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Illinois Football: Illini roster gets a shakeup with departure of Hardge

By Rees Woodcock

LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 10: Quarterback Adrian Martinez #2 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers attempts to escape the tackle of defensive back Ron Hardge III #23 of the Illinois Fighting Illini in the first half at Memorial Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 10: Quarterback Adrian Martinez #2 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers attempts to escape the tackle of defensive back Ron Hardge III #23 of the Illinois Fighting Illini in the first half at Memorial Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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The Illinois football team had a shakeup to the roster on Thursday morning.

Isaac Trotter of 247Sports broke the news that Ron Hardge III is no longer with the team and Brandon Jones is going to be placed on a medical scholarship. This news comes as a surprise as we are just a little over a month from the start of the 2019 campaign.

Hardge entered the Illinois program back in the class of 2018. He was a three-star recruit who was the No. 1998 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 148 safety in the nation. As a freshman last season, Hardge managed to play in six games, most of which were on special teams, and recorded six tackles on the season. The reason for his departure is not stated in the article.

Jones was entering his redshirt junior season in 2019. He came into the Illinois program back in 2016 as a defensive end. He redshirted year one and then didn’t see action in 2017 and 2018. In spring ball, Jones switched over to the tight end role where he was going to be one of the backups this upcoming season. The reason for the medical scholarship this season is unknown at this time as well.


What does this mean for the Illini so close to the start of the season?

Honestly, I believe we will be okay at both safety and tight end for the upcoming season. Jones wasn’t going to see much playing time this season, if any at all. I had Daniel Barker as the starting tight end with Luke Ford taking over those duties in 2020. This position was pretty set heading into the future.

Hardge’s departure might hurt depth to a certain extent. At safety, I have Stanley Green and Tony Adams as the two hard hitters in the defensive secondary with Sydney Brown rotating in and out of the lineup as needed. Green is the only one who is leaving after this season, but we still should be okay with depth behind him in 2020.

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I never like to lose talent, but Illinois can recover from this. I hope nothing but the best for these two individuals. Moving forward, the Illini will be okay.

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