Illini football season may be a couple of months away, but there’s no time like the present to start discussing it. It’s been as tumultuous as possible this summer, as everyone involved in the Illini football community has grown weary of discussing off-the-field issues.
We all need closure on the pending investigation of Tim Beckman, but that’s not going to happen any time soon. If these allegations against him are true, it’s time for the accusers to produce the proverbial “smoking gun.” If so, then the school can take action and we can all move on before football season begins.
The longer this drags out, the more it just looks like a case of he said/he said. There’s smoke surrounding Illini football, but there’s no fire as of yet. Personally, I’ve accepted that we’re going to have Tim Beckman and Mike Thomas around for this football season, if not longer; you probably should too.
Players coming to Big Ten Media Day:
Josh Ferguson, Sr., RB
Ted Karras, Sr., OG
Mason Monheim, Sr., LB
Offense:
QBs– Wes Lunt is really good; he’s got a NFL arm. But you can’t trust him to stay healthy; especially behind this offensive line. He’s suffered major injuries everywhere he’s been. If Lunt goes down, look out below, as there is no experience behind him.
WRs– Mikey Dudek…Dude can ball, k? No seriously, he’s the team’s best player and would have been a favorite to make all-conference. The earliest he could return is mid-October. Geronimo Allison has talent, although he only produced when Lunt was his QB last year. When Reilly O’Football took over, and the offense became more balance, Allison kind of disappeared.
RBs- Ferguson averaged five yards a carry last season. Feed him! For all of Bill Cubit’s acclaim, and for all that he’s accomplished with the passing game, where’s the running attack?
Cubit’s offenses just have not gotten it done on the ground.
Line- This is the weak link of the offense. 2015 brings a fresh start as the returnees in this group have combined for just 39 total games started. Karras, the most vocal of all the players defending Beckman against the accusations, is a talented team leader. In addition to this stellar Right Guard, Right Tackle Christian DiLauro is another bright spot. I guess we know what side the Illini will be running to most of the time this year.
Defense:
Line- Illini football goes absolutely nowhere unless they start getting things right in this position group. The best college football programs, no matter where they are, have talent and depth at DL. That’s in part what kept the SEC above everybody else for so long. Jihad Ward could be poised for a breakout season. The unit will be helped by getting Teko Powell back. There’s rumors that Jarrod Clements could be good. Promise needs to become production now all around.
Linebackers- This group, like the defense itself, showed signs of life following that disastrous joke of a performance versus Purdue. Monheim leads a decent group that turned in a couple of solid games against decent competition in the second half of the season.
Secondary- The “hey, the corners are young” excuse doesn’t fly anymore. Hate to keep piling on Beckman, but this is the position group that he works the most closely with day-in and day-out. V’Angelo Bentley and Eaton Spence are three year starters at corner, but have just three career interceptions between them.
That’s just depressing.
Kicking game- Don’t ask. No, seriously, you don’t want to know.
By the way, Hoskins, the Villain in “Jurassic World” = 1980s WWF wrestler Big Boss Man + Tim Beckman.
Bottom Line:
Illini football will likely need seven wins or more in order to save Beckman’s job. The job security of Thomas hangs in the balance as well. Unfortunately for the Illini, their best player will miss the majority of the season. Still, there’s enough talent left on the squad to flirt with .500. The Big Ten’s lower division is weak enough to provide the Illini with a couple conference wins. The non-conference schedule is certainly soft. There’s no excuse not to go 3-1 in the pre-conference for the third straight season.
They’re not tremendously talented, but there’s enough decent players scattered about that falling short of four or five wins would be require a total disaster. And in today’s day and age, with the way all teams schedule, no high major program should ever win less than five and expect their coach not to see his seat warm.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
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