Illinois Football: Western Kentucky’s defensive depth chart
The Illinois football offense needs to start clicking against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.
Here is the Western Kentucky defensive depth chart.
DE: Derik Overstreet
Derik Overstreet has started most of the games in his career. His current start streak is now at 36 games and will be 37 this weekend. He only amassed 4 tackles last week but he will likely cause chaos on the end of the line.
DT: Evan Sayner
This is the first season Evan Sayner has been a starting defensive tackle. He played in every game last season but as a backup. He only managed two tackles last week so maybe using Kendrick Foster up the middle isn’t a terrible idea.
DT: Chris Johnson
Western Kentucky received Chris Johnson as a junior college transfer last season. He started every game for the Hilltoppers and is a big presence in the middle once again. Last week he finished with 2 tackles for the game.
DE: Carson Jordan
Carson Jordan transferred into the Western Kentucky program this season and is their starting defensive end. He is a wild card right now so I will be interested in seeing what he can do. He finished last week with 2 tackles.
LB: Masai Whyte
As a redshirt sophomore, Masai Whyte started two games and played in 11 for the Hilltoppers. He is now a starting linebacker this season. He managed 5 total tackles last week against Eastern Kentucky.
LB: Joel Iyiegbuniwe
Joel Iyiegbuniwe is a redshirt junior for this Hilltoppers program. He started every game last season and continued his great play in 2017. In week one, he finished with 9 tackles, which led the team, and two of those tackles were for a loss. The middle of this defense could be dangerous for the Illini.
NK: Leverick Johnson
Leverick Johnson started six games last season at nickleback for the Hilltoppers. He gained some valuable experience and is now the permanent starter for this team. He had 4 tackles and one of those tackles was for a loss last week.
CB: DeAndre Farris
DeAndre Farris was a backup cornerback last season. He managed 3 tackles last week against Eastern Kentucky. Chayce Crouch needs to get on track and targeting Farris might be a good way to accomplish that goal.
S: Drell Greene
Drell Green received six starts last season and is a starting safety this year. He made 6 tackles last week as well.
S: Devon Key
The second leading tackler on the Western Kentucky team week one was Devon Key. He managed 8 tackles on the day. He is a redshirt freshman this season so having Malik Turner run a ‘Go’ route a few times to test Key might be smart.
Next: Western Kentucky’s offensive depth chart
CB: Joe Brown
Joe Brown is arguably the best defensive back for Western Kentucky. He started 10 games last season and had a good first game of 2017. He ended the day with 6 tackles, one of which was for a loss. He also had 1 sack and 1 pass deflection as well. Crouch needs to stay away from that side of the field.