Illinois Football: 5 Illini players who need more snaps against FAU

2. WR Malik Elzy

Illinois was losing to Penn State, and the coaching staff decided to make the move to put in the backups to see what we had waiting in the wings. The result was a positive one.

While I am not officially calling for the move of John Paddock over Luke Altmyer at quarterback, those final few drives did make me want to see more Malik Elzy at wide receiver.

Elzy finished the Penn State game with three receptions for 28 yards. One of those receptions was a 19-yard touchdown catch to give Illinois their second touchdown of the game. It was a beautiful adjustment by Elzy and one that piqued my interest in this kid’s potential.

As a four-star recruit, Elzy was always highly-touted. I think it is time for him to start seeing more snaps to see if the Illinois offense can move better with him on the field.

So far this season, Isaiah Williams and Casey Washington are getting the bulk of the snaps. They have 173 snaps and 142 snaps out of 201 offensive plays this season, respectively. Elzy isn’t next on this list, though. He is down in fifth among wide receiver snaps at 44 snaps for the season.

Elzy’s biggest snap production came against Penn State in, mainly, garbage time. He had 34 out of his 44 snaps against the Nittany Lions. I need to see that number stay steady at around 30-40 snaps per game in meaningful time on the field.

Despite having the fifth-most snaps among Illinois wide receivers, Elzy is actually the third-highest-graded wide receiver on the team. He is ahead of Washington and Pat Bryant, who are both ahead of him in snaps. Let’s get Elzy more snaps and use the four-star talent like he should be used.