Illinois Football: 6 Illini make Pro Football Focus preseason All-Big Ten

Pro Football Focus All-Big Ten 3rd Team

• DT Keith Randolph Jr.

I was honestly shocked that Keith Randolph Jr. didn’t at least make the PFF All-Big Ten second team. He is coming off a great season, and he should see fewer double teams with Johnny Newton lining up alongside him.

Randolph would finish the 2022 campaign with 53.0 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 1.0 pass deflection, and 1.0 interceptions. According to PFF, these numbers would be good enough to land him as the No.7 ranked interior defensive lineman in the Big Ten.

I actually believe, besides Newton, all of the interior defensive linemen who made a PFF All-Big Ten team are pretty interchangeable. The No. 2 through No. 7 ranked interior defensive lineman from 2022 had a grade between 79 and 80.9. Look for Randolph to have a great year and finish on one of the All-Big Ten teams by season’s end.

• EDGE Seth Coleman

Illinois has a pretty stout front seven this season. The notable names up front in Newton and Randolph are going to wreak havoc, but let’s not forget about EDGE, Seth Coleman.

Coleman finished the 2022 campaign with 45.0 tackles, 6.0 pass deflections, and 4.5 sacks. He was able to earn All-Big Ten honorable mention last season, and now Coleman is starting out on the All-Big Ten third team in 2023.

According to PFF, Coleman was the No. 24 ranked edge defender in the Big Ten last season. He did stand out more in the pass rush, ranking No. 20 in the Big Ten. With plenty of departures ahead of him, Coleman is going to have a chance to work his way up the Big Ten edge defender list.

• CB Taz Nicholson

A pleasant surprise on the PFF All-Big Ten third team was Taz Nicholson. The cornerback had a chance to play last season with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Devon Witherspoon, and now it is his chance to shine.

The junior from Jacksonville started in 10 games last season and would amass 19.0 tackles, 6.0 pass deflections, 1.0 interceptions, and 1.0 fumble recoveries.

According to PFF, Nicholson finished as the No. 22 ranked cornerback in the Big Ten in 2022. He was only seven spots behind Quan Martin, who was selected in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. It looks like the thing that is dragging Nicholson down is his pass rush grade. He actually ranked No. 10 among Big Ten cornerbacks in rush defense.