Illinois Football: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Mississippi State

5. The future of Illinois football is bright

The 2022 season has come to an end, and this is an extremely sad fact. I am going to miss Illinois football, and September 2 seems like such a long time to wait. But I believe the wait will be worth it.

Illinois had such a special 2022 campaign. We saw the potential bubbling after the 2021 season, and Bret Bielema took this team from five wins to eight wins this season. The winning shouldn’t stop any time soon either.

In 2023, a lot of the familiar faces should be returning for the Orange and Blue. As mentioned a couple of slides ago, Illinois is returning our top four wide receivers, and we are adding some other freshmen who could end up being superstars.

Despite Chase Brown departing for the NFL, Illinois should return Reggie Love III and Josh McCray, both of whom have proved to be good running backs throughout their time with the Illini. Illinois also has a deep stable of ball carriers waiting for their number to be called, including four-star Kaden Feagin.

At quarterback, Tommy DeVito is departing, but Bret Bielema landed a former four-star and one of the top transfer portal quarterbacks in Luke Altmyer from Ole Miss. There is a decent chance we upgraded the position, and we have Altmyer for, potentially, three seasons.

On the defensive side of the ball, Illinois is also bringing back a lot of talent. While Devon Witherspoon and Sydney Brown departed in the secondary, you saw how their replacements did against a solid Mississippi State offense. Illinois is bringing back players like Taz Nicholson, Tyler Strain, Xavier Scott, and Matthew Bailey. There is a solid chance all four start in 2023.

Illinois’ outside linebacker depth is insane too. Freshman All-American Gabe Jacas is coming back as well as players like Seth Coleman, Shammond Cooper, and Alec Bryant, among others. This group is going to be solid.

I would argue the strength of the Illinois defense is the line. Think about this for a second, the law firm of Randolph and Newton have two more years of eligibility left. Keith Randolph Jr. and Johnny Newton are just sophomores. They will be anchoring our defensive line in 2023.

Illinois made it to eight wins this season. We took a top-25 Mississippi State team to the brink without some of our key players. I can’t express this enough; the future of the Illinois football program is so stinking bright.