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Illinois Football: 5 positions that need to improve with the class of 2020

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini greets fans before the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Memorial Stadium on September 21, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini greets fans before the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Memorial Stadium on September 21, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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PISCATAWAY, NJ – OCTOBER 06: Illinois Fighting Illini linebacker Jake Hansen (35) 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) /

2. Linebacker

I am excited to see how good our linebacker corps can be this upcoming season. I see a combination of Milo Eifler, Jake Hansen and Dele Harding getting starts for the program. I am also curious to see how much action the class of 2019 additions get as well.

Illinois has Tarique Barnes and Shammond Cooper both coming in from the class of 2019. Barnes wasn’t highly rated, so I assume he might take a redshirt year one. Cooper, though, could make an impact and see starts from day one. This kid is one of the prized recruits for the Illini.

There are some other players who can make an impact at linebacker too. I am curious to see what Khalan Tolson can do. He is entering his sophomore season. Delano Ware moved over to linebacker this year as well. He should be an interesting player for the program.

The issue I have with the Illini linebackers is the fact Harding is gone after this season and Eifler and Hansen will be gone after the 2020 campaign. That leaves a big hole in the middle of this Illinois defense when it comes to depth. We need to add at least one more linebacker to the class of 2020. This isn’t for starting purposes but more for depth issues. We need players behind Cooper, Barnes, Tolson, etc.

Class of 2020 Options

Finnigan Schirmer – Schirmer is a 6-foot-1, 200-pound linebacker from Marengo High School in Marengo, Illinois. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 1931 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 128 linebacker in the nation.

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