Building an offense that drives the ball down the field and scores is a priority for the Illinois football team.
I know, that previous sentence sounds a little obvious, but the Illini have failed on offense for a while now. Last season was arguably the worst offense I have seen in the Orange and Blue for quite some time.
Illinois averaged 174.8 yards per game through the air which ranked No. 104 in the nation. They rushed for 105.6 yards per game on the ground which ranked No. 122 in the nation. And they averaged 15.4 points per game which ranked No. 125 in the nation. There are only 130 teams in college football.
These stats are bad and there is no way around it. But, there is one fact that hasn’t been stated yet. Illinois did not have talent last season. They had a young offensive line who continues to improve every day. They had a wide receiver core that was young and they are improving. But, they didn’t have anyone to get those pass catchers the ball and they were down to their fourth and fifth string running back.
This perfect storm of injuries, inexperience and lack of talent created one of the worst offenses in college football. But, things are changing in Champaign. There are some talented quarterbacks coming in this season and Illinois is getting healthier and more experienced. This upcoming season is going to be a lot better than 2017. Illinois also has a chance to have something special happen in the class of 2019 as well.
The class of 2019 is already in the top 25 right now. They have some great players in this class led by quarterback Isaiah Williams. This class will be program changing. There is also some work left to do as well. Illinois has a lot more offensive players to add for 2019.
Here are the Illini top five impact recruits on offense for 2019.