CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois wide receiver Isaiah Williams was named to the All-Big Ten First Team, the conference office announced Wednesday. Williams is the seventh Illini wide receiver in program history to earn first-team honors and the first since A.J. Jenkins in 2011.

Williams was one of the nation's most dependable receivers, leading the Big Ten in receptions with 82, 15 more than any other Big Ten player. He ranked second in receiving yards with 1,055, trailing only Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Marvin Harrison Jr.'s 1,211 receiving yards for Ohio State.

Williams has at least one catch in all 37 games since he switched from QB prior to the start of the 2021 season, the longest active streak in the Big Ten, tied for the eighth-longest active streak in the nation, and tied with the Illinois record previously set by Josh Ferguson (2011-15). His five 100-yard receiving games this season was fourth-best in Illinois single-season history, only one short from tying the Illinois record by Brandon Lloyd (2001) and David Williams (1984, '85).

Williams was the only player in the nation with two game-winning touchdowns in the final minute or overtime during the regular season. He caught the game-winner with 50 seconds left to win at Minnesota, then had a walk-off winner to beat Indiana one week later.

Williams' outstanding Illini career currently places him No. 2 in Illini history in career receptions with 214, behind only College Football Hall of Famer David Williams' 262 receptions (1983-85), and No. 7 in receiving yards with 2,304. He was the first Big Ten player with 80+ catches in back-to-back years since Dorien Bryant (Purdue) in 2006 and 2007.

All-Big Ten Awards - Offense

Offensive Line, All-Big Ten Honorable Mention
Illinois' starting five offensive linemen – Isaiah Adams, Zy Crisler, Josh Gesky, Josh Kreutz, andJulian Pearl – were all named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention. It is the second career honor for Adams, who landed on the All-Big Ten Third Team (media) last season, and Crisler, who was also an honorable mention honoree a year ago.

QB John Paddock, All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (coaches)
Paddock threw for 1,278 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. He led Illinois to two dramatic wins, first engineering an improbable comeback with an 85-yard drive in the final minutes to win at Minnesota, then throwing for 507 yards, a Memorial Stadium record, in an overtime win against Indiana.

RB Kaden Feagin, All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (coaches)
Feagin ran for 438 rushing yards prior to a season-ending injury during the Indiana game. He was ranked fourth in the nation in rushing among true freshmen prior to his season being cut short.

Supposedly #1 recruiter in NCAA FB. He won't be now! Welcome to snowy Syracuse Fran.

This kid is a stud.

Does BB stand pat with the coaching staff on that side of the ball?

The Illini were first in offense and last in defense in the B1G west

(https://bigten.org/stats.aspx?path=football&year=2023).

Any chance BB sends A Henry back to DBs coach, jettisons Fenelus and promotes Jim Leonhard to DC?
I realize Fenelus was dealt a tough hand with the youth and injuries in this year’s backfield but what he did have to work with seemed to regress as the season wore on.

I am not sure we want another game but thought I would throw the question out there

Illinois season ends with a 45-43 loss.

We'll have some more post-mortem stories and a mailbag, but I'd thought I'd post some candid thoughts on the 2024 roster.

I'll post thoughts on the defense in a separate thread.


Overall, Illinois should have a good offense next season. They were fourth in the Big Ten in total offense this year and return a solid foundation. Any time you return a talented starting quarterback, you have a chance. Piecing together a solid OL is a key.

QUARTERBACK: Illinois is in solid shape at the quarterback position, but I'm not sure if all scholarship quarterbacks will return. QB's like to find a place where they can start. Luke Altmyer is the starter for the next two seasons if he stays healthy. He'll be a good quarterback in the Big Ten. There are some concerns about his feel for the pocket, but the experience this year should help.

They love incoming recruit Trey Petty and think he's the future starter post-Altmyer. The biggest knock on Petty is his size. He has a good enough arm, though, and like Altmyer he can make plays with his feet. He's actually more of a natural runner than Altmyer. If one of the other QB's hit the Portal, they may want to add another backup as they did last year with Paddock. They would be comfortable with Donovan Leary as QB2, though.

RUNNING BACK: I'm not as high on this group as some people are. As a unit, they lack speed and quickness. Ca'Lil Valentine will help. If he can add a few pounds between now and next fall he should be ready to play early. Reggie Love has the option of coming back for a fifth year. He was introduced with the seniors on Saturday and I haven't heard any buzz yet on which way he's leaning.

Kaden Feagin is obviously very talented, but what do you do with him? I worry about his long-term health. He's going to get hurt if all you do is pound him inside. I want to see him in space more, both on stretch plays and throwing to him out of the backfield. He's a good player, but you don't want him to have an old man's body by the time he's a junior.

Aidan Laughery lacks good enough vision to be an every-down back. That's holding him back in terms utilizing his speed. He'd do better as an all-purpose guy that you spread out wide on occasion. Josh McCray is a candidate to transfer, IMO. He was ineffective when healthy, and he's obviously not durable. I don't know what they have in Jordan Anderson yet. He's a big power back like Feagin. Before he got hurt, I thought a move to H-back might help him. He was having a pretty camp when he injured his knee.

Get this group healthy and see what you have in the spring. Feagin, Love, Valentine, could potentially be a pretty good RB room.

WIDE RECEIVER: The ICON collective should be working diligently on a package to try to retain Isaiah Williams. I'm not yet sure how receptive he will be, but there should be pretty good NIL$ for him.

Overall, the receiver room as some potential. The younger guys are more quick-twitch than the veterans who played this year. Kenari Wilcher and incoming freshman Tysean Griffin should be solid slot receivers if Williams doesn't come back. I actually like Griffin better on defense at corner, but they want the ball in his hands. Hank Beatty is a backup, spot player, and special teams guy.

