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Illinois Football: Top 5 Illini wide receivers of the 2010s

By Jalen Wilson

ST. LOUIS - SEPTEMBER 4: A.J. Jenkins #8 of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini scores a touchdown against the University of Missouri Tigers during the State Farm Arch Rivalry game on September 4, 2010 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. The Tigers defeated the Fighting Illini 23-13. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS - SEPTEMBER 4: A.J. Jenkins #8 of the University of Illinois Fighting Illini scores a touchdown against the University of Missouri Tigers during the State Farm Arch Rivalry game on September 4, 2010 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. The Tigers defeated the Fighting Illini 23-13. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /
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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – NOVEMBER 23: Steve Hull #9 of the Illinois Fighting Illini runs into the end zone for a touchdown as Ruben Ibarra #6 of the Purdue Boilermakers trails behind at Ross-Ade Stadium on November 23, 2013 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

There have been some impressive wide receivers to put on an Illinois football uniform in the 2010s.

Throughout history, the Illini have produced some great pass catchers. David Williams in the 1980s, Brandon Lloyd in the early 2000s, and Arrelious Benn in the late 2000s were all legends for this program. But the wide receiver talent didn’t end there. The 2010s produced some great ones as well.

Here are the top five wide receivers of the 2010s for the Illinois football team.

5. Steve Hull

To start the wide receiver’s list off, I chose a player who goes under the radar when talking about Illinois wide receivers. Steve Hull didn’t get to play wide receiver until his final season with the Illini. Before playing wide receiver, Hull played safety for the first three years of his Illini career.

In hull’s lone year as a receiver, he impressed a lot of Illini fans. Hull caught a total of 59 passes for 993 yards and 7 touchdowns. He made the switch from safety to wide receiver look easy, going for over 100 receiving yards in five games that season. In one of those games, he went for over 200 yards.

Hull landed in the top ten on a few of Illinois’ all-time statistical categories. He currently places No. 9 in single-season receiving yards for an Illinois player, and he’s also tied for No. 10 in receiving touchdowns in a single season.

The only year Hull played wide receiver was good, and he accomplished a lot in that single season. If Hull would have made the switch to wide receiver a bit earlier in his career, he could have been higher on this list. But even with just one year under his belt, Hull still is one of the more impressive wide receivers that the Illinois football program had in the 2010s.

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