A 3-3 start did not seem to be in the cards for Illinois before the season started, but a struggling defense, some key misses on offense, and now injuries are putting the Illini's hope for another nine-plus win season in jeopardy.
Head coach Bret Bielema saw a lot of turnover from his team last season, hitting the portal in the offseason, but he also saw which young guys would step up. While some players have really played well this season, exceeding expectations, others have struggled to live up to those same expectations.
Now that we are midway through the season and the Illini get a week off, let's take a look at some players who really need to step it up in the final six games.
3. WR Jayshon Platt
I know Jayshon Platt hasn't even had the opportunity to exceed expectations since he has yet to play a single snap this season due to injury. That is why I have him on this list: because of all the preseason hype he got before the injury, he has unfortunately yet to deliver on it.
Coming in as a transfer from FAU, Platt was expected to really elevate this wide receiver room, but instead, it has all been on the shoulders of WR1 Colling Dixon. With no clear timeline given, or even what the injury was, no one thought Platt would miss this much time, but Bielema did say he believes Platt will be good to go after the bye week when Oregon comes to town.
2. WR Brayden Trimble
Brayden Trimble came in as a sophomore wide receiver who was going to step right into Platt's spot when he went down with an injury. There was a lot of buzz around Trimble in fall camp, especially with his improvement over the last year.
It is hard for any receiver to get much going when Dixon is eating up most of the targets from Houser, but when Trimble's opportunities on the field have come, he hasn't taken them. So far in six games, Trimble has just 19 receptions for 172 yards and has yet to find the end zone this season.
Trimble is a young player with a lot of great potential, especially with Dixon and Platt leaving after this season, and possibly Hudson Clement as well, unless he uses the five-for-five rule. With Michael Clayton II taking over for the injured Houser for a while, this could be another opportunity for Trimble to step up and make some big plays for the Illini.
1. DB Xavier Scott
Xavier Scott chose to return to Illinois for one more season instead of heading to the NFL, and unfortunately, it hasn't worked out incredibly well for him. Scott was expected to be one of the top defensive backs for Illinois, alongside Matthew Bailey, who has been a tackling machine this season.
Instead, Scott has been a big reason for this Illinois offense, struggling to effectively cover receivers, only totaling 19 tackles this season, 10 solo tackles, and two passes defended. This Illinois secondary has been nowhere near as strong as it has been in years past, and Scott's performance isn't helping with that.
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