Illinois Football: Marquez Beason practicing this week for the Illini

The Illinois football team might be adding a big piece back into the depth chart fairly soon.

I love what the Illini have at wide receiver right now. Isaiah Williams led the team with six catches in the Nebraska game. He is going to be electric all season long. Donny Navarro and Casey Washington are always solid go-to guys for any Illinois quarterback.

But Illinois has been dealing with some injuries. Brian Hightower is going to be out for multiple weeks with a soft tissue injury. Marquez Beason also missed the Nebraska game with an injury. This week, though, news broke that Beason might be coming back relatively soon.

In the weekly press conference, Bret Bielema announced that Beason will, “for sure, will start practicing on Tuesday.” This is extremely positive news for Illini Nation.

Beason is needed in the Illinois football wide receiver room.

Illinois doesn’t get a player with Beason’s athletic ability very often. The fact he can go from playing defensive back to wide receiver is impressive. I think he is going to make an impact when he does finally suit up for the Illini offense as well.

With Hightower being out multiple weeks and Jafar Armstrong also missing some time, Illinois needs more depth at wide receiver. The Illini even put in Deuce Spann, who is a quarterback, against the Cornhuskers. Spann ended the day as the leading wide receiver in yardage for the Illini.

Having Beason available and ready to go would put more weapons on the field. I see him as a speedy target who can use his body to go up and get the ball. He probably won’t start right away, as I have Williams, Navarro, and Washington all ahead of him, but Beason will make an impact once healthy.

It is exciting to think about Beason as a wide receiver for the Orange and Blue. This kid has all of the talent in the world, and now he is getting healthy.