On the outside, Ashton Hollins has more speed than Pat Bryant and Casey Washington. He still needs more muscle but is a willing blocker. They will miss Washington's route running and contested catches. He put on a clinic against Northwestern. Bryant and Hollins should be the starters.

JUCO transfer Mario Sanders was prolific at IWCC. He was just named the conference offensive player of the year after posting 926 receiving yards and 12 TD's.

There has been buzz all season about Malik Elzy potentially hitting the Portal if he doesn't play. He's talented and is a key cog, so his departure would be a blow. We will see what unfolds in the next few days. Shawn Miller played sparingly. Same as Eian Pugh. Collin Dixon took a redshirt. Recruit Carlos Orr is similar to Bryant. Good size but not particularly speedy. JUCO transfer Alexander Capka-Jones was a bust.

TIGHT END. TE is a team weakness, especially if Tip Reiman doesn't use his extra year and come back. They don't have a guy who is both a solid blocker and good receiver, so they have to mix and match depending on the package.

Tanner Arkin and Griffin Moore are strictly receivers. Henry Boyer is a blocker who is limited to stick routes and quick outs in the passing game. His career would have a higher trajectory if he beefed up and played tackle, but he doesn't want to do that. Owen Anderson and Nate Gunn didn't see the light of day.

Of all of the TE's they will have on the roster, incoming freshman Karsen Konkel may have the most upside. He's a huge kid and excellent athlete, but very raw. I don't know what to expect from Tanner Hollinger. He played 8-man football in Nebraska and dominates, but his film and stats don't mean much, IMO. We'll see.

OFFENSIVE LINE: The O-line could be okay, but they have holes to fill. I do have confidence that Bart Miller will find a way to make it work. He showed his coaching chops in fixing it this year when things were going south fast. I think he will put together a solid starting five, but how much depth they have will depend on developing some of the younger guys who haven't played yet. I also think there will be some attrition, so they may need multiple guys from the Portal / JUCO ranks.

The offseason priority is finding a starting right tackle. They will be aggressive recruiting JUCO's and transfers. They don't want to move Josh Gesky or Zy Crisler back outside, but its an option in a pinch. Brandon Henderson will start at left tackle. He has the natural talent to be a future NFL Draft pick. It's a big offseason and spring for him.

Although they were pretty happy with Josh Kreutz at center this season, I'd like to see more size at the position. Kreutz could get pushed in the spring by TJ McMillen, who was a top recruit in the 2023 class. They also may want a transfer who has the versatility to play some center.

They are in pretty good shape on the inside. Gesky and Crisler both return at guard. Although we don't for sure what the best position is yet for junior college transfer Dez'Mond Shuster, he looks the part of a guard at 6-5, 345. If he can play and excel at right tackle, that would be a big plus. Zach Barlev and Hunter Whitenack are solid backups. Whitenack got three starts this year.

5-6 this year. Best season was 2018 when Syracuse went 10-3. Seems like a bunch of us wanted him when BB was hired.

He was canned after The Orange lost to Ga Tech. 41-55 in 8 seasons at Syracuse.

I was pretty down on this team after the Marquette loss but I'm starting to come around after the last two games. It helps that our efficiency stats are no longer in free fall and we've rebounded from 31st to 27th. I also see that Oakland is now a top-150 team and Marquette may be worthy of their ranking after all. So the context so far has helped.

I also see that Coleman Hawkins was struggling because of his knee and now he's getting the rest that he needs to recover. That explains his brutal performances to start the year. We also have learned that Quincy Guerrier has a wrist injury that has hurt his shooting, so if he recovers that would also be a big boost. We do need to get healthy, though, as I think that Moretti is out until New Year's and is probably the 10th man anyway.

The key to this team is the defense. It's as simple as being big and athletic and making it very hard for the other team to make a decent % of FGs or get offensive rebounds. If we have a top 10 defense (and with a big, old team that makes sense) then we'll win our share of games. That's probably the most reliable thing you can have in basketball, so it should help us win on the road as well.

The offense hasn't been pretty so far but I think it's going to be okay. If Guerrier and Hawkins come back healthy for Rutgers then I think we can make a credible % of our 3-pointers. Shannon is the go-to guy and he's really figured out something with his 3-point shot.

The rotation is starting to become clear to me as well. Starters will be Rodgers, Shannon, Domask, Guerrier, and Hawkins. Key reserves are Goode, Dainja, and Harmon or DGL. Hansberry is the 3rd big and Moretti is the 11th man / change of pace guard. It will be interesting to see if DGL can get comfortable and overtake Harmon, who is clearly the weakest of the three transfers.

I think the free throw shooting will be a constant source of angst but I don't think the 3-point shooting will be as bad (or as overused) as last year.

If this team shows up healthy at Rutgers and wins a roughly 50/50 game then I think we'll have reason for optimism this season.

This is likely one of the Juco kids

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Thank you for all the seniors and players departing the team. Even though the season ended early I still watched every game. They came in as boys and are leaving as men. May they become successful in life.

Is he a product of playing with Newton or should he comeback???
I was not impressed this year.

Lost Nebraska game not covering a short kick into a 40 mph win. Let Iowa start comeback with a terrible punt call and cover (BB said terrified of block so called tight formation and quick kick). Today the two turnovers. No idea why you coach Wilcher to bring out the kick tight to the sideline at goal line when you have a middle return called. He barely made it to the fifteen yard line and Northwestern had a whole team there to recover the fumble. These kids deserve better from their $11M worth of coaches.

On to basketball where we can listen to another year of $5M BU complaining that the players do not run his “offense” that does not work.

I know we still lost but how amazing of a day was that?

9 receptions, 218 yards, 3 TDs

That 80 yard TD was just phenomenal. One of the most epic plays I've ever seen. I still can't get over that play in that situation.