Jyaire Hill’s family wants him at Illinois. Michigan may not be pushing as hard as previously thought. If they do, I think the Wolverines would be hard to beat. I’m just not sure if Hill is a priority.

Walters leaving complicated things for Illinois. We’ll see. Walters was his recruiter. Illinois has work to do.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon has been named a Consensus All-American, it was officially announced Thursday. Witherspoon is the 21st Consensus All-American in Illinois football history and the 12th since 1950.

With four All-America first team selections of the five official All-America teams (AFCA, AP, FWAA, Walter Camp), Witherspoon became the first defensive back in Illinois history to earn Consensus All-American status. Witherspoon will be honored forever at Illinois with a plaque in Grange Grove, a banner in the Great West Hall of Memorial Stadium, and his jersey hung in the Smith Center staircase. He is the first Illini to earn consensus honors since Whitney Mercilus in 2011.

Witherspoon's long list of accolades includes being named the Big Ten's Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year, one of three finalists for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award, and All-Big Ten first team, solidifying himself as one of the top cornerbacks in the nation and one of the best in Illinois history. He leads in the nation in reception percentage against (33.8) and forced incompletions (16), according to PFF. Witherspoon is sixth in the nation in passes defended (17) and allowed fewer than 35 receiving yards in 11 of 12 games this season.

Witherspoon led Illinois' defense to one of the top in the nation in 2022. The Illini ranked in the top 10 in the nation in 17 major defensive categories, including leading the nation in interceptions, passing efficiency defense, fewest touchdowns allowed, and fewest yards per pass attempt. Illinois finished the regular season second in the nation in scoring defense and third in total defense.


Illinois Consensus All-Americans
Ralph Chapman, G, 1914
Perry Graves, E, 1914
Bart Macomber, HB, 1915
John Depler, C, 1918
Charles Carney, E, 1920
Jim McMillen, G, 1923
Harold "Red" Grange, HB, 1923, 24, 25
Bernie Shively, G, 1926
Alex Agase, G, 1946
Johnny Karras, HB, 1951
J.C. Caroline, HB, 1953
Bill Burrell, G, 1959
Dick Butkus, C, 1963, 64
Jim Grabowski, FB, 1965
David Williams, WR, 1984, 85
Moe Gardner, NT, 1989, 90
Dana Howard, LB, 1994
Kevin Hardy, LB, 1995
J Leman, LB, 2007
Whitney Mercilus, DE, 2011
Devon Witherspoon, CB, 2022

In 1950, the National Collegiate Athletic Bureau (the NCAA's service bureau) compiled the first official comprehensive roster of all-time All-Americans. The compilation of the All-America roster was supervised by a panel of analysts working in large part with the historical records contained in the files of the Dr. Baker Football Information Service.

Monday, December 12

* WBB gets road win
* Big Ten Power Rankings

Transfer TE from Colorado State. Made it official on Twitter!

I see BB and Aaron Henry were in Florida visiting Z. Tobe the other day and he is a lock for Illinois! I believe the caption reads "Some things never change with a lock next to it, great to see.

UCLA is up 61-24 with 15 minutes left in the game. Maryland fans booing Terps!

Surprised it was never talked about but he is the new head coach of Purdue.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.– Illinois has signed a 2-year contract with Tennessee for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 men's basketball seasons. The Illini will travel to Knoxville next season, playing at Tennessee on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023. The Volunteers will return to Champaign the following year for a Saturday showdown at State Farm Center on Dec. 14, 2024.

"We are excited to schedule a marquee series with the University of Tennessee," Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said. "These will be great early season tests for our program to compete against talented and successful Tennessee teams led by their tremendous coach in Rick Barnes."

"My philosophy remains the same every year: to put together an extremely challenging non-conference schedule that will ultimately prepare us for the rigors of Big Ten play," Underwood continued. "In addition to benefiting our team, it is great for college basketball – and especially the fans – to have high-level games like this played on college campuses."

Tennessee is currently ranked No. 6 in the AP poll, while the Illini are at No. 18.

Illinois and Tennessee have met just three times, with the Volunteers owning a 2-1 edge in the series. The programs played for the first time on Dec. 15, 1967 in the Volunteer Classic, a 66-42 win for the host Vols. Tennessee also defeated the 10th-ranked Illini in Knoxville on Dec. 10, 1985 by the score of 54-51. No. 20 Illinois rolled past the Vols, 103-79, on Jan. 17, 1988 in the lone match-up in Champaign.

Updated info on:

Malik Elzy
Roderick Pierce
Jyaire Hill

Calvin Smith: “I’m not going anywhere, I am fine.”

Zachary Tobe: “Right now, I am just thinking about everything.”

Starting center at East Carolina.

Minnesota Assistant HC/RB Coach hired as the new HC at Kent State. I always hoped we would give him his first chance as an OC, but he skipped that step. Pumped for Kenni.

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Pat Farrell: "Doesn’t affect me at all I’m still 100% Locked In! Happy for him and well deserved but Illinois is still great with the other coaches we have around us!"

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Saboor Karriem: "I'm 100% committed to The University of Illinois"

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Jaheim Clark: "I'm locking in and ready to come in and be an major impact to the defense side. I will be signing December 21st."

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Antwon Hayden: "I’m happy for him he's a great DC. This kind of got my mind in wonders about the situation. Right now ….it’s just idk what."

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Alex Bray: "We knew this day was coming. I wish it wouldn’t have been so soon, but understand it’s because of the success of the program and defense. I’m still committed to ILL."

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Mason Murigan: "I think he is a great coach who helped turn Illinois into one of the best defenses in the nation and he definitely deserved a head coaching job so I’m happy for him. I will still be signing on the 21st."

I just text with Hayden and asked him if Walters leaving changes anything for him. Here is what he had to say…

“Somewhat, I was really looking forward to playing in his scheme.”

He still seems solid, just disappointed that he won’t get to play for him.

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Trending towards Illinois after a great visit this weekend.

I think he's probably a guy who wants to get it done pretty quick.

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