The Illinois football team has to have some good talent to win nine regular season games and get to the 10th win with a bowl game victory.
It is an impressive feat to win double-digit games in any season no matter the program. Specifically, for the Illini, it is an achievement that isn’t hit often.
Illinois’ 10 wins during the 2025 campaign was the most victories in a single season by the program since the 2001 season. It was also only the fifth time we have hit the 10-win mark, one of which came in 1902 when Illinois played the likes of North Division High School, Englewood High School, and powerhouse American Osteopathic. I think we all remember that glorious season.
A program doesn’t have a good win total without good players. The Illinois football team was in a dark place when Bret Bielema took over the program. The Illini were coming off a horrible COVID season, and the program hadn’t finished with a winning record in a decade.
This game of success was evident. Before Bielema took over, the last Reese’s Senior Bowl player Illinois had was back in 2017 when Dawuane Smoot and Carroll Phillips had the great honor of playing in the game.
So, in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, the Illinois football program failed to put a single player in the Senior Bowl. That is a four-year drought that is a bit jaw-dropping.
The Senior Bowl is a game that Illinois sends at least one player most seasons. The fact we didn’t send someone for nearly a half-decade is incredible. That all changed when Bielema was hired, though.
After Bielema was hired in late December 2020, Illinois football completely changed. On the field, things started turning in a positive direction, and this enabled players to get more notoriety for showcases like the Senior Bowl.
When Bielema’s first season was buttoned up, defensive back Kerby Joseph was invited to the 2022 Senior Bowl. He is now coming off a great season with the Detroit Lions where he led the NFL in interceptions.
In 2023, Quan Martin, Sydney Brown, and Chase Brown all notched spots in the Senior Bowl. The following year, Isaiah Adams and Keith Randolph Jr. both made the prestigious college showcase.
Pat Bryant is carrying the flag for the Illinois football team in the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl
Illinois will continue the trend of putting talented players into the Senior Bowl in the Bielema era.
Wide receiver Pat Bryant will be representing Illinois in the Senior Bowl. He had a big year for the Illini with 54 receptions for 984 yards and 10 touchdowns. Bryant at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, will surely rise up the NFL Draft boards, and I fully expect him to have a big Senior Bowl.
Illinois was going to have JC Davis in the Senior Bowl as well. He had accepted the invite, but with a new rule allowing former junior college players another year of eligibility, Davis is back with the Illini for the 2025 season.
It is impressive Illinois was able to get any players in the Senior Bowl considering we only had 14 seniors on the roster, and some of those seniors weren’t scholarship players. Bryant’s participation gives Illinois four straight years of someone in the Senior Bowl. The Bielema era keeps producing.