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Senior linebacker Owen Carney Jr. has been adjusting to a leadership role on the Illini defense. "Stepping into that role is new to me," Carney said. "I feel like I'm getting adjusted to it and every day has become more natural to me." It's no surprise that the Miami native is sliding into a position of authority for defensive coordinator Ryan Walters' unit despite a position switch to outside linebacker this offseason from defensive end. He's played all 21 games over the last two seasons, earning second-team all-Big Ten honors in 2020. Further, he ranked fourth in the conference with five sacks a season ago, three of which came during a 31-24 loss at Purdue on Oct. 31. - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#34 DE) rSr/2022

DE Owen Carney Jr., Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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08/07/21 - Tarique Barnes, rSr/2024, Illinois, 6-1, 231 (DS#46 ILB) + More +

Linebacker Tarique Barnes is ready to return to the Illinois defense's starting lineup after a leg injury cut short his 2020 season, during which he amassed 25 tackles, 11/2 tackles for loss, one sack and one interception in just five games. "I took it one day at a time and kept my head on," Barnes said of his recovery. "You've got to think about coming back before you can put everything before that." Now completely recovered, Barnes is looking to take the next step with the help of new strength and conditioning coach Tank Wright. "Personally, I wanted a body change," Barnes said. "(Wright) definitely helped me put more muscle on. I just feel myself getting in better shape." The added size should allow Barnes to continue to play a big role within a defense that also includes standout linebackers Jake Hansen, Khalan Tolson and Calvin Hart Jr. - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#46 ILB) rSr/2024

ILB Tarique Barnes, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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08/07/21 - Chase Brown, Sr/2023, Illinois, 5-10, 209 (DS#10 RB) + More +

Chase Brown's physical gains are going to require those in charge of maintaining the Illinois football roster to stay on their toes. The 5-foot-11 running back was listed at 195 pounds for his second season with the Illini after transferring from Western Michigan in 2019. Entering Year 3 - the first under coach Bret Bielema and his staff - Brown's online biography shows him checking in at 200 pounds. About that. "I'm running around at 210 right now," Brown said Wednesday outside Memorial Stadium following the third day of training camp. "My strength's through the roof." Brown led the Illini with 540 rushing yards on 104 carries and scored three touchdowns last season. He showed the ability to escape defenders both vertically and horizontally across the field.

It helped him land a spot on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation's best running back. None of that left Brown satisfied. Evident by the offseason commitment to bettering his body. "I remember I sat down with Coach B, and one of the first things (he said), he's like, 'You know what? You're going to stay around 205, 210," Brown said. "That's all he needed to say to me. That kind of motivated me to transform my body." - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#10 RB) Sr/2023

RB Chase Brown, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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07/29/21 - Jake Hansen, rSr/2022, Illinois, 6-1, 239 (DS#14 ILB) + More +

For the second time in as many days, Illinois sixth-year linebacker Jake Hansen has been named to the preseason watch list for a college football award. This time, Hansen earned a spot on the Nagurski Trophy watch list, which was announced Tuesday morning. The award is given annually to the nation's top defensive player as determined by the Football Writers Association of America. Hansen on Monday was named to the watch list for the Butkus Award, given to college football's best linebacker. Hansen also is on the watch list for the Bednarik Award, given to the nation's best defensive player as determined by select NCAA coaches and sports writers and the Maxwell Football Club. - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#14 ILB) rSr/2022

ILB Jake Hansen, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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07/26/21 - Artur Sitkowski, rSr/2024, Illinois, 6-4, 225 (DS#999 QB) + More +

The former Rutgers quarterback has only been with the Fighting Illini for a few weeks after his transfer this spring, but he is already earning his teammates respect in Champaign. "There are a lot of positive things about his involvement," Bielema said Thursday at Big Ten Media Days. Sitkowski, an Old Bridge native, entered the NCAA transfer portal in April following a wild three years with the Scarlet Knights. Illinois was in the market for a veteran passer, preferably with two or three years eligibility left, and Bielema said things moved quickly once the two sides made contact. Familiarity helped; former Rutgers defensive coordinator Andy Buh is now the Illini's linebackers coach and several of Bielema's assistants knew Sitkowski from the recruiting trail.

