The Illinois football defense wasn’t looking good early on in the conference schedule.
The Illini were able to boost their confidence with big wins later on in the season, and that was able to be the driving force on the way to the Redbox Bowl.
Defensive Line: B-
The Illinois defensive line was not effective against tough teams early in the season but was able to get better as the season went on.
The defensive front was able to get confidence after handling a good Wisconsin offensive line and was able to be problems for opposing quarterbacks after that.
Oluwole Betiku led the D-line with 36 tackles and 9 sacks while Jamal Milan had 34 tackles and 1 sack. He was the best pass rusher late in the season, though. Ayo Shogbonyo also had 32 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 1 forced fumble.
The Defensive line was a big reason the Illini defense was so good this year.
Linebackers: B+
The linebacker corps was the best part of this defense, as it forced fumbles and got interceptions this year.
Dele Harding led the way with 154 tackles, 3 interceptions, 2 touchdowns and 3 forced fumbles and was second in the nation with tackles. Jake Hansen had 72 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 interception, and 7 forced fumbles, and he finished as a Butkus Award semifinalist.
Milo Eifler had 63 tackles and 2 sacks but was a valuable piece when Lovie wanted to send a blitz.
The only reason the linebackers didn’t get graded an A is that the pass coverage wasn’t that good.
Defensive Backs: B
The defensive backs group impressed late in the season despite their top recruit cornerback, Marquez Beason, going down for the season.
Sydney Brown led the way for the secondary with 88 tackles, 3 interceptions and 1 touchdown while Stanley Green made a big impact with 69 tackles and 3 forced fumbles.
Nate Hobbs had 67 tackles and 1 interception while Tony Adams proved himself when he was switched to cornerback, as he had 2 interceptions and 1 touchdown. Devon Witherspoon, a true freshman who joined the team in August, had 33 tackles but impressed for being a true freshman who wasn’t highly recruited.
Expect this defensive back group to be better with Beason and everybody else, but Stanley Green, coming back next season.
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