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Illinois Football: 5 impact freshmen year one for the Illini

By Rees Woodcock

CHICAGO, IL - JULY 23: Head coach Lovie Smith of the University of Illinois football team looks on before the game between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field on July 23, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Cubs won 5-3. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - JULY 23: Head coach Lovie Smith of the University of Illinois football team looks on before the game between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field on July 23, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Cubs won 5-3. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – SEPTEMBER 09: An Illini cheerleader carries the Block I flag across the field after a touchdown during a non-conference college football game between the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini, September 09, 2017, at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL. Illinois won, 20-7. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

1. MJ Rivers

The quarterback situation for the Illinois football team was a mess in 2017. As a group, the quarterbacks combined for 2098 yards, eight touchdowns and 19 interceptions. They also only had a completion rate of 49.6-percent. That is unacceptable and the main reason why MJ Rivers will be an impact player in 2018.

Rivers is a 6-foot-4, 213-pound quarterback from Lone Star High School in Frisco, Texas. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 932 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 127 player in the state of Texas.

I was shocked by the lack of recruiting attention Rivers was getting, though. The biggest school to offer him, besides for Illinois, was Iowa State. But, this just adds another chip on Rivers’ shoulder to prove the doubters wrong and I think he will.

I have Rivers as the starting quarterback heading into 2018. The backup is going to be Cam Thomas. I was in favor of starting Thomas last season to see what he had in him, but he failed to throw a touchdown and only completed 42.4-percent of his passes. Illinois is going to need more production than that.

Illinois threw for 174.8 yards per game, which ranked No. 104 in the nation in 2017. They also only scored 15.4 points per game, which ranked No. 125 in the nation. This needs to change and Rivers is the quarterback to make this happen.

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