2.5 months to football opener

[Rickster]

Any news or scuttlebutts coming out of camp? I haven't had time to keep up.

Is Houser at QB a done deal? Is he good enough to not make us all truly miss Altmeyer? I realize how lucky we were and how we took Altmeyer for granted. Will Lunney change up anything based on not having Altmeyer's accuracy and sneaky good running ability?

I heard the new D coord will change some things, especially since we look deep at DB. Are we running a 3-3-5 scheme?

I need to listen to some Illini Inquirer podcasts I guess. What's anyone heard / think?

[ChiefSTL]

Here's what I can tell you based on podcasts and insider boards:

Houser will be QB1. I think he's going to be very solid. Houser has a stronger arm than Alt, and throws a really good deep ball. He gets the ball out a lot quicker than Alt based on reports. He recently took a bunch of the WR's and TE's with him to California to work out together. Supposedly really good leader. Not sure how to compare his short game accuracy to Alt, not as good of a runner. He's been a starter since he was a freshman, so he's got plenty of experience.

Really excited about Calil Valentine this year. Felt like last year they tried to force feed Feagin too much when Valentine and Laughery were clearly more effective. Now with Feagin moved to TE, I think Valentine is going to have a big year. I'd guess it'll be a 60/40 split with him and Laughery.

Offensive line is a bit of a question with 4 new starters. They are really excited about LT Christian Martin that transferred from Colorado State. He was their #1 transfer target. His PFF numbers last year were very average, but he's got the size and athleticism so we'll see if they can coach him up. Transfer Maika Matelua should start at LG. He was the #1 interior OL transfer. I think he'll be fine. Jake Renfro, transfer from Wisconsin will be at C. Brandon Henderson is the only returner and will be at RG. It's time for him to take a big step forward and lead the OL. Nathan Knapik will be at RT. His first start was at LT in the bowl game against Tennessee and he did very well.

Two starting WR's back with Collin Dixon and Hudson Clement. No worries with those guys. The guy that has probably been the most talked about this spring is WR Jayshon Platt from Florida Atlantic. They knew he was fast, but he's really looked good in route running. Expect him to replace Beatty in the slot. Highly regarded recruit Brayden Trimble was a freshman last year and got dinged up so he didn't play, but he'll be in the rotation this year.

The defense is the giant question for this season. Former Montana coach Bobby Hauk was brought in to run his 3-3-5 defense. There's a lot of questions about how this will perform in the B10. The theory behind this defense is attacking gaps and bringing pressure from anywhere on the field at any time. Not so much about taking on blockers, they want guys shooting gaps and getting upfield. The real worry about this defense is if we can stop the run.

Defensive line is easily the biggest worry on the team. We lost a bunch of guys to the transfer portal from last year, and we didn't really bring in a star studded cast to replace them. Carter Janki from Penn is probably the only guy we brought in that excites me. Joe Barna who played at OLB last year will play DL. He's really strong and was tenacious with his pass rush last year. They brought in a handful of transfers to provide depth, but just nobody flashy. Hopefully somebody can step up and surprise us.

This new defense will put more linebackers on the field. The guy everybody is excited about is Grant Beerman, who played some as a freshman last year. Beerman has great size and speed and has been talked about since the first day he stepped on the field. Daniel Brown was the #1 JUCO defensive recruit a couple years ago but has had a tough time finding a position. He doesn't really have the ideal length to play the edge. But with this new defense, I've heard good things about him rushing from the LB spot. So he should see the field a lot more. Reports during the spring that he was the best defensive player on the field and causing havoc.

The strength of the defense is without a doubt the secondary. Xavier Scott and Matthew Bailey coming back were huge. Scott will probably play the nickel like he did last year. The outside CB's should be way better than last year. Patterson was terrible in coverage last year, and Torrie Cox was just too small and got picked on. Jahieme Clark is a potential draft pick next year, and the other outside CB is likely to be transfer Jakwon Morris. He was a very highly ranked transfer that we stole from USC. True freshman Nick Hankins, from Belleville West, is going to be in the rotation. He's been very impressive.

The success of this season rests on how this new defense does. There is legit reason to worry about the defensive line especially. I think it will be an attacking defense, which will be nice to see. Hopefully no more 3 man rushes with a soft zone coverage in 3rd and long. Gonna see a lot of man-man, and a lot of pressure. I could see us giving up more big plays, but making more negative plays as well. I have a lot of trust in the secondary, just hope we can stop the run enough.

I think the offense has the potential to be really good. With 4 new starters on the OL you obviously have questions, but I think the talent is there, just see how they play together. I think we are very strong at QB, RB and WR. I see more shots downfield and getting the ball out a little quicker. The one fault Alt did have was hanging onto the ball too long sometimes. I know that is something they are focusing on this spring.

If you look at our schedule, I would say there are only 2 games that I expect to lose: Ohio State and Oregon. I think at a minimum this is a 7 win season, but my prediction would be 8-4 with 10-2 as a real possibility if the defense is better than I think.

[Rickster]

wow, good stuff. thanks for sharing.

I too would like to see more big play attempts on O and more attacking on D. The downside to that of course is you need a lot of team speed to be effective at both those. I'll be looking for overall team speed in the early games.

I thought Valentine was clearly the most effective RB. Happy to see him get more touches. Feagin moving to TE?? Intriguing....

[ChiefSTL]

wow, good stuff. thanks for sharing.

I too would like to see more big play attempts on O and more attacking on D. The downside to that of course is you need a lot of team speed to be effective at both those. I'll be looking for overall team speed in the early games.

I thought Valentine was clearly the most effective RB. Happy to see him get more touches. Feagin moving to TE?? Intriguing....

There's always been whispering questioning whether or not Feagin should stay at RB. Apparently he approached the coaches in the offseason about moving to TE and they were happy to do it. I think he probably sees that there's no path to be a pro RB with his size and speed. He's got plenty of straight-line speed. Hopefully he adapts quick to being an in-line blocker. We definitely could use the help at TE.