Illinois Football: The case for Ryan Walters to win the Broyles Award

The Illinois football team concluded their 2022 campaign with a blowout win over Northwestern.

Coming into the game, the Illini were heavy favorites against the Wildcats. We headed up north and took down “Chicago’s Big Ten Team” 41-3.

This victory moved the Illini to 8-4 on the season and 5-4 in Big Ten play. Why did we finish with a solid record this season? I would attribute most of the success to the Illinois defense, which is led by defensive coordinator Ryan Walters.

On Monday, Walters was officially named one of the finalists for the 2022 Broyles Award, which is handed out to the top assistant coach in college football. Below, I will make a case for why Walters deserves to win this award over the other four finalists.

Illinois football defensive coordinator Ryan Walters has earned the 2022 Broyles Award.

The other four coaches whom Walters is going up against are former Illini coach and current offensive coordinator/tight ends coach for Tennessee Alex Golesh, Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Georgia offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Todd Monken, and TCU offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Garrett Riley.

In the preseason, the over/under for each program was; Tennessee 7.5 wins, Michigan 9.5 wins, Georgia 10.5 wins, TCU 6.5 wins, and Illinois 4.5 wins.

Tennessee had a good year and finished with 10 wins, which is 2.5 wins over their projected over/under. Michigan has 12 wins this season, which is 2.5 wins over. Georgia has 12 wins, which is 1.5 wins over. All three of these teams were projected to be really good this season, and they were really good. When you have all of the pieces in place, then your success rate skyrockets.

Riley from TCU is the most impressive out of the four coaches competing with Walters. TCU ended with 12 wins this season, which is 5.5 wins over their over/under. He was the only coach who outperformed expectations more than Walters. Illinois had eight wins on the season, which was 3.5 wins over the over/under.

Now let’s look at some numbers.

Tennessee and Georgia both had powerful offenses this season, and that is the reason Golesh and Monken are finalists. But these two coaches had great offenses in 2021 as well.

Tennessee did see a bump in scoring. They averaged 45.7 points per game this season compared to 37.9 PPG in 2021. They jumped from No. 7 in the country to No. 1 in the country in scoring. Their yards per game went up as well. The Vols went from gaining 479.4 yards per game in 2021 to 523.7 YPG in 2022. This was also a bump from No. 7 to No. 1 in the nation.

The Bulldogs are scoring 1.3 more points per game this season than in 2021. They are averaging 38.7 PPG, which ranks No. 9 in the nation. They are gaining 50 yards per game more this season, though. Georgia is averaging 489.9 YPG, which ranks No. 8 in the nation.

Offensively, these were both great teams entering the 2022 campaign, and they continued being great offensively. Both of these programs had expectations of doing special things on the offensive side of the ball, and they lived up to those expectations. That doesn’t mean their assistant coach should win the Broyles Award, though.

The same thing goes for Michigan’s defensive coordinator. Minter entered the season with high expectations because the Wolverines had a great defense in 2021. They only gave up 17.4 PPG last season and now they are giving up 12.7 PPG in 2022. This was a jump from No. 7 to No. 2 in the country.

Michigan saw some improvement in yards given up as well. They gave up 330.4 YPG in 2021, and that number dropped down to 262.2 YPG this season. This was a jump from No. 14 to No. 2 in the country.

There is no doubt that Minter is a great defensive coordinator, but when you already have a top-15 defense, you are just trading in a Ferrari for a Lamborghini.

And now we get to the two true contenders for the Broyles Award, in my eyes. TCU has had a great year with their offense seeing improvements. Riley helped the Horned Frogs go from scoring 27.2 PPG in 2021 to 39.7 PPG in 2022. That is a jump from No. 65 to No. 6 in the nation.

That is the most impressive number out of Walters’ contenders. But TCU has only gained 27.6 YPG more this season compared to 2021. They have only improved from No. 34 to No. 21 in the country in yards per game.

Last but not least is Walters. Illinois’ defense carried the program to the brink of winning the Big Ten West, being in contention for New Year’s Six Bowl, and being a dark horse for the College Football Playoff at one time. The Illini weren’t projected to win five games this season but managed to win eight games and were ranked No. 16 in the nation.

Walters improved the Illinois defense in 2021, and his work in 2022 was even more impressive. Illinois was giving up 21.9 PPG in 2021 and that number was reduced to 13.4 PPG in 2022. The Illini went from No. 25 to No. 4 in the country in points allowed.

Illinois’ improvement in yards per game allowed is probably the most impressive stat out of all five Broyles Award finalists. In 2021, the Illini were giving up 366.6 YPG. That number has now dropped to 277.4 YPG, which is 89.2 yards fewer year-to-year. Illinois went from No. 43 to No. 3 in the nation in yards allowed per game.

And the last thing I want to add to the argument for Walters to win the Broyles Award has to do with what he has done with the talent level on the field.

Walters has been able to develop players who, on paper, were not the cream of the crop when it came to recruiting. When you average out where each team finished nationally in the last four recruiting classes, Georgia averages being ranked 2.5, Michigan has an average recruiting ranking of 10, Tennessee has an average recruiting ranking of 15.75, and TCU has an average recruiting ranking of 38.25. Illinois rounds out the teams with an average recruiting ranking of 64.75.

Illinois overperformed this season, and the defense led the way. The Illini defense was one of the best in the country after being a solid unit in 2021. Walters is doing this great work with far less talent, on paper, than the other programs. He should win the 2022 Boyles Award for the best assistant coach in college football.