Former Rutgers coach Chris Ash, who coached with Bielema at Wisconsin and Arkansas, also put in a good word. "A couple of my coaches knew of him [and] I called Chris and he was very upfront about what kind of person he was, player he was," Bielema said. "Art was really one of the first guys (targeted) after we got done with spring ball. It was a pretty quick courting relationship. I called him, had a couple of conversations, he had a couple of conversations with [offensive coordinator Tony Petersen] and all of a sudden he wanted to make this real." - Star Ledger

(DS#999 QB) rSr/2024

QB Artur Sitkowski, Illinois
News Source: Star Ledger
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07/25/21 - Zakhari Franklin, rSr/2025, Illinois, 6-1, 204 (DS#84 WR) + More +

UTSA wide receiver Zakhari Franklin has been named to the Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List, the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation announced on Thursday. Franklin is one of 51 FBS players - including one of three from Conference USA - on the preseason watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, which annually recognizes the college football season's outstanding FBS receiver. Any player, regardless of position (wide receiver, tight end, slot back and running back) who catches a pass is eligible for the award.

Franklin enjoyed a record-setting sophomore season that resulted in honorable mention all-conference accolades in 2020. Despite missing two contests, the Cedar Hill High School product broke UTSA's single-season receiving records with 694 yards and 69.4 yards per game on 49 receptions, and he caught seven touchdown passes, the second-most in a season in program history. Franklin logged four 100-yard receiving games - also a UTSA record - and he set a single-game mark with 12 receptions against Army, totaling 138 yards and two touchdowns. - Texas-San Antonio Football

(DS#84 WR) rSr/2025

WR Zakhari Franklin, Illinois
News Source: Texas-San Antonio Football
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07/25/21 - Chase Brown, Sr/2023, Illinois, 5-10, 209 (DS#10 RB) + More +

For the second time in three days, an Illinois football player was named to a preseason award watch list. This time it's redshirt junior running back Chase Brown, who on Wednesday cracked the Doak Walker Award watch list. The honor is bestowed upon college football's top running back each season. This follows Monday's news of super-senior linebacker Jake Hansen being named to the Bednarik Award watch list for the nation's top defensive player. This is Brown's first preseason award watch list. He paced the Illini last season with 104 carries for 540 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, adding seven receptions for 64 yards. - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#10 RB) Sr/2023

RB Chase Brown, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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07/21/21 - Tommy DeVito, rSr/2023, Illinois, 6-1, 210 (DS#18 QB) + More +

Syracuse coach Dino Babers said Tommy DeVito's experience and knowledge of the offense gives him an edge over Garrett Shrader heading into fall practice next month. The two quarterbacks will compete for the starting job ahead of SU's season opener at Ohio on Sept. 4. Syracuse is scheduled to open training camp Aug. 6. "I think if you're talking about who knows the offense better, it's definitely DeVito," Babers told syracuse.com. "I think what we need to do is be fair and continue to let those guys grow. They both have a set of tools that's unique to each one, and then there's a combination where they both can do the exact same thing. "We're going to have to see how it settles, but I would say he has an advantage because he's been here longer." Who Babers selects as his starting quarterback will be a defining storyline in the head coach's sixth season. DeVito, who has started 15 games over the past two seasons, showcased his arm and accuracy behind an offensive line that finally gave him some protection this spring. No school has allowed more sacks than Syracuse over the last two seasons. - The Post-Standard

(DS#18 QB) rSr/2023

QB Tommy DeVito, Illinois
News Source: The Post-Standard
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07/16/21 - Alec Bryant, rSr/2026, Illinois, 6-3, 250 (DS#94 DE) + More +

