Illini Football 2026

Scoregasm said:

Anyone want to guess the starters/ depth chart?

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I think the starters on offense are set in stone, and the two-deep doesn't seem to have a ton of mystery either (IANAI):

QB- Houser, Boyd
RB- Valentine, Laughery
WR1- Dixon, ?
WR2- Clement, ?
WR3- Platt (Trimble to start the season)
TE- Abney, Feagin
LT- Martin, Stewart
LG- Matelau, Tuerk
C- Renfro, McMillen
RG- Henderson, Hansen
RT- Knapik, Schuster

Dez Schuster is probably the main backup at tackle, if Martin gets hurt I'd bet Knapik would switch to LT and Schuster would be RT. Hansen is probably our top backup guard and McMillen our backup center, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Tuerk get some snaps.

The biggest mysteries have to be who comes after the top 4 in the WR room. Cichy has been said to impress, but you'd think Ty Robinson would play if healthy just to get some height out there. Eberhart? Just basically copy and paste "if healthy" after every name.

Defense I'd have to think a lot harder about...

orangem said:

I disagree -- they love both Boyd and Clayton. They are playing it sly naming Boyd as the back-up because they do not want Clayton to get down just because Boyd is slightly ahead this year with his extra year in the system, when they view them as equal long-term candidates to be starter next year.

The idea that our homegrown talented QBs with years in the system are necessarily inferior to a transfer next year is simply wrong.

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I think you are right. From where I sit, Boyd's arm talent is for real, he is just smaller I haven't seen as much from Clayton, but I'm sure it's there. I bet they kick the tires on a transfer, but I hope we have the next 2-3 seasons of QB play on roster and hit the portal hard on the defensive front.

it seems as if getting a starting QB from the portal is pretty much the standard procedure for 75% of the teams in P4.

might we one day get the 5* stud right outta high school ? yea, but I don’t see it happening soon . As tough as it is needing to get a guy every year or two , getting a proven winner at age 20 or 21 is much easier than at age 17 or 18.

orangem said:

I disagree -- they love both Boyd and Clayton. They are playing it sly naming Boyd as the back-up because they do not want Clayton to get down just because Boyd is slightly ahead this year with his extra year in the system, when they view them as equal long-term candidates to be starter next year.

The idea that our homegrown talented QBs with years in the system are necessarily inferior to a transfer next year is simply wrong.

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Necessarily? No. Will there be QBs in the portal next year that are better than those two. Almost certainly yes. So it comes down to our willingness to pay.