Spring Series 2021: Illinois Fighting Illini

Continuing our Spring Series takes us to Champaign, IL where the Fighting Illini have started spring camp in preparations for the 2021 season.

Illinois: Spring Game, April 19th

After five years of the Lovie Smith era, Illinois moved on this off-season and hired former Wisconsin and Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema. The Illinois native takes over a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2011 when Ron Zook was head coach, and for his first organized camp with the team will have to build trust and relationships with players while adhering to pandemic protocols.

Building The Foundation

In interviews since taking the position at Illinois, Bielema has discussed his desire to bring bring back the immense respect that Illinois had in the Big Ten in the 80’s and 90’s. Tough, smart, and accountable are some of the attributes Bielema has talked about wanting to see out of his players, and perhaps he is well on his way to establishing that before the Illini even take the field.

Bielema has brought back to the program 17 “super seniors,” seniors who are eligible to return to school and play due to the pandemic year. These 17 seniors will provide the Illinois staff with more players who will have experience playing at the collegiate level. Areas like offensive line where four of these super seniors, such as two year captain Doug Kramer and Alex Palczewski, will supply the Illini with an experienced front as they install a new offensive scheme.

Defensively Illinois returns linebacker Jake Hansen who finished last season with All-Big Ten second-team honors, along with Isaiah Gay who will move to outside linebacker, and should provide much needed experience to a unit that had concerns when the season ended about the lack of depth.

The return of these super seniors may push younger players on the roster to improve their game if they wish to see the field in 2021, but could also help the new staff observe who in that group isn’t pulling their own as they begin to try and flip the program around.

With new schemes and calls being implemented by the coaching staff, Illinois will have time to identify those players who can grasp and execute the new offense and defense the best before the season opener against Nebraska on August 28th. Spring camp along with the spring game will be the first significant time this new staff will have to evaluate who is separating themselves from the rest.

The Odd Man Front

Part of the changes going into the Illinois program under the new staff is the new defense, which is moving to the 3-4 scheme. Bielema, in his first interview after taking the job, indicated that the shift to the 3-4 defense would be coming and has not backed off that statement since then.

The 3-4 defense has been brought up a lot recently in the media regarding utilizing it to combat the spread and RPO offenses that have taken over the sport. The issue though is not many programs have the personnel to run the scheme effectively. Does Illinois have the personnel to run it for 2021? No one has the answer to that right now, but the spring is going to show Illinois coaches who initially might be best suited to fill each role.

Of note in the odd man front will be the front seven, particularly who will be the edge rushers and down lineman in the new scheme. Calvin Avery, the 6-2 340 pound lineman, would be the ideal choice to fill the nose tackle position and anchor the line for the coming season, but the defensive end positions may see the most competition for playing time. Illinois has five true or redshirt freshmen who could potentially see playing time, mixed in with six upperclassmen who will be fighting for time as well.

The linebacker unit as mentioned before will have strong senior leadership as they transition to the 3-4 look with players such as Jake Hansen, Isaiah Gay, and Owen Carney Jr returning. That experience at linebacker will perhaps provide some stability for the defense as the coaches work through some important evaluations on the defensive line.

Out With The Old, In With The New

Anyone who knows of Bielema’s time at Wisconsin will recall his offense was fairly old school in terms of a power running game from compact sets. It was a grind it out style that got results and helped maintain the Wisconsin program as a respectable and physical team as it transitioned from the Barry Alvarez years.

If you think though that the same offensive style will be coming to Illinois, according to Bielema, you’d be wrong.

In interviews with the offensive staff, the program appears to be looking to implement a more spread look that can utilize athletes on the outside of the offense, though still be focused on establishing the run and working the clock. While most comments have been more about the philosophy of the offense, it appears the staff is embracing the modern era of the sport and looking to be more explosive than what we saw before at Wisconsin.

That explosiveness on the edges though will have to rely on a young receiving core that does not have much playing time under its belt. Junior receiver Donny Navarro is the most experienced player returning to the position after Josh Imatorbhebhe left for the NFL draft, and if Illinois is to find any type of big play potential it might have to rely on him or any of the young freshmen or sophomores on the roster. The new look offense may struggle on the outside this year, but also could show future recruits the potential this offense might have moving into 2022.

Again, for fans of the program and outsiders looking in, the spring game will be our first exposure to the offense and to who may be separating themselves at the receiver position.