A transfer name to watch - Alec Bryant from Virginia Tech. Bryant is an edge rusher and was part of Tech's 2020 recruiting class. Bryant, who is from Houston, would add depth to the program's Leo position, which is currently held by DaMarcus Mitchell. Bryant's brother, Alfred, was coached by current Purdue defensive line coach Mark Hagen at Indiana. Alec Bryant entered the portal earlier this week. - Journal and Courier

(DS#94 DE) rSr/2026

DE Alec Bryant, Illinois
News Source: Journal and Courier
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07/13/21 - Alec Bryant, rSr/2026, Illinois, 6-3, 250 (DS#94 DE) + More +

Virginia Tech defensive ends Alec Bryant and Robert Wooten have entered the transfer portal. They were the two highest rated signees out of Tech's 2020 recruiting class and garnered attention for being the first recruits out of high school from Texas to sign with Tech going back to at least 1982. Bryant was a four-star signee out of Shadow Creek High School in Pearland, Texas, and the No. 329 ranked player in the class while Wooten was a Stafford High School alum that was a three-star prospect and ranked No. 595 overall (according to 247 Sports composite rankings). Both players had more than 20 scholarship offers each. Tech signed two other defensive ends in 2020, but Justin Beadles signed with Houston after entering the transfer portal this spring and Derrell Bailey moved over to the offensive line before spring camp started. - Roanoke Times

(DS#94 DE) rSr/2026

DE Alec Bryant, Illinois
News Source: Roanoke Times
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06/29/21 - Tommy DeVito, rSr/2023, Illinois, 6-1, 210 (DS#18 QB) + More +

Syracuse will return to practice in about a month, when a quarterback competition Dino Babers said could rub up against the Sept. 4 season opener at Ohio will start to take shape. Returning starter Tommy DeVito is vying to hold off Garrett Shrader, the transfer from Mississippi State who spent most of the spring semester catching up on the language of the Orange offense. It's a season-defining decision in a year in which Babers is facing pressure to win. There's rarely been such ambiguity at quarterback heading into a season under Babers. It last happened with Eric Dungey and DeVito back in 2018, when Babers let the question hang in the air deep into August, despite Dungey having three seasons of starting experience. This summer has a similar feeling. DeVito is now the fourth-year player who has started games in multiple seasons and is coming off a year cut short by injury. Shrader is trying to close ground on the incumbent.

DeVito showcased his arm and accuracy behind an offensive line that finally gave him some protection. Babers sized up his quarterback room during an in-house interview for season-ticket holders last month with radio voice Matt Park. The interview was recently made available to the public. It's a rare window into the head coach's appraisal on his quarterbacks. The team closed all practices in the spring and did not hold a spring game for fans. "I think that Garrett had a spring where he's got to learn the offense and he's got to get better at things," Babers said, "but he's gobbling that up daily and getting better and better, and his legs are something to be reckoned with. "Tommy had a really, really good spring throwing the football. Those guys at practice can see what he can do when he has time and his feet are quiet." - The Post-Standard

(DS#18 QB) rSr/2023

QB Tommy DeVito, Illinois
News Source: The Post-Standard
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05/19/21 - Artur Sitkowski, rSr/2024, Illinois, 6-4, 225 (DS#999 QB) + More +

Art Sitkowski's college football voyage has primarily been navigating through choppy waters. Beginning June 1, he will join his new Illini football teammates for summer workouts and a much-anticipated fresh start and smoother ride. "It's definitely a fresh start," Sitkowski said. "I'm really excited for the opportunity presented to me, the people in the building at Illinois and the opportunity to compete. That's all I can ask for." A four-star prospect rated the No. 9 pro-style quarterback in the 2018 recruiting class out of IMG Academy in Florida, Sitkowski had many offers from which to choose.

