Sound the alarm; there will be college football played this week. Now, even though it won't be Illinois football, we will take what we can get at this point. It has been a long offseason, and with fall camps coming to a close, depth charts are also coming more into focus.
There are a lot of new faces on this Illinois team for 2026, and if Bielema wants to continue the trend of winning nine or more games in a season and even make a push for the College Football Playoff, he will need to have the right guys in the right spots.
Bielema most likely won't release his Week 1 depth chart until the days leading up to Illinois' matchup against UAB on Thursday, September 3, so until then, a projection of who will be on the field to start the game will have to do.
Depth chart projection:
Offense
Position | 1st-string | 2nd-string | 3rd-string |
|---|---|---|---|
QB | Katin Houser | Carson Boyd | Michael Clayton II |
RB | Ca'Lil Valentine | Aiden Laughery | Jordan Anderson |
X-WR | Hudson Clement | Brayden Trimble | Eddie Kasper |
Z-WR | Collin Dixon | Alex Perry | Kenyon Alston |
Slot | Jayshon Platt | Ty Robinson | Nas Rankin |
TE | Christian Abbney | Kaden Feagin | Davin Stoffel |
LT | Christian Martin | Champ Smith | |
LG | Maika Matelau | Brandon HAnsen | |
C | Jake Renfro | TJ McMillen | |
RG | Brandon Henderson | Eddie Tuerk | |
RT | Nathan Knapik | TJ Taylor |
The biggest change this season comes at the quarterback position. After three seasons, QB Luke Altmyer made his way to the NFL and is now competing for the backup position with the Detroit Lions. Instead of throwing a young freshman or sophomore out on the field, Bielema chose to hit the portal, finding ECU transfer Katin Houser.
Houser seems to be the perfect fit so far through spring ball and fall camp, creating great relationships with the rest of his offensive weapons and even helping develop the younger QBs. His wide receiver room is loaded with talent, with the return of Collin Dixon and Hudson Clement and the addition of FAU transfer Jayshon Platt.
The offensive line was the biggest topic of the offseason, as Illinois didn't return many snaps from last season. Wisconsin transfer Jake Renfro will anchor this line at the center position, surrounded by Maika Matelau and Brandon Henderson on his left, both young Illinois guys returning for another season.
The end of the line will be transfer portal pickups, Christian Martin, and Nathan Knapik. This line may look different from last season, but it was the position Bielema focused on the most in the offseason.
Defense
Position | 1st-string | 2nd-string | 3rd-string |
|---|---|---|---|
DT | Carter Janki | Pat Farrell | Connor Sullivan |
NT | Darrell Prater | Demtrius Johnson | Isaiah White |
DE | Joe Barna | Isaiah Thomison | Parker Crim |
JACK | Daniel Brown | Mason Muragin | Will Holmes |
WLB | Grant Beerman | Ismael Kante | Cameron Thomas |
MLB | James Kreutz | Robert Edmonson | Jack Paris |
CB | Jakwon Morris | Nick Hankins Jr. | RJ Jones III |
CB | Juice Clark | Tanner Heckel | Almarian Thomas |
NICKEL | Xavier Scott | Deuce Fillmore | Andre Lovett Jr. |
FS | Mac Resetich | Lavon Williams | |
SS | Matthew Bailey | Xanai Scott | Jacob Eberhart |
The biggest change on the defense isn't the personnel on the field, but the guy leading them from the booth. Bielema brought in new defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck, who also brought in a new defensive scheme for the Illini. This season, Illinois will play in a 3-3-5 look, emphasizing the power of the secondary.
This is a big change, with guys like Xavier Scott and Matthew Bailey anchoring the secondary from the nickel and safety positions. Both could have been headed to the NFL after last season, but chose to stick around for one more year in Illinois.
This defensive shift is big, as the Illini are one of the only teams in the Big Ten with this defensive scheme, making it a headache for opposing offenses to game plan against. Having to do an entirely new game plan offensively just to face Illinois is something that will take a lot more work than usual for opponents, making it effective before either team steps foot on the field.
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