Wide Receivers/Tight End
Starter WR: Trevon Sidney
The three starting wide receivers should be fairly easy to figure out this season. Incoming graduate transfer Trevon Sidney will take one of the spots. He was a huge get for this Illini program.
Sidney didn’t get a ton of action when he was with USC. He played two years with the Trojans and his redshirt sophomore campaign was his best as he caught 7 passes for 104 yards. I look for him to be a big help to Brandon Peters this year. He has experience and is a nice, quick, target.
Starter WR: Ricky Smalling
Ricky Smalling is the returning leader for the Illinois wide receiver corps. This kid came into the program as a highly rated pass catcher but, thanks to the bad Illinois quarterbacks, he hasn’t had a chance to show off his talent.
Look for Smalling to have a big year thanks to his skill and to the fact Peters has come into the program. Peters should be able to get Smalling the ball more frequently and accurately. It wouldn’t shock me if Smalling makes an All-Big Ten team this season.
Starter WR: Josh Imatorbhebhe
Another big-time transfer the Illini were able to pull in from USC was Josh Imatorbhebhe. I believe he will come into this program, much like Sidney, and snag a starting job from day one.
Imatorbhebhe doesn’t have much playing time at the college level, but he is ready to take a bigger leadership role. He has great size at 6-foot-2, 215-pounds, so this should be a target for the Orange and Blue in the red zone. I would think Peters is excited to have a big target like Imatorbhebhe.
Starter TE: Daniel Barker
The tight end situation was foggy heading into training camp as incoming transfer Luke Ford was ruled ineligible for the 2019 campaign. Despite Ford having to sit out a year, the Illini had Daniel Barker emerge as a viable tight end option.
Lovie Smith seems pretty excited about the idea of Barker being the main tight end on the team. He talked about how Barker can play as a passing tight end, but he could also come in and be a blocker on the end of the line against edge-rushers. Look for Barker to be a big piece to this Illini offense.
Backup WRs: Dominic Stampley, Trenard Davis, Caleb Reams, Kyron Cumby, Edwin Carter, Carlos Sandy, Donny Navarro, Jordan Holmes, Casey Washington
Illinois has some nice depth at wide receiver this season. I am excited to see what some of these players can do on the field. Edwin Carter is healthy again. Caleb Reams, Trenard Davis, Dominic Stampley and Carlos Sandy all return. Kyron Cumby is now in the slot, and he should see time too. Wide receiver is now a strength for this program.
Backup TE: Bobby Walker, Griffin Palmer
I am not expecting too much out of the backup tight end spot for the Illini in 2019. Bobby Walker will most likely take the reins here. He has seen limited time with the program so far. But, hopefully, we won’t use our backup tight end too much this season.