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

4. Malik Turner

A player that Illinois football fans might forget is Malik Turner. Turner was a local recruit of Springfield, Illinois. There wasn’t too much hype for him when he committed to Illinois because he wasn’t a highly-ranked recruit by other schools. Despite being overlooked, Turner proved that he could be a good receiver in the Big Ten.

Turner’s freshman season went well. His role on the field was limited, but he managed to put up solid numbers. Turner caught 25 passes for 256 yards and 1 touchdown. His best game came in the Heart of Dallas Bowl where he caught 6 passes for 84 yards.

Turner’s role on the team increased in his sophomore season, leading to his stats making a jump. He ended his second season with 39 receptions for 510 yards and 3 touchdowns. During that campaign, Turner’s best game came against Minnesota where he had 11 catches for 126 yards and 1 touchdown.

The best season of Turner’s Illini career came in during his junior year. He was the top wide receiver on the team catching 48 passes for 712 yards and 6 touchdowns. It is also worth mentioning that he caught for over 100 yards three different times that year. Those stats got Turner named to the honorable mention All-Big Ten team.

Arguably Turner’s worst season was his last with the Orange and Blue. He only played in 10 games, and his stats went down from the previous two years. Turner caught 31 passes for 310 yards during his senior season. Illinois’ quarterback situation was bad that year, as the Illini had to start three different players under center.

At the end of Turner’s career, he placed No. 9 all-time in receiving yards and receptions for an Illini career. He would finish his time with Illinois amassing 143 receptions, 1,804 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns.