Undoubtedly, one of the most disappointing aspects of this year's Illinois football team has been the defense.
Although many want to place sole blame on defensive coordinator Aaron Henry, other actors are responsible for the poor Illini defense this season as well.
The lead issue of this defense has been Henry. The inability to dial up any sort of pressure, especially for such a talented player in Gabe Jacas, has been disheartening.
Pair that with the soft coverage the Illini tend to play with, which has allowed opponents to convert on third down 46.21% of the time, and most of the problems on the backend seem to be scheme-related.
Illinois football lacks enough defensive talent and depth to be seriously competitive
However, this defense as a whole lacks some serious talent. Outside of a few players like Jacas, Matthew Bailey, and occasionally Miles Scott, there are no players there that feel like they can take over a game and impact it in big moments.
The injury to Xavier Scott earlier in the year really highlighted the lack of depth the Illini have on defense and exposed the lack of talent they have throughout it.
In the end, Bret Bielema needs to hold some accountability for the continued lackluster play as well. Following the loss to Washington, in which the Illini gave up 42 points, Bielema mentioned possibly getting more involved with the defensive play calling.
This statement exemplifies a lack of trust in Henry to competently call games. If Bielema had this doubt in him, perhaps something should have been done to rectify this issue.
Bielema is one of the better coaches in the country, but his confidence and trust in Henry all season long have added to the struggles of this season.
Changes in the offseason regarding all three areas mentioned need to be made to continue the momentum the Illini have going for them.