Illinois Football: Areas of improvement for the offensive line

Nov 5, 2016; Champaign, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Jeff George Jr. (3) hands off to running back Kendrick Foster (22) during the third quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 5, 2016; Champaign, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Jeff George Jr. (3) hands off to running back Kendrick Foster (22) during the third quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports

The most important squad on the Illinois football team is the offensive line.

With that being said, losing Darta Lee and Howard Watkins is going to hurt in 2017 and beyond. Lee was going to contribute a serious amount of snaps this upcoming season, and he was likely going to start a majority of games. He had a good season last year.

Watkins was going to provide depth this season and would have probably redshirted. He was going to be stashed away and unleashed in 2018 as a contributor to this squad. But, they are both not on the team anymore because of a dumb decision that will affect their careers.

Illinois does have a core returning, though. While there isn’t depth, the Illini still have a solid five that received a lot of snaps last season and will have hopefully, improved heading into 2017. There were some areas that each player needed to work on.

T Christian DiLauro

Christian DiLauro was one of the leaders on the offensive line last season for the Illini. He really was one of the rocks at tackle and will provide that leadership once again this year.

DiLauro excelled at getting upfield on run blocks. He was able to drive his man back to the second level, sometimes ten yards deep into the defense. One area he needs to work on is his pull blocking, though. At times last season, he was slow getting off the line when he was asked to pull block. There were times his delay off the line would allow a linebacker to get to the running back and that needs to change this season.

G Gabe Megginson

Illinois did unleash four-star Gabe Megginson last season. He was the highest rated recruit for the Illini a few years ago and played a lot last year.

Megginson excels in pass blocking and can get up field when asked to run block. He does have troubles in a few areas, though. While he is good at picking up pass blocks, he still needs help from another offensive lineman. He also has issues with picking up linebacker stunts and he struggles with pull blocks as well. Both of these areas need to be fixed heading into 2017. He is still young and there is plenty of time for correction.

G Nick Allegretti

Nick Allegretti is heading into his junior season looking to improve from 2016. He had a good year but there were some areas he did well in and then there are some he needs to improve.

Allegretti was a solid run and pass blocker most of the time. He helped double team defensive linemen a lot and this helped free up the running backs and quarterbacks. There were times that he couldn’t hold his own on the line, though. He had troubles at times with getting blown off the line of scrimmage in pass protection. This put pressure on the quarterback too many times.

T Adam Solomon

Adam Solomon didn’t play much last season. There isn’t much tape on him but he is projected to be the other starting tackle for the Illini. Hopefully, he has learned from Luke Butkus and Lovie and will be a gem this season.

C Doug Kramer

Another player who didn’t play much, actually at all, last season is Doug Kramer. He is a redshirt freshman who is projected to start at center. It will be important for him to create a relationship with whoever the starting quarterback ends up being.

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Backup T Jordan Fagan

Jordan Fagan isn’t projected to start this season but he did play a lot last year. Look for him to get some serious snaps early on and potentially some starts throughout the season.

Fagan had some good plays while he was in the game. He was good at pulling and creating a seal for the running back. That is one area he really excels at on the line. One area he needs to improve is picking up linebacker stunts when dropping back in pass coverage. He needs to make sure he sees the linebacker blitz and call it out.