In the fall of his senior season, he flipped his pledge from Miami to his home state school, Rutgers. He enrolled at mid-year so he could get assimilated and participate in spring drills. What lay ahead could easily have proven to be too daunting for anyone with less fortitude, self-confidence and competitiveness. Sitkowski was like most true freshmen football players asked to perform on a big stage at only 18 years old. Freshmen simply don't know what they don't know. "Words can't describe what that first year was like," Sitkowski said. "I didn't know what to expect overall, what to expect for a Big Ten game, how to go about preparing. Just the whole thing." - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#999 QB) rSr/2024

QB Artur Sitkowski, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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05/09/21 - Brandon Peters, rSr/2022, Illinois, 6-5, 228 (DS#15 QB) + More +

Illinois will add a quarterback to that room (Rutgers transfer Artur Sitkowski) and lose a quarterback in that room (Isaiah Williams moving to receiver) this summer. Making it clear Brandon Peters is the guy for Illinois heading into the 2021 season. Not much different than it was prior to the 2019 or 2020 seasons, with the Michigan transfer acting as QB1 for the Illini when he's healthy. Sitkowski will likely enter training camp as the backup to Peters, but the 6-foot-5, 224-pound native of Old Bridge, N.J., should bring the same drop-back ability the 6-5, 220-pound Peters does, along with a solid arm.

Both quarterbacks who started their careers elsewhere in the Big Ten before arriving in Champaign, however, will need to improve their accuracy. Sitkowski struggled mightily as a true freshman in 2018, throwing 18 interceptions (including three against the Illini in a 38-17 win by Illinois in 2018 out in New Jersey) compared to only four touchdowns for the worst team in the Big Ten that season. Peters hasn't had quite the interception problems Sitkowski has had in his career - a respectable 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions during his stints at Michigan and Illinois. But he only completed 49 percent of his passes last fall, a dip after he completed 55 percent of his passes in 2019. - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#15 QB) rSr/2022

QB Brandon Peters, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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05/07/21 - Isaiah Williams, rJr/2024, Illinois, 5-09, 182 (DS#34 WR) + More +

Isaiah Williams came to Illinois with the idea of playing quarterback. At a high level. He could have gone to any Power Five school to play wide receiver or defensive back. They all wanted the superstar athlete from St. Louis Trinity Catholic. But only Illinois said, "You can play quarterback." Former Illinois coach Lovie Smith promised Williams a shot to run his offense. And followed through by giving him starts during the 2020 season. The old staff hoped Williams could be a program-changer at the quarterback position. Williams showed his ability as a runner, gaining 389 yards in six games. It was the ninth-most rushing yards in a season by an Illinois quarterback.

But the passing part of the game is much trickier. Williams completed just 41 percent of his attempts. He wasn't the first Illinois quarterback to struggle with accuracy early in his career. Kurt Kittner hit 44 percent and Juice Williams 40 percent as rookies. Kittner and Juice Williams were the long-term answers at the position, becoming two of the best in school history. One difference between then and now, Kittner and Juice Williams didn't have a capable veteran like Brandon Peters in front of them. And they didn't have the ability to excel at another position. For Isaiah Williams, it is time to go to Plan R: Receiver. - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#34 WR) rJr/2024

WR Isaiah Williams, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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05/04/21 - Josh Imatorbhebhe, rSr/2021, Illinois, 6-1, 218 (DS#49 WR) + More +

Even though Illinois receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe and linebacker Milo Eifler weren't selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, they still managed to find professional homes Saturday. Imatorbhebhe signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Eifler with the New York Jets shortly after the three-day draft's conclusion. The now-former Illini joined guard Kendrick Green (drafted in the third round by the Pittsburgh Steelers) and cornerback Nate Hobbs (drafted in the fifth round by the Las Vegas Raiders) in cracking the NFL ranks this week. Imatorbhebhe started 18 games across two seasons at Illinois, hauling in 12 receiving touchdowns along the way. - News Gazette Tribune

(DS#49 WR) rSr/2021

WR Josh Imatorbhebhe, Illinois
News Source: News Gazette Tribune
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