CHAMPAIGN — Locking onto contemporary necessities, men’s basketball coach Brad Underwood employed short-term imports to spark Illinois’ recent run into the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament and a final AP ranking of No. 6.
Key members who previously enrolled at other colleges were Terrence Shannon Jr., Marcus Domask, Quincy Guerrier, Dain Dainja and Justin Harmon. All five are gone, and will be followed by other UI squadmen who, of course, will be replaced by yet another group of unfamiliar faces.
Yes, it’s maddening.
Now watch Illini football coach Bret Bielema perpetuate a similar plan as he rebuilds an offensive unit without, among others, tackles Julian Pearl and Isaiah Adams, tight end Tip Reiman, wide receivers Isaiah Williams and Casey Washington and running back Reggie Love III.
What follows won’t match Mike White’s raid on California junior colleges in the 1980s, but it has a similar feel.
In the trenches
For Bielema, the game starts up front, and it’ll take plenty of muscle in tackling a schedule that, throughout September and October, includes Kansas, Purdue and Michigan at home and challenging trips to Nebraska, Penn State and Oregon.
No, the new 18-team Big Ten won’t be favorable to a program that finished 5-7 in 2023.
Bielema, who rode the offensive line to success at Wisconsin, has worked the marketplace of high schools, junior colleges and the transfer portal to provide offensive line coach Bart Miller with a solid group of 20 young giants in spring drills.
A time used to exist when linemen were essentially developed through prep recruiting and years of development. That’s still working with home state pickups Josh Kreutz and Josh Gesky, both arriving in 2021 to become exceptions to the new rules.
But absorb these numbers: Of 15 offensive linemen granted Illinois scholarships out of high school from 2020 through 2023, only eight remain after the recent departure of Wisconsin product Joey Okla. Zack Barlev, who started in the beefy unit that outlasted Penn State, 20-18, in nine overtimes in 2021, has moved to Old Dominion. And, among others, Brody Wisecarver is off to Tulsa.
Win-now mentality
That’s what the new world of free agency looks like as hundreds and hundreds enter the portal.
Part of Bielema’s altered reasoning is the necessity of “winning now,” which requires him, like Underwood, to “get old.”
As it stands — let’s speculate ahead of Saturday’s spring game — New Mexico transfer J.C.Davis projects at left tackle with Grambling transfer Melvin Priestly and sophomore Brandon Henderson seemingly ahead at right tackle.
Junior college transfer Zy Crisler, who already has 24 Illini starts, has played tackle but appeared more adept at guard last season, as did Gesky.
The guards will be challenged by transfers Kevin Wigenton II and Dezmond Schuster. Wigenton, arriving from Michigan State with two years of eligibility, can also back up Kreutz at center.
So five of the top-eight leaders up front appear to be transfers.
Progress report
Miller is happy with state of things, claiming at least 11 linemen are at the ready.
“I am pleased with our physicality,” he said Thursday. “Melvin is twitchy and explosive, and played tackle at Grambling. And Schuster is a guy we brought in from (Hutchinson Community College) last year to start (before an unexpected medical issue forced his redshirt).”
Miller said Crisler “was inconsistent in pass protection at tackle last season, and was better at guard,” adding that Gesky “was more solid at guard after we moved him from tackle.” Miller projected that Henderson “is powerful and tenacious, and ready to make the leap.”
These fellows deserve your attention even if they generally go unnoticed (until the quarterback gets sacked). Including Kreutz at “a mere 290,” these eight linemen average 6-foot-4 and 320 pounds. Still in contention is 6-7, 350-pound junior Hunter Whitenack. Of the freshmen, Brandon Hansen checks in at 330 and shows the potential to travel.
The emphasis here is obvious. After a disappointing season, Bielema wanted to replace departing age with enrolling age, especially in the offensive line.
Kaden Feagin, Josh McCray and Aidan Laughery won’t go very far if they don’t have those huskies pushing the other fellows back.
