First, I don't have anything to say about TJ Shannon's guilt or innocence. I wasn't there when the alleged incident took place, and I don't take anything that I read from any involved party or media outlet with much degree of certainty. I've read all of the legal filings and I personally talked to one of Shannon's lawyers.

There has been virtually no clear evidence made public that should lead anyone to assume guilt or innocence. Assuming innocence is certainly engrained in the justice system, and in our culture. But nothing is certain. There has been an affidavit that lists the alleged sequence of events, and there has been an unequivocal denial by Shannon and his legal team. There has been no discovery presented, and that should come as no surprise. The case hasn't reached that point yet. Both sides will get their day in court.

I sincerely hope that Shannon is completely innocent of these charges and that he returns to play for Illinois this season. I don't have an opinion on the likelihood of his return to the court. Things can change rapidly in any legal proceeding. Multiple outcomes to both the TRO motion and the criminal case are possible.

The rumor mongering that has taken place over the last week or so is above and beyond anything that I've experienced in my 12 years covering Illinois sports. Some of the rumors have proven to be fairly accurate, and some have not only proven to be inaccurate but actually revealed something sinister about the individual pushing the narratives.

Finally, while there is certainly flaws in the systems that handle student misconduct at America's colleges, including Illinois, there is absolutely no way that Illinois can let Shannon play while he is formally charged with a sex crime. No way. Period. The temporary restraining order that Shannon seeks, if granted, would change things considerably, obviously.

Who you got?

The betting line is Michigan -5.5.

Pick it straight up.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.– On Wednesday, the Douglas (Kansas) County District Attorney issued a warrant for the arrest of Terrence Shannon Jr. Per policy, the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) has suspended Shannon from all team activities, effective immediately.

Shannon is charged with rape, as defined under applicable Kansas law. The alleged incident occurred while Shannon visited Lawrence, Kansas, to attend the Illinois at Kansas football game, played on the evening of Friday, Sept. 8, as a spectator. He was not in Lawrence on official University business, nor was he a member of the University’s travel party.

Shannon traveled to Lawrence today, where he presented himself to authorities. He posted bail and is returning to Champaign.

The University and DIA take allegations of sexual misconduct seriously while respecting due process and the presumption of innocence afforded through the legal system.

“The University and DIA have shown time and again that we have zero tolerance for sexual misconduct,” Director of Athletics Josh Whitman said. “At the same time, DIA policy affords student-athletes appropriate levels of due process based on the nature and severity of the allegations. We will rely on that policy and our prior experiences to manage this situation appropriately for the University and the involved parties.”

DIA and Urbana campus officials have been aware of a Lawrence police investigation into Shannon since late September but, until Wednesday, had yet to receive actionable information. Shannon’s arrest triggers the DIA student-athlete misconduct policy. Under that policy, Shannon has been immediately suspended from all team activities. Any change to Shannon’s status will be communicated in a timely manner.

Michigan Vs Alabama about to kickoff

Texas vs. Washington 7:45 CT

Has a bit of Paul George in him!

Rowboat has hired Bob Ligashesky

Bob Ligashesky, Special Teams Coordinator

Ligashesksy comes to Minnesota with nearly 40 years of coaching experience, most recently serving as Special Teams Coordinator at Syracuse.

He spent 12 years of his career in the NFL, mostly coaching special teams. He has led special teams units for the Houston Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers (2008 Super Bowl champion) and the St. Louis Rams. He has also coached special teams with the Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars and coached tight ends with the Denver Broncos.

He also previously worked with Fleck, as they were on the same 2012 Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff. Ligashesky was coaching safeties and special teams, while Fleck was coaching receivers.

The veteran coach also has extensive experience at the college level. In addition to Syracuse, he has coached at Bowling Green, Illinois, Pittsburgh, Kent State, Arizona State (graduate assistant) and Wake Forest (graduate assistant).

Ligashesky has mentored some of the best special team players in the game, as he has worked with NFL kickers Jeff Reed (Steelers), Connor Barth (Buccaneers) and Sebastian Janikowski (Raiders) and long snapper Jon Weeks (Texans) and punter Shane Lechler (Texans). In college, he coached standouts in Illinois punter Blake Hayes and Illini kicker Chase McLaughlin, as well as Bowling Green kicker Nate Needham.

At Syracuse, his most recent stop, Ligashesky's units ranked second in kick return defense in the ACC in 2023 and third in the nation in kickoff return average in 2022.

Illinois AC Geoff Alexander watched 2026 wing Chidi Nwigwe.


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I don’t think Sparty makes the Dance
They will bring their A game to Champaign on Thursday- and their football pads

ESPN 2 at 430 today Jan 5. Thornton and Morez Johnson play vs Richmond Heights Ohio. Will be fun to watch Morez play.

Muck goes "Bo Like" in Rose Bowl !

Bama looking Pac 12 against Bo !

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Nico Moretti still listed as OUT on the Big Ten availability report.

About an hour to tipoff at Mackey Arena.

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Purdue
Illinois
Wisconsin
Michigan State
Ohio State

That's it. Maybe Nebraska has a chance.

You'd kind of figure teams like Maryland, Michigan, Iowa, and Indiana would be contenders but they are having really bad seasons so far.

I know we're still dealing with a lot of uncertainty with our team right now but we're in way better shape than a lot of these teams. I hope we can make the most of it.

If we beat Purdue on Friday we'd be the favorite in every single remaining game on our schedule.