Illinois Football: Illini depth will help ease blow of losing Josh McCray

Week zero turned out to be pretty good for the Illinois football program as we are now 1-0 heading into the first Big Ten game of the year.

Despite all of the good feels right now, there was one big hit the Illini depth chart took en route to the victory.

On Monday, Bret Bielema took to the podium for his weekly press conference and announced that Josh McCray would be out against Indiana on Friday. He sustained a knee injury during the Wyoming game and never returned. He also mentioned that he isn’t sure about the long-term prognosis of McCray’s knee injury.

This is a big blow to the Illinois depth chart. As a true freshman, McCray was an important part of the Illini in 2021. He would rush for 549 yards and two touchdowns, which were both second on the team. He and Chase Brown formed a great one-two punch in the Illinois backfield.

Illinois football has enough depth at running back to sustain an injury from Josh McCray.

I will miss McCray and believe his absence does hurt the Orange and Blue, but I also believe Illinois has built one of the best running back rooms I have seen in years. At the end of the day, we have the depth to have a next-man-up mentality.

Reggie Love III should be the primary backup to Brown as long as McCray is sidelined. Love entered the Illinois program as a high three-star running back and hasn’t really gotten his chance to shine. He was third on the team in rushing in 2021 with 44 carries for 158 yards.

The other Illinois running back who could get carries in McCray’s absence is Chase Hayden. He transferred into the program when Bielema took over, but he has been tucked away on the depth chart.

In week zero, Hayden out-touched Love 7-3, but Love would gain 46 yards compared to Hayden’s 28 yards. Love seemed to be a much more effective running back than Hayden, so I believe he should get the first crack as the primary backup to Brown.

Losing McCray hurts the program. I would love to have him and Brown continue their great one-two punch, but at least Illinois has depth at running back. That is something that I couldn’t say just a few years ago. Hopefully, we don’t lose too much with McCray on the mend.