The Illinois Football team has produced some great wide receivers over the last 50-plus seasons.
David Williams leads the Illini in career receiving yards with 3,392 in just three seasons with the team. That mark hasn’t been beaten and really hasn’t been approached in the history of the program.
Most recently, we have seen great wide receivers like AJ Jenkins and Arrelious Benn grace us with their skills and move up into the top ten all-time.
Even with the many great wide receivers Illinois has put on the field throughout time, we still might be in store for the best yet.
The current Illinois football team might have three of the top ten wide receivers in program history on the roster right now.
I will give you a second to soak up that statement. Okay, let me explain.
The first case to be made is for wide receiver Malik Turner.
Illinois Fighting Illini
Turner came into the program from the class of 2014. He wasn’t expected to be a superstar from the starting gate but impressed many people in his true freshman campaign.
The first season Turner was in Champaign he amassed 25 catches for 256 yards and a touchdown. Last season he almost doubled all of his production from the year before with 39 catches for 510 yards and 3 touchdowns.
I expect great things from Turner this season, as well. He is going to be the No. 1 wide receiver on the team and if he continues to increase his production on the pace he is now, there is no telling how good he will become.
Projecting Turner’s stats out for the next two years he will be in Champaign, assuming he doesn’t go to the NFL after this season, I think he has a chance to make it into the top ten all-time.
In 2016, I have Turner projected to pull down 50 passes for 663 yards and 4 touchdowns. The following season, his senior campaign, I have him catching 65 passes for 861 yards and 5 touchdowns.
This would be a 30-percent increase in each of the last two seasons. Turner increased his production from year one to year two by roughly 50-percent, but that is a tough number to keep up with. I reduced that to a more manageable number.
If Turner can pull this off, it would put him No. 2 on the Illinois all-time receptions list with 179 for his career. He would also have 2,290 career receiving yards and 13 career touchdowns, which would put him at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively.
Turner is projected to have a great career with the Illini, but so is sophomore, Desmond Cain.
Related Story: Mike Dudek Injured, What Now?
Cain came into the Illinois program last season as a true-freshman. The Illini became plagued with injuries and this opened the door for Cain to shine.
In his first year on the football team, Cain caught 53 passes for 492 yards and a touchdown. This is good production for a freshman.
Heading into this season the expectations are high for Cain, just like Turner.
Cain is going to be looked at as a primary pass catcher. I am thinking he is going to be quarterback Wes Lunt’s No. 2 option at wide receiver.
With the production that Cain saw last season, I wanted to see where he would project out into the future.
The Turner projection was a boost of 30-percent per year, but with Cain, I only did 20-percent because he did have such a great season year one and 30-percent would be difficult to obtain the next three seasons.
I have Cain projected out to catch 63 passes in 2016, adding up to 590 yards and a touchdown.
The 2017 season, Cain would be projected to catch 75 passes for 708 yards and 2 touchdowns. This would be a good improvement from the year before.
More from Writing Illini
- Illinois Football: 5 Illini players who need more snaps against FAU
- Illinois football vs. Florida Atlantic first half and game betting lines
- Bret Bielema has made Illinois football a nationally competitive program
- Illinois Football: Predicting how the Illini will finish the 2023 season
- Illinois Football: Illini quarterback controversy is on the horizon
The final season Cain would be in Champaign is 2018. I have him catching 90 passes for 849 yards and 3 touchdowns. This is obtainable because Turner would have departed by this season and Cain will probably be the main go-to wide receiver.
When Cain’s career is finished up at Illinois he will go down as one of the best ever.
I have Cain catching 281 passes, which would be No. 1 all-time on the career receptions list in Illinois history. He would also have amassed 2,639 yards, which would be No. 2 on the all-time career receiving yards list for the Illini.
This would be an impressive career and I cannot wait to see how Cain progresses over time.
The final wide receiver we will look at and project out is Mike Dudek.
Dudek has been a great wide receiver for the Illini when he has played. Illinois fans haven’t seen him on the field since the 2014 season because of a torn ACL in back-to-back spring practices.
Before these gut-wrenching injuries, I had Dudek pegged as the best wide receiver in the history of the program. I don’t think that was a stretch either.
Dudek had the best freshman campaign of any wide receiver in Illinois football history. He caught 76 passes for 1,038 yards and 6 touchdowns.
I thought that freshman season for Dudek was only the beginning of great things to come. Well, that darn injury bug caught Champaign and Illini Nation hasn’t seen him since.
But, while Dudek is out for the 2016 season, he will be back for the 2017 season and beyond. He will have three years of eligibility remaining and I am excited about that fact.
The projections I have for Dudek start in 2017 and go through the 2019 season. I reduced his 2017 production because he is coming off two ACL tears and I think Illinois fans need to have realistic expectations.
So, for 2017 season we are looking at a 50-percent decrease in production from the freshman season Dudek showed us in 2014. Illinois fans are looking at a 38 catch, 519 yards, and 3 touchdown season.
The following year for Dudek would be an improvement. I have him projected to catch 49 passes for 674 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2018.
The 2019 season would be one of the best for Dudek. He would catch 63 passes for 876 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Mapping out Dudek’s future is a tough call. He has dealt with injuries, but if he is healthy he will go down as one of the best.
Dudek is projected to finish his Illinois career as the No. 2 player in career receptions with 226. He will also be the No. 2 player in career receiving yardage with 3,107 and the No. 4 player in career receiving touchdowns with 18.
Next: Illini Recruiting Targets AAU Results
When Dudek gets healthy and returns to the Illinois football team, he will accomplish great things.
So, mapping out the future of the Illinois football team is exciting. At this point and time, we are likely to have three of the top ten wide receivers in Illinois history on the team.