The Illinois football team doesn’t have a good light shining over them right at this moment.
Most of the Illini fan base thought the Orange and Blue would at least keep the game close against Purdue this past weekend. We all quickly realized how lopsided this game was going to be. It ended up being a 39-point blowout in favor of the Boilermakers. This ugly display by Illinois was in front of some big recruits for 2019 and 2020, as well.
On top of the ugly performance on the field, Illinois continues to be in the headlines for players departing the program. One of the players, Bennett Williams, was kicked off the team for undisclosed reasons. But, there have been a few others who have left at their own volition.
It was announced a few weeks ago that Cam Thomas was bolting the program for greener pastures. He made this official on Monday tweeting out his letter of release. Reuben Unije was to follow as things didn’t go the way he wanted them to up in Champaign. His next school of choice is still up in the air as well.
And the most recent, and arguably the most impactful, was Louis Dorsey. He announced yesterday, via Twitter, that he has decided to move on from the Illinois program. This doesn’t come as a surprise to me and some Illini fans. The vibes of him bolting have been there, in my opinion, the entire season.
So, with all of this negative publicity for the Illini program, what should I make of what is going on? Well, only one departure from the team surprised me and that was Unije. I think giving it more time would have helped him, but he didn’t feel the fit was right so I wish him nothing but the best.
Williams getting kicked off the team came after he was suspended for the first three games of the 2018 campaign. There haven’t been official reports about why he was kicked off or suspended because the program keeps it pretty close to the vest, but there had to have been something seriously wrong if he is no longer with the program.
Dorsey departing the team saddens me because of how much talent he has, but he was also suspended the first three games this year and struggled in the short time he did play. From tweets and body language on the field, I felt like he might have been on the verge of transferring. Some other team is going to get a good tight end.
And, finally, the Thomas departure made complete sense. There was no way he was going to get a snap this season. I think AJ Bush was always going to be the starter and the backups – MJ Rivers and Matt Robinson – are better options right now. I hope Thomas nothing but the best in his future as well.
Overall, Thomas leaving doesn’t hurt the program. Unije hurts depth. He had the potential to be a pretty good player but the jury was still out. Williams’ departure kills the Illini secondary but sets a good precedent. This coaching staff has rules and you need to follow them. Dorsey leaving is going to hurt the offensive production because he was another weapon, but he was struggling anyway.
There are some Illini fans who think the sky is falling down because of the departures over the past few weeks. Williams and Dorsey are the only two who will really hurt this team, but the class of 2019 is bringing in some talented players to help fill these voids. While losing these players is a minor setback, I think the Illini will be okay.