Illinois football is entering the biggest game of the season thus far with some banged up talent.
I was hoping the Illini would be healthy heading into the contest against No. 19 Indiana, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Illinois will look to snag a ranked victory with some of the key players on the mend.
Here is the Illinois football injury report vs Indiana
- WR Justin Bowick (Starter) – Probable
- CB Xavier Scott (Starter) – Doubtful
- DB Jaheim Clark (Main rotational) – Questionable
- OLB Daniel Brown (Starter) – Out (I think)
- TE Grant Smith (3rd string+) – Out for season
- OG JJ Hirdes (3rd string+) – Out for season
- RB John Forester (3rd string+) – Out for season
- DB Tywan Cox (3rd string+) – Out for season
Illinois football might be in a shootout with a key defensive back potentially being out
The injury list continues to grow as each game passes. While Illinois is getting some talent back, like Dylan Rosiek and Aidan Laughery, we are also losing a big piece.
This week, Bret Bielema talked to the media about injuries. He announced the news of Rosiek and Laughery being back, but he also doesn’t know about the status this weekend of cornerback Xavier Scott.
Scott, Illinois’ best defensive back, hurt his ankle against Western Michigan, and that is lingering right now. Scott already saw a doctor and is getting a second opinion.
If Scott can’t go against Indiana, that means there will be a rotation of players trying to fill that void. That also could mean that this game is going to be a shootout.
That means Illinois is going to have to rely on Luke Altmyer to fling the ball around, or at least our running backs to control the game. The Illini defense might struggle a bit, so the offense will have to potentially carry us. Hopefully, they are up to the battle.