Booth Breakdown: A far-out glance at the Illinois Fighting Illini

JUN 16, 2023 Kansas head coach Lance Leipold glances at the game clock during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022 at Memorial Stadium. The Jayhawks defeated the Cyclones 14-11 to remain unbeaten. This preview is the second of a 12-part series breaking down the upcoming KU football schedule. This week’s edition of the Booth Breakdown turns the page to the Jayhawks’ Week 2 home date with Illinois following KU’s regular-season home opener with Missouri State. It’ll be a true test jumping from an FCS teaser to an Illinois program that put together a largely positive 8-5 (5-4 Big Ten) campaign in its second year under head coach Bret Bielema. Last season saw the Fighting Illini win seven of their first eight regular-season games. After a 26-9 road victory at Nebraska in Week 8, Illinois dropped its next three games to Michigan State, Purdue and Michigan before rolling through Northwestern to close out the regular season. They fell short to Mississippi State 19-10 at the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Florida, in January. Heading into the summer, Illinois saw only one major coaching shake-up when Purdue came calling for defensive coordinator Ryan Walters to take its head coaching job in December; Bielema promoted then-defensive backs coach Aaron Henry to defensive coordinator soon after. Following Walters out the door were Illinois’ two leading tacklers — defensive back Jartavius Martin and linebacker Isaac Darkangelo — who entered the NFL draft after combining for 93 solo tackles last season. Martin was selected by the Washington Commanders in the second round, and Darkangelo signed with the Detroit Lions as a free agent. The offseason also saw now-New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito step onto the professional stage, depriving Illinois of an offensive leader who racked up 2,650 passing yards and 15 touchdown passes while completing 69% of his passes last year. Behind DeVito was fifth-year quarterback Artur Sitkowski. Bielema confirmed in December that Sitkowski will not return to the team as a quarterback this season and will instead have some sort of coaching role within the team. That opens the QB job to transfers John Paddock and Luke Altmyer. Paddock, entering his sixth year of college ball, comes from Ball State where he threw for 2,719 yards and 18 touchdowns last season; Altmeyer, a third-year quarterback from Ole Miss, completed just 8 of 17 passes for two touchdowns through four games last season with the Rebels. The Illinois running back room will also see a transition of sorts, with the departure of leading rusher Chase Brown. Instead, KU will be scouting out St. Louis native Reggie Love III, a redshirt sophomore, who returns to the backfield after taking 72 total carries for 329 yards and two touchdowns last year. Love played in all 13 games, racking up a career-high 85 rushing yards against Northwestern in Week 12, a game which also saw his first Big Ten rushing touchdown. Illinois’ passing game returns veteran fifth-year receiver and returner Isaiah Williams. Williams was named a Preseason All-Big Ten First Team receiver by Athlon this year. He served as a team captain in 2022, a year that saw him convert 82 receptions into 715 total yards and five touchdowns. Junior Pat Bryant also returns to the Illini’s receiving corps after starting in 11 of 12 games last season and registering 34 total receptions for 453 yards and two touchdowns. The Week 2 matchup, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 8, serves as Illinois’ first road test of the 2023-24 slate. It will be the sixth all-time meeting between KU and Illinois. Illinois leads the series 3-2, with one of its two losses taking place in Lawrence way back in 1892.