Illinois Football: 3 key players for the Illini to beat Virginia

Illinois football enters Saturday looking to move to 2-1 on the season with a win over Virginia.

Every player for the Illini is going to be important against the Cavaliers. If everyone does their job, we can win this game. But there are a few players who I am keeping an eye on who can make the biggest impact if they play well.

Here are three key players for the Illinois football team to beat Virginia.

1. Devon Witherspoon

Illinois had an extremely tough time stopping the Virginia Cavaliers in 2021. We gave up 42 points in that contest, and that was with two NFL defensive backs starting in our secondary.

The Illini have now lost those defensive backs to the professional ranks, and the same Virginia quarterback, Brennan Armstrong, is behind center. That doesn’t bode well for the Orange and Blue. That is also why Devon Witherspoon is going to be one of the key players for the Illini on Saturday.

In last year’s game, Witherspoon actually led the Illini in tackles. He finished the game with seven tackles and one tackle for loss. Overall, it was an okay game, but Armstrong was allowed to throw all over the field.

Last week, against Indiana, Illinois’ secondary had some good moments. Witherspoon laid a massive hit on an Indiana wide receiver that went viral. He also finished the game with seven tackles. But there were a couple of times Witherspoon got burnt on the outside. This would enable Indiana to move the ball down the field for big chunks.

I would argue that Witherspoon is our best defensive back on the team right now. He needs to be a leader for the Illini defense if we want to have success this season. On Saturday against Virginia, his play will help determine the outcome of the game. If he plays well, then Illinois can in this game.