4. Illinois Fighting Illini College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– It was always the strangest part about the Lovie Smith era. There was one of the great defensive coaching minds in football over the last few decades heading up the program, and his defenses were meh at best, awful at worst.
The Illini were dead last in in the Big Ten in total defense allowing 467 yards and 35 points per game. It was okay against the pass – at least after Graham Mertz carved them apart in the opening loss to Wisconsin – miserable against the run, and it had a nasty time getting off the field. In comes former Missouri defensive coordinator Ryan Walters to try changing all of that, and it starts with getting the pass rush going from …
– The outside linebackers should be statistical stars. One of the biggest keys to the offseason was keeping top pass rusher Owen Carney out of the transfer portal and remaining in Champaign. He led the way with five sacks to go along with 27 tackles, and now he and senior Isaiah Gay will be turned loose.
On the inside is tackler extraordinaire Jake Hansen – an all-star who’s a mortal lock to lead the team in stops if he stays healthy – helped by the nice addition of Calvin Hart from NC State. Hart will be used as a pass rusher, too.
Up front, Roderick Perry is a veteran 315-pound nose guard and a decent anchor – even though the production from the line wasn’t there against the run – and there’s more depth now. Expect improvement from this group.
– The corners are going to be better. The expected upgrade of the pass rush should help, and the experience of the combination of Devon Witherspoon and Tony Adams will settle situation – Adams was second on the team at safety but will move outside.
The safeties, though, need to be stronger without Adams. There’s experience, some transfers are coming in, and this will be a work in progress in fall camp around – most likely – 36-tackle junior Sydney Brown at one spot.
– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Illinois Schedule Analysis