Writing Illini
Fansided

Illinois Football: Early look at the Illini defense for 2019

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - NOVEMBER 17: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini walks off the field and is met by athletic director Josh Whitman after losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes 63-0 at Memorial Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - NOVEMBER 17: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini walks off the field and is met by athletic director Josh Whitman after losing to the Iowa Hawkeyes 63-0 at Memorial Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 13
Next
PISCATAWAY, NJ – OCTOBER 06: Illinois Fighting Illini defensive lineman Owen Carney Jr. (99) hits Rutgers Scarlet Knights quarterback Artur Sitkowski (8) during the College Football Game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 6, 2018, at HighPoint.Com Stadium in Piscataway, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ – OCTOBER 06: Illinois Fighting Illini defensive lineman Owen Carney Jr. (99) hits Rutgers Scarlet Knights quarterback Artur Sitkowski (8) during the College Football Game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 6, 2018, at HighPoint.Com Stadium in Piscataway, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Defensive end

2018 Starter: Owen Carney Jr. (3-star #491)

2018 Starter: Owen Carney Jr. (3-star #491)

One of the best gets early on for Lovie Smith and the Illinois coaching staff was Owen Carney. This kid was a top 500 player in the class of 2017 from Miami, Florida. There were so many other programs after him like Arkansas, LSU and Miami, but he decided to go with the Illini.

Carney saw some playing time as a freshman but really had his coming out party last season. He had eight starts on the defensive line and managed to total up 21 tackles and 2.5 sacks. I project him to be one of the Illinois starting defensive ends in 2019. Like I mentioned in the last slide, the depth at defensive end improved greatly.

I see the backup to Carney, to start the season, being incoming freshman, Moses Okpala. He was a great get by the Illinois coaching staff. He is a three-star recruit who is the No. 527 player in the class of 2019. I look for Okpala to step in day one and compete for the starting job.  I would imagine he gets a lot of snaps in 2019.

Illinois has even more depth behind Okpala. I see Jamal Woods being the next backup at the defensive end position. He dealt with some injuries last season but still managed to start four games, but they were at the defensive tackle position. Now that there is more depth there as well, I see Woods moving back to defensive end.

Behind Woods, I have Lere Oladipo. He had a good redshirt freshman campaign and even had a start as well. I see him continuing to develop as a redshirt sophomore and playing some snaps throughout the year.

Home/Illinois Football