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Four Illini Selected During the 2023 NFL Draft

KANSAS CITY — Four former Illini were drafted Thursday-Saturday during the 2023 NFL Draft. Devon Witherspoon (Seattle) was the first Illini off the board at No. 5 overall, followed by second-rounder Jartavius Martin (Washington), third-rounder Sydney Brown (Philadelphia), and fifth-rounder Chase Brown (Cincinnati).

2023 NFL Draft Picks - Illinois​

Devon Witherspoon, DB, Seattle (1st, 5)
Jartavius Martin, DB, Washington (2nd, 47)
Sydney Brown, DB, Philadelphia (3rd, 66)
Chase Brown, RB, Cincinnati (5th, 163)

Draft Notes​

• Illinois was the only team in the nation to have three defensive backs off the board in the first three rounds, as Witherspoon, Martin, and Sydney Brown all went in the first two days.
• Illinois had three defensive backs drafted for the first time in program history dating back to the NFL-AFL merger.
• Illinois had two defensive backs drafted in the top 50 for the first time since the NFL-AFL merger.
• Illinois had two top-50 picks for the first time since A.J. Jenkins and Whitney Mercilus went in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
• Illinois' four picks in the first five rounds tied the program record set in 2003 and 2012.
Devon Witherspoon was the highest drafted defensive back in Illinois history.
Devon Witherspoon was the sixth Fighting Illini in history to be drafted in the top-5, joining Jeff George (No. 1, 1990), Kevin Hardy (No. 2, 1996), Simeon Rice (No. 3, 1996), Dick Butkus (No. 3, 1965), and Joe Rutgens (No. 3, 1961).
• Chase and Sydney became the ninth twins to be selected in the same NFL Draft and only the third set to be picked within the first five rounds. The Browns joined Ronde and Tiki Barber (1997) and Mike and Mark Bell (1979) as the only twins to be selected within the first five rounds of the same NFL Draft.
• Illinois head coach Bret Bielema has 51 NFL Draft picks during his head coaching career, which is among the top 10 in the nation for active head coaches.
• Witherspoon was Bielema's seventh first-rounder and the second-highest pick of Bielema's head coaching career.
Chase Brown is the 11th running back to have played under head coach Bret Bielema to make it to the NFL.

Golf: Illini extend lead at B1G Championship

Round 2 Results | Round 3 Tee Times

GALLOWAY, N.J. –
The No. 3-ranked Fighting Illini men's golf team extended its lead at the Big Ten Championship on Saturday as scores dropped to coincide with improving weather on Day 2 at Galloway National Golf Club.

Following a 30-minute delay in the morning, the rain and wind threatened early before giving way to some nicer conditions late in the round, allowing the Orange and Blue to shoot the lowest team round of the day, a 16-under 268, and push their six stroke lead to 17 heading into Sunday's finale.

"When you're playing team golf, you can never be satisfied with where you are because there are so many moving parts, and so many things that add up to a team score," head coach Mike Small said. "You've got to keep moving, you've got to keep going. Just like the way we turned on the jets on that back nine. We asked the guys to do it, and they responded."

A day after Matthis Besard posted the only under-par score in Round 1, all five members of the Illini lineup were in the red, led by a short-lived course-record rounds from sophomore Jackson Buchanan and fifth-year senior Tommy Kuhl, who shot 66 (-5) and 64 (-6), respectively.

Buchanan finished his round just one hole ahead of Kuhl, who overtook the course record from his teammate before ultimately being surpassed, just a few minutes later, by Purdue's Herman Sekne who carded a 62 (-9) for the lowest individual round of the day.

The rounds by Kuhl and Buchanan, however, were enough to put four Illini within striking distance of the individual title with 18 holes to play. Kuhl moved to 2-under, matching Besard in a tie for third place just one stroke off the pace of 36-hole co-leaders Mac McClear of Iowa and Daniel Svard of Northwestern.

Buchanan is now tied with teammate Adrien Dumont de Chassart at 141 (-1). Dumont de Chassart, who claimed the 2019 Big Ten individual title as a freshman, carded a 2-under 69 in Round 2 to remain in contention.

Piercen Hunt also finds himself in the mix. The Illini junior enters Round 3 in a tie for 13th with a 36-hole score of 144 (+2), bouncing back from an opening 76 with a 3-under 68 on Saturday.

As a team, the Illini's 268 (-16) was 10 shots ahead of the next closest team round, a 278 from Indiana. Northwestern was one shot shy of Indiana for the day, and sits behind the Illini with a two-round total of 577 (+9). NU is six strokes ahead of third-place Wisconsin (+15). The Hoosiers are fourth at 18-over, while Ohio State and Iowa round out the top five in a tie at 21-over.

Despite the team's cushion, and the looming threat of more inclement weather, the Illini remain focused on closing out the tournament which would secure the program's eighth consecutive B1G Championship, their 13th of 14 since 2009, and the program's 20th overall Big Ten Title.

"The goal for tomorrow is to go out and try to win the day," Small added. "We won today's round, now we want to win tomorrow's.

"All you can do is take care of your own business. Stay in your own space, and take care of your own business. We can't play defense in golf. We can't worry about anybody else. We have to go out and take care of our mindset, control our space, accept the conditions of the weather and the course, and be ready to play and compete like Illini."

Round 3 is set to begin with tee times at 8 a.m. ET/7 a.m. CT. The Illini, paired with the Wildcats and Badgers, will tee off starting at 8:45 a.m. ET/7:45 a.m. CT. Live scoring is available throughout the tournament at Golfstat.com. For more information, visit the 2023 Big Ten Men's Golf Championship Central.

FOLLOW THE #ILLINI
For more Fighting Illini men's golf news, stay tuned to FightingIllini.com and follow @IlliniMGolf on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook.

PlaceBig Ten ChampionshipRD1RD2RD3TOTAL
1Illinois292268--560 (-8)
T3Matthis Besard7070--140 (-2)
T3Tommy Kuhl7565--140 (-2)
T5Adrien Dumont de Chassart7269--141 (+1)
T5Jackson Buchanan7566--141 (+1)
T13Piercen Hunt7668--144 (+2)
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