martin and find a new playmaker with Joseph now with the Detroit Lions. - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#1 CB) Sr/2023

CB Devon Witherspoon, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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07/29/22 - Jake Renfro, rSr/2027, Illinois, 6-3, 313 (DS#13 C) + More +

2022 PRESEASON OUTLAND TROPHY WATCHLIST: C Jake Renfro, Cincinnati,...Renfro (Mokena, Ill.) started all 14 games in 2021 on the heels of earning six starts as a freshman in 2020. He was named a True Freshman All-American by ESPN+ that season. - Cincinnati Football

(DS#13 C) rSr/2027

C Jake Renfro, Illinois
News Source: Cincinnati Football
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07/29/22 - Alex Palczewski, rSr/2023, Illinois, 6-7, 303 (DS#20 OT) + More +

2022 PRESEASON OUTLAND TROPHY WATCHLIST: OT Alex Palczewski, Illinois,...Palczewski enters the 2022 season with 52 career starts, 36 at tackle and 16 at guard...2022 Athlon Preseason All-Big Ten third team...2021 All-Big Ten honorable mention (coaches and media). - Illinois Football

(DS#20 OT) rSr/2023

OT Alex Palczewski, Illinois
News Source: Illinois Football
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07/28/22 - Chase Brown, Sr/2023, Illinois, 5-10, 209 (DS#10 RB) + More +

A day before Big Ten football Media Days starts in Indianapolis on Tuesday, cleveland.com compiled results of its 12th annual Big Ten poll. And beat writers who cover the league aren't thinking too fondly of what Illinois can accomplish in its second season under Bret Bielema. The Illini are picked to finish sixth in the Big Ten West, only ahead of Northwestern. Illinois received 65 points, with Northwestern checking in at seventh with 61 points.

Wisconsin is the favorite to win the Big Ten West, with the Badgers receiving 246 points and 31 first-place votes. Writers pegged Iowa in second place with 198 points, followed by Minnesota in third with 162 points, Purdue in fourth with 153 points and Nebraska in fifth with 123 points. No Illini players received any votes for those two individual honors. Illinois finished 5-7 last season, including 4-5 in the Big Ten as the Illini wound up fifth in the Big Ten West. The Illini kick off training camp on Saturday in Champaign and open the season at 3 p.m. on Aug. 27 against Wyoming at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#10 RB) Sr/2023

RB Chase Brown, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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07/28/22 - Kody Case, rSr/2023, Illinois, 5-10, 182 (DS#141 WR) + More +

If there was a position of need - and there were several - the Illinois coaching staff trended toward adding a veteran. That was particularly true at wide receiver. The Illini addressed some of their depth issues at that crucial position in the Class of 2022 by adding five freshman receivers. But they still went out and added Northern Colorado's Jonah Morris and South Dakota's Kody Case in the transfer portal. Morris will be in his seventh season this fall, while Case will be in his sixth. "Maturity, that's probably the obvious answer for both of them," Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. said about what both Morris and Case provide. "They're both older and guys that have a lot of experience playing football games. It's probably something if you just looked at our roster overall that we were a little bit short on. When we looked to supplement our roster in general and at that position we probably erred toward the side of guys who are a little more mature."

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Morris, who started his college career at Indiana and also played at Akron, will provide a big target for Illinois in the passing game. Bielema praised his athleticism and catching abilities. The 5-10, 175-pound Case will likely be another option in the slot. "He's got a lot of intangibles that you really can't put a price tag on," Bielema said of Case. "When you watch his film, just a really exciting, dynamic guy to watch. Not only obviously in their conference, they play good football, but he had some crossovers games against Power Fives and really was intrigued with the way he competed in those games and the things I saw." - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#141 WR) rSr/2023

WR Kody Case, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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07/25/22 - Luke Ford, rSr/2023, Illinois, 6-6, 268 (DS#43 TE) + More +

2022 PRESEASON JOHN MACKEY AWARD WATCH LIST: LUKE FORD, ILLINOIS,...Ford started all 12 games at tight end in 2021...15 receptions for 114 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 2021...Fifth on the team in receptions (15) in 2021...Career highs in receptions (3) and receiving yards (30) and scored his first career touchdown against Nebraska 8/28/21. - Illinois Football

(DS#43 TE) rSr/2023

TE Luke Ford, Illinois
News Source: Illinois Football
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