Illini Football 2026
Really not concerned about the wideouts.Between questions on Oline and banged up Wideouts, woof. Please gel and get healthy. Here, I was worried about the defense,.
The top 4 will be awesome (assuming good QB play).
The concern about the 5th receiver has been way too over the top. Who was the 5th receiver last year? Ashton Hollins. He had 4 catches 108 yards.
The 5th receiver in 2024 had 4 catches 77 yards (Elzy).
I think Ty Robinson can fill that void (unless he’s hurt, no clue?).
5th receiver only gets used much jf one of the first 4 gets injured .
regardless, we should be okay there as is .
The quiet part is that run blocking will probably be a concern
blackdog
- Champaign
Perhaps. It seems to have been talked about that the OL is bigger than last year.
It's not. It's longer and more athletic, but the OL is not bigger.
Martin weights less than Davis, same with Getsky ^ Matelau; Henderson 25' ^ Henderson 26 and Priestly ^ Knapik.
Only Renfro is bigger than Kreutz.
Most seem to be leaner. That's team wide. Jordan Anderson was close to being unrecognizable (in a good way). He's still a good sized RB but would be tiny for a TE.
Last years oline was fat and slow. Gesky dropped 30lbs for the nfl. This years line is long and athletic
Exactly, I feel like we don't have to worry too much about pass blocking since Houser is a bigger guy and gets the ball out quickly. I don't know that this OL will be suited to running the power and off-tackle concepts that we keep blending into our scheme
Joel Goodson
- it's all ball bearings, nowadays
sounds pretty good:
the proof's in the pudding, but all signs point to Houser killing it
the proof's in the pudding, but all signs point to Houser killing it
Joel Goodson
- it's all ball bearings, nowadays
Joel Goodson
- it's all ball bearings, nowadays
Henderson is down 15 pounds on program weight from 2025 to 2026. Martin, Matalau, Knapik are all going to be signficantly more athletic then who they replaced.
I'll never forget what Lunney ran in 2021 with UTSA....they ran wide zone to death against the Illini, put that DL on skates, very side to side....he really hasn't been able to do that here.
They tried to at the start of 2025 and it looked horrendous and they stopped.
I think he was given some significant say this past portal season on what he wants to see on the OL, for the first time.
Linebacker recruit?
Joel Goodson
- it's all ball bearings, nowadays
Lunney is gonna keep it pure vanilla in non-con. hoping we can shock them early and keep it up through 4
FWLIW, I'm buying the Houser hype and think our O line is gonna surprise
M-m-m pudding.
We got some big boys
Joel Goodson
- it's all ball bearings, nowadays
Perhaps oddly, this is the type of post that gets me thinking we rip off 9-10 wins this season.
Yep, I'm just surprised it hasn't been talked about. I first noticed the OL recruits we were after were no longer Hunter Whitenack clones but more athletic. I thought, good, finally.
Yet it wasn't being talked about??. Rather it was being mentioned the OL was bigger?? That wasn't computing so Saturday watching it was fairly obvious, this group is longer and leaner.
You and Geneva have both confirmed it, thanks.
Another notice - all 4 QB's really seemed comfortable running the O on Saturday. More than I expected given the lack of experience with this offense.
I'm guessing some of that was just plain jane vanilla play calls most everyone runs given the practice was semi-open.
But also, only 4 QB's on the roster this year and Illinois has as many QB coaches as ever. I think that helps as well.
Even Eisenmenger was not quite Clayton but still looked solid and was getting quality reps. I like that pick up. With all of the portal QB chaos, he could ultimately earn the #2 spot and be there for quite a few years. Like an NFL #2 that you never know when your number gets called.
I'm guessing some of that was just plain jane vanilla play calls most everyone runs given the practice was semi-open.
But also, only 4 QB's on the roster this year and Illinois has as many QB coaches as ever. I think that helps as well.
Even Eisenmenger was not quite Clayton but still looked solid and was getting quality reps. I like that pick up. With all of the portal QB chaos, he could ultimately earn the #2 spot and be there for quite a few years. Like an NFL #2 that you never know when your number gets called.
The Wisconsin OLs that were really good…were huge….but could also move very well.
Haliman looks that way. Champ smith looks that way. Pritchard looks that way. Fifer they are going to have to work on, he’s a little top heavy and will need to change his body. Von seggeren looks that way.
Matalau looks extremely quick. Martin pretty athletic. Knapik long and athletic.
I’d love to know what’s behind the shift. It’s very welcome in my eyes.
I think Lunney was finally given control.
In my opinion, and this is not with any inside knowledge but rather my own perspective...
They inherited a good starting OL with minimal depth. They were good athletes as Lovie seemed to focus on measurables a lot in recruiting (Hence why those DBs were all 4.4-4.5 guys, etc.), and they also grew into their frames with B1G experience. Combine that with good coaching+development and they had a nice foundation to start with initially with some future NFL players/starters.
Once those guys were gone/nearing their eligibility they still had to sell the program which was still behind in success in terms of winning. They lost some key battles in that and had to maybe overreach on certain guys (Erring on the side of size and potential over athleticism). They also lost a few guys but still were able to bring in Adams, Davis, Preistly, etc. which helped them.
Now that they have more success to sell (Partly due to the players inherited from the previous staff), they've gone some prospects that look like future day one/day two picks (Smith, Matelau, etc.). Those players are not only huge, but very nimble and athletic for their size with all the measurable you see in those top of the draft OL. They should only continue to get better with the caliber of OL they're getting now and they'll be able to get with more continued success.
I was already in the camp that this will be their best OL in this regime so far. They have the chance to be the best offense in program history IMO.
And I also remember that UTSA Lunney offense (From the Illini game and that season overall). I think it'll little closer to that with Boyd next year but this should be an equally explosive and efficient offense. I'm excited to see it.