Illinois Football: 4 observations from the Illini loss to Wisconsin

3. The 2022 class can’t get here soon enough

Listen, I know the freshmen who come in from the class of 2022 will take a year or two to really get fully acclimated to the college game. But I also believe they will help upgrade this Illini team from day one.

Let’s look at some of the weaknesses on our roster right now. Quarterback is a major weakness, and we have a player like Donovan Leary coming in who will compete for the starting job. He might now win the job as a freshman, but he gives the coaching staff more options.

Lack of wide receiver depth has hurt the Illini. Two of our top wide receivers were quarterbacks last season. So, having Shawn Miller and Eian Pugh coming in as our top two recruits from 2022 is huge. They are both top 700 players and will help the wide receiver crops tremendously, along with Hank Beatty.

I also love the haul of offensive linemen coming in. Joey Okla is a future All-Big Ten player. Overall, we have four offensive linemen coming in to help the program. It wouldn’t shock me to see one or two of them start from day one. They will all be huge contributors in the next year or so, though.

I think we are weak at linebacker as well. Jared Badie is going to help and should contribute from day one. I think Malachi Hood is going to be a good player for this program as well.

The Illinois class of 2022 is going to be the foundation for the future of the Illinois football program. I didn’t mention quite a few recruits either. We are bulking up so many areas with the 2022 group. The future is so bright for the Orange and Blue.