Illini Football 2026

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#101      
fuddrules
Illinigirl said:
Planning to make the trip to both Maryland and UCLA for the games this fall. I've only been to DC once and it was years ago, and never been to LA. Does anyone have suggestions on which airport is best to fly into, which area to stay in, or any other advice as I look for flights and hotels?
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I'd just fly into LAX if your primary purpose is the game. For Hotels, you can't go wrong with the Hyatt Place's in Pasadena or Glendale - assuming again the game if your main event. But hotels are plentiful in the LA area. Lots to do in LA.

Alternative - adding in a quick vacation is to fly into and stay in San Diego. Just drive up for the game, it's not a bad drive (on a Saturday).
 
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#102      
jrichisamazing
Illinigirl said:
Planning to make the trip to both Maryland and UCLA for the games this fall. I've only been to DC once and it was years ago, and never been to LA. Does anyone have suggestions on which airport is best to fly into, which area to stay in, or any other advice as I look for flights and hotels?
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I'm also thinking about making the Maryland trip, but I'll be driving.

I'm sure @altgeld88 will have some tips for us.
 
#106      
GatorMcKlusky
Illinigirl said:
Planning to make the trip to both Maryland and UCLA for the games this fall. I've only been to DC once and it was years ago, and never been to LA. Does anyone have suggestions on which airport is best to fly into, which area to stay in, or any other advice as I look for flights and hotels?
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Baltimore airport
 
#109      
WolfpackIllini
When are the Illini football camps, where we can start getting some info on how we look for the fall?
Are there any clear heirs to Altmeyer, Jacas, etc, or are these all wide open for competition?
 
#110      
SoCal Illini
Feagin at tight end??? Guess I’m late on that news being official. Great move, he’ll be tough to guard and potentially a lot of mismatches. Plus the TE position is really making a comeback in general (has been gradual for a while). Funnily enough I think that will also help the run game with him there.

His hands are pretty good if I remember correctly. 40+ catches will be my prediction, or maybe that’s hope
 
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#111      
WeWillWhen
fuddrules said:
I'd just fly into LAX if your primary purpose is the game. For Hotels, you can't go wrong with the Hyatt Place's in Pasadena or Glendale - assuming again the game if your main event. But hotels are plentiful in the LA area. Lots to do in LA
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Two other tips: (1) rent a car, you need one to conveniently get around LA, and (2) be careful and diligent about booking a hotel in Downtown LA — can go from cool/nice area to very sketchy in just a couple blocks.
 
#112      
JKR
SoCal Illini said:
Feagin at tight end??? Guess I’m late on that news being official. Great move, he’ll be tough to guard and potentially a lot of mismatches. Plus the TE position is really making a comeback in general (has been gradual for a while). Funnily enough I think that will also help the run game with him there.

His hands are pretty good if I remember correctly. 40+ catches will be my prediction, or maybe that’s hope
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We had only one player with more than 40 receptions last season, Beatty. Top TE was Rusk at 19. Don't think we've had a TE catch 40 in the Bielema era. Not sure, but Rusk might be at the top of that list.
 
#113      
blackdog
JKR said:
We had only one player with more than 40 receptions last season, Beatty. Top TE was Rusk at 19. Don't think we've had a TE catch 40 in the Bielema era. Not sure, but Rusk might be at the top of that list.
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40 catches would have put him at tied for 15th in the nation among TEs this past season. Seems like a pipedream for a first year at the position even if he has a lot of potential.
 
#114      
Fly Illini Fly!
52:54 —


They seem to really like FAU transfer wideout Jayshon Platt and JUCO Jackwon Morris.

I know the defensive front situation disappointed a lot of folks… but no reason to think this WR room and secondary won’t be awesome.

This is our top 5 at wideout. They’ll catch a ton of balls:




www.espn.com

Hudson Clement - Illinois Fighting Illini Wide Receiver - ESPN

View the profile of Illinois Fighting Illini Wide Receiver Hudson Clement on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

 
#115      
Fly Illini Fly!
SoCal Illini said:
Feagin at tight end??? Guess I’m late on that news being official. Great move, he’ll be tough to guard and potentially a lot of mismatches. Plus the TE position is really making a comeback in general (has been gradual for a while). Funnily enough I think that will also help the run game with him there.

His hands are pretty good if I remember correctly. 40+ catches will be my prediction, or maybe that’s hope
Click to expand...
40 catches is kinda absurd for an Illinois tight end (not to mention someone just transitioning to the position).

Don't think we've had a 300 yard TE since the 90s.
 
#116      
SoCal Illini
Fly Illini Fly! said:
40 catches is kinda absurd for an Illinois tight end (not to mention someone just transitioning to the position).

Don't think we've had a 300 yard TE since the 90s.
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It’s an optimistic take. I’m banking on potential being fulfilled and a general trend to utilize TEs.

Plus, Antonio gates didn’t even play college football…but was too big for dbs and too fast for linebackers. I think feagin can be similar
 
#118      
Ander1345
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Interesting trend for our offense over the years:

2022:

1.90 points per drive
12.7 drives per game

2023:

1.96 points per drive
12.5 drives per game

2024:

2.61 points per drive
10.8 drives per game

2025:

2.92 points per drive
10.1 drives per game
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Lunney earned his raise. Even when we went to the Rose Bowl with Lox we were fairly one dimensional aside from Juice showing out in the OSU game.
 
#120      
IlliniWu
Fly Illini Fly! said:
52:54 —


They seem to really like FAU transfer wideout Jayshon Platt and JUCO Jackwon Morris.

I know the defensive front situation disappointed a lot of folks… but no reason to think this WR room and secondary won’t be awesome.

This is our top 5 at wideout. They’ll catch a ton of balls:




www.espn.com

Hudson Clement - Illinois Fighting Illini Wide Receiver - ESPN

View the profile of Illinois Fighting Illini Wide Receiver Hudson Clement on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Click to expand...


If Ca'lil Valentine continues his progression and turns into a B1G all star, I could see this offense among the best in school history. OL is extremely underrated, they have good players at TE, and they've gotten dynamic at WR and TE. Obviously Houser is the key, but Boyd is ready also.
 
#121      
Bbuck21
SoCal Illini said:
Feagin at tight end??? Guess I’m late on that news being official. Great move, he’ll be tough to guard and potentially a lot of mismatches. Plus the TE position is really making a comeback in general (has been gradual for a while). Funnily enough I think that will also help the run game with him there.

His hands are pretty good if I remember correctly. 40+ catches will be my prediction, or maybe that’s hope
Click to expand...
I have thought since his freshman yea rthat he is thr perfect "H-back", if they still use that term. Always on the field, blixking catching quick hit passes and running from that position. Him with the ball in space is going to be a mismactch. I hope he is used extensively and creatively.
 
#125      
illiniwil
Fly Illini Fly! said:
52:54 —


They seem to really like FAU transfer wideout Jayshon Platt and JUCO Jackwon Morris.

I know the defensive front situation disappointed a lot of folks… but no reason to think this WR room and secondary won’t be awesome.

This is our top 5 at wideout. They’ll catch a ton of balls:




www.espn.com

Hudson Clement - Illinois Fighting Illini Wide Receiver - ESPN

View the profile of Illinois Fighting Illini Wide Receiver Hudson Clement on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Click to expand...
if we had 4 or 5 regular pass catchers, we could be dangerous.
 
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