Illinois Football: Position evaluations midway through the 2017 season

Defensive Back

Current: C

There are a lot of newcomers to the Illinois football team and one area that had some of the newest faces was defensive back.

Illinois fans have watched a rotation of freshmen Tony Adams and Nate Hobbs on the outside. At times, both have looked like seasoned veterans but there are also times they remind us that they are only true freshmen. Their development this season, so far, has actually impressed me, though. I was hard on both early on this year but they have really come along nicely.

Patrick Nelson has done a nice job at safety for the Illini. He has been the rock for this program on defense so far. Nothing has surprised me about how well he has played. Another safety, Bennett Williams, has played and started a lot this season. He is a true freshman like Adams and Hobbs.

Williams has shown his ability at times this season but was replaced by sophomore Stanley Green for this last game. It is a learning process to playing safety and Williams will continue to progress as a player.

Future: B

Illinois is already extremely young on the defensive back squad. They have solid cornerbacks who will develop into nice players in a year or two. They also have solid safeties in the program right now as well. They just need some time to develop. Based on what Illinois has right now, the grade for the future is going to be high.

The Illini also have Ron Hardge III and Jartavius Martin coming in from the class of 2018 to play safety. That will help give more depth to that position heading into the future. Antwain Walker will be coming in as well to help at cornerback. All three of these players will help with depth which is a big piece to future success.