It is crazy to think that when the 2025 season starts, we are three seasons removed from Chase Brown donning the Orange and Blue.
You have to go all the way back to the 2022 campaign to find the Illini great carrying the ball. He was the stalwart of that shockingly good Illinois squad. With Brown leading the way, Illinois managed to win eight games, which seemed like a monumental achievement at the time.
Fast forward three seasons. Illinois is now coming off a 10-win campaign and heights the program hasn’t seen in a quarter-century.
Brown’s 1643 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, and his 240 yards and three touchdowns receiving, are dearly missed despite the recent success. In the two seasons since that 2022 campaign, Illinois’ running game has hit a bit of a roadblock.
Illinois has only had one running back go for over 600 yards in a season, and it took Josh McCray a magical 114-yard bowl game appearance to eclipse the 600-yard mark by just nine yards.
The main reason for the running back's sputtering is injuries. McCray was finally healthy last season, but someone like Kaden Feagin goes down for the year. Aidan Laughery has also had injury issues.
Entering the 2025 campaign, Illinois doesn’t just have one, but we have two players who are on the Doak Walker Award watch list. Both Feagin and Laughery don the list, in hopes of notching a spot as a finalist and ultimately winning the award.
An Illinois running back is going to need a Chase Brown-like season in 2025 to have a shot at the Doak Walker Award
There are a myriad of running backs on the list, but even at that, making the watch list is still a great accomplishment. What are the chances of either running back taking it home, though?
Brown was the last Illini running back to have a serious shot. In 2022, he was one of the three finalists for the award before Texas’ Bijan Robinson secured the win and took home the coveted award.
Let me remind you again, Brown had 1883 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns. That wasn’t good enough to win the award. Robinson that season had 1894 all-purpose yards and 20 touchdowns.
As a running back, you have to be the elite of the elite. Last season, Ashton Jeanty rushed for 2601 yards and 29 touchdowns. Those are numbers I can’t even fathom for an Illinois running back.
The one caveat is the fact that Bret Bielema has had a couple of Doak Walker Award winners during his time as a head coach. Montee Ball won the award in 2012. The second-leading rusher on that Wisconsin team was Melvin Gordon, who would win the award just two seasons later.
Does Illinois have the running back to make a splash in the Doak Walker Award? Do we have a Chase Brown-type of player? Honestly, if the team is healthy, I think we do. I think Feagin can rush for over 1600 yards. I think Laughery could be that running back who rushes for 1500 yards and has 400 yards receiving.
But here is the thing, I don’t think Illinois is set up for that type of workhorse style. I think we have a three-headed monster at running back that can keep each other healthy by not having to put all the work on one guy. It will be interesting to see if Bielema relies more on one running back than the other, but for now, I believe this thing is going to be running back by committee.