Illinois Football: Tommy DeVito has made the Illini offense dynamic

The Illinois football team is off to a start that fans haven’t seen in quite some time.

There are numerous reasons for the Illini to be 6-1 through seven games and already bowl-eligible. I haven’t even mentioned that we control our own destiny for the Big Ten Championship game, as Illinois sits atop the Big Ten West as we speak.

Some people would give a lot of the credit to the great play of running back Chase Brown. He deserves the high praise with his 1,059 yards to start the year. He now has back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, which hasn’t happened for the Illini since 1996 and 1997.

I think the Illinois coaching staff needs some credit for the great start to the 2022 campaign as well. Defensive coordinator Ryan Walters has the Illini defense as one of the most feared in the country. I think offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. called a brilliant game against Minnesota. Head coach Bret Bielema put this coaching staff together, so he needs some credit too.

With all of the deserved hype around Brown and other parts of the team, I feel like the competence that Tommy DeVito has brought to the Illinois quarterback situation has kind of been looked over.

Illinois football can finally pass the ball effectively with Tommy DeVito behind center.

After the 2021 campaign, the mindset for myself was to get a quarterback for the next season. We didn’t have great quarterback play during the 2021 season, and the best passer we did have in Brandon Peters was departing the program.

When Bret Bielema landed Syracuse transfer Tommy DeVito I was pumped. DeVito had been dealing with some injuries, but in the one season he was healthy, he shinned with the Orange. I thought to myself, if we could get some version near what DeVito did in his best season with Syracuse, then Illinois will be in good hands.

Honestly, I believe DeVito has actually been better than anything I had hoped he would end up being. In not even seven full games, DeVito has thrown for 1,415 yards, 10 touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also has a completion percentage of 70.4%.

With six games to go, DeVito is only 469 yards short of matching Peters’ numbers from his full season in 2019. DeVito is on pace for 2,627 yards, 19 touchdowns, and four interceptions this season. That would be the most passing yards by an Illini quarterback since West Lunt in 2015.

But, while Lunt may finish with more yards, the efficiency of DeVito really stands out to me. He is able to rack up that many yards while completing a high rate of passes.

DeVito has a completion percentage of 70.4%, as mentioned above. If he can finish with that high of a completion percentage this season, which it looks like he will, DeVito would set the record for single-season completion percentage by an Illinois quarterback. The record is currently held by Nathan Scheelhaase in 2013 at 66.7%.

The numbers from DeVito are impressive. He can move the ball down the field efficiently and accurately. This has helped the Illinois receiving corps as well.

It has been a long time since Illini receivers had a quarterback who could get them the ball consistently. As of right now, through seven games, three Illinois wide receivers – Pat Bryant 371 yards, Isaiah Williams 346 yards, Brian Hightower 302 yards – have at least 300 yards receiving. The last time an Illinois team had three 300-yard receivers through the first seven games was back in 2013. Josh Ferguson, running back, had 361 yards, Ryan Lankford had 308 yards, and Spencer Harris had 301 yards through the first seven games of the 2013 campaign.

The fact Brown is running the ball well and is a potential Heisman Trophy candidate is amazing. Illinois has a great coaching staff as well. But you have to give credit where credit is due. DeVito is the finishing touches on a powerful Illinois offense. He has stepped in and been the first competent quarterback the Illini have had in years. It is nice to see what this program can be with a solid quarterback behind center.