Illinois football: 3 biggest impact players on the Illini defense

As soon as Bret Bielema became the head coach of the Illinois football program, changes were made to the defense.

Last year, the Illini defense wasn’t what fans thought it would be. In steps Ryan Walters as the defensive coordinator, and his hiring led to players making position changes.

Players moved from defensive end to outside linebacker, defensive end to defensive tackle, and safety to cornerback.

Illini fans did get a glimpse of what the defense will look like during the spring game back in April. In that game, the defense looked good, but we didn’t get a feel of the defensive scheme that Illinois will be running this year.

This year’s defense will differ from the past couple of years, but it will still have similar faces. Jake Hansen, Tony Adams, Roderick Perry, and Owen Carney are some of the more prominent names returning on defense. Illini fans will also see some new faces as Eddie Smith, Clavin Hart Jr, and Prather Hudson all came to Illinois as transfers this offseason. Note that Illinois just got transfer edge rusher Alec Bryant, but it’s still unclear if he will be allowed to play this season.

With all the changes that have been made this offseason, there are a few players who I see making the biggest impact.

Here are the three biggest impact players on the Illinois football defense.

3. Tony Adams

Tony Adams is about to put on an Illinois uniform for his fifth year. He spent his first four years switching between the safety and cornerback positions. Adams played his first season at cornerback, racking up 8 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception, and 1 pass deflection in just five games of action.

In Adams’s second season, he played eight games and switched from cornerback to safety. He was able to amass 43 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, and 1 pass deflection. Adams improved from the previous season, but he had some blown coverages at safety.

Adams entered his third season as an official starter playing safety, and then he switched to cornerback near the end of the season. He ended the year with 41 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 1 pass deflection, and 1 defensive touchdown. He still had struggles in coverage and making tackles when he was a safety, but when he moved to cornerback, he looked like he was at his natural position.

The fourth season for Adams saw a mixed back of both positions. He would end the season with 51 tackles, 1 interception, and 1 pass deflection. Adams was much better at safety in coverage and making tackles.

As a cornerback, Adams doesn’t have much to improve, which is the poison he will be playing this season. However, he does struggle to be aggressive with wide receivers.

Adams is now entering his fifth season as the No.1 cornerback on the team. He is at his best when playing cornerback, so I predict he will have 50 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 6 pass deflections, and 3 interceptions.