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Illinois Football: 5 sleeper players for the Illini in 2019

By Rees Woodcock

LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini walks on the field before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini walks on the field before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – SEPTEMBER 01: An Illinois Fighting Illini helmet is seen on the sidelines during the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Memorial Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

3. Khalan Tolson

Throughout Lovie Smith’s time as the head coach of the Illinois football team, there have been numerous players come in as true freshmen and play right away. This is a sign of need and talent of the player. Slowly, this trend is starting to go away because we are getting more experienced talent on the field.

Last season, Khalan Tolson was one of those players who suited up as a true freshman. Lovie and the rest of the Illini coaching staff trusted him and his abilities to help this team in year one. He didn’t let them down either.

Tolson was a three-star recruit coming out of Admiral Farragut Academy. He was ranked as the No. 874 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 60 outside linebacker in the nation. He was also the No. 131 player in the state of Florida.

In 2019, Tolson wasn’t used a ton at linebacker. He was more of a special teams guy who did extremely well helping bolster the Illini special teams. But I could see him being an important piece to the linebacker corps this season.

Illinois has some talent at linebacker right now. I see a combination of Milo Eifler, Dele Harding and Jake Hansen as the starters with Shammond Cooper getting peppered in with some starts as well. But there isn’t a ton of depth behind these four talented linebackers. I think that is where Tolson steps in.

Tolson should be an important depth piece for the Orange and Blue. He should see a lot of snaps this season. Don’t be surprised if there are multiple games this year where Tolson wows fans. This kid has talent, and he is about to be unleashed.

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