Illinois is deep into camp now, with the calendar pushing past the middle of August and the season opener against UAB still more than two weeks away on Sept. 3. That’s the stretch where teams stop talking about possibilities and start showing what they really are.
On Thursday, Illinois opened the first four periods of practice to the media, which meant mostly stretching and special teams work. Before practice, offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. and defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck met with reporters, and a few clear themes emerged from the latest look at the Illini.
The biggest shift on defense: Hauck will handle play-calling from the press box.
That makes him different from his predecessor, Aaron Henry, who called games from the sideline. It also matches the path Ryan Walters took early in his Illinois run, when he spent a few games in the press box before moving down to the field.
Hauck didn’t hide his preference. He said the sideline is not the best place to get a clean read on a game.
"The worst place to see the football game is on the sidelines. Everybody's got their own opinion, there's a lot of guys who are a lot smarter than me, but I think the whole, 'I'm on the sideline, I got a feel better for the game down there' is a bunch of BS. I want to see what's going on."
He added that he hasn’t been in the press box since his graduate assistant days at UCLA from 1990-92, though all of his defensive coordinators at Montana were up there.
"I'm a believer in being able to see what's going on," Hauck said.
Lunney, meanwhile, sounded upbeat about the offensive line. The group has stayed intact with the same five starters - LT Christian Martin, LG Maika Matelau, C Jake Renfro, RG Brandon Henderson and RT Nathan Knapik - and that continuity has helped build what Lunney called a camaraderie.
Illinois is still layering on more concepts and plays, and Lunney was careful to note that the line still has to prove itself when the games begin. But the tone was positive.
"I do like the makeup of that group," Lunney said. "…I've been pleased with what I've seen. I think the other day was our best up front."
During the past few days of camp coverage, one of the more interesting developments has been Kaden Feagin’s fast-tracked crash course at tight end, another sign that Illinois is exploring ways to use him as the season approaches.
In Other News...
Illinois Just Added Another Big Piece To Its Future Backcourt Push
Illinois is using its recent Final Four run as a springboard into the next recruiting cycle, and Brad Underwood is lining up more high-end backcourt visitors for the fall. The latest wave includes several five-star targets, with the staff continuing to push hard after already landing five-star shooting guard Quentin Coleman for the 2026 class and keeping the momentum going into the 2026-27 roster build.
One of the biggest names in that group is 2027 combo guard NaVarro Bowman Jr., who is set to take an official visit to Champaign on Sept. 10, while 2028 combo guard Brady Pettigrew is also on the visit calendar. For Illinois, the timing matters as much as the talent, because Underwood is clearly trying to stack perimeter pieces early and give the program another path to stay in the national conversation well beyond last springs breakthrough. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Freshmen Are Already Drawing Some Intriguing Former Illini Comparisons
The early look at Illinois 2026-27 freshmen class is already inviting some familiar Brad Underwood-era comparisons, which is usually a good sign that the roster has both length and upside worth talking about. Lincoln Williams, Landon Davis, Ethan Brown and Quentin Coleman all bring different skill sets to Champaign, and the broader point of the breakdown is less about projecting a finished product than about sketching what each player might become once they get into the programs system.
What makes the exercise useful for Illinois fans is how easily these freshmen can be lined up with former Illini who helped define the Underwood era in different ways, from physical wings to shot-making guards to versatile pieces who found their roles over time. The comparisons are still speculative, of course, but they offer a basic read on how this group could fit, and which newcomers may be the kind of players who start looking very familiar once the season actually gets here. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Just Earned A Real Shot At An Elite 2027 Big Man
Darius Wabbingtons recruitment has started to take on the shape of a real national chase, and Illinois is right in the middle of it. The 2027 five-star big man has lined up official visits to six finalist schools, giving the Illini a chance to make their pitch against a strong group that also includes Indiana, Louisville, Arizona, North Carolina and Texas. Wabbingtons background already stands out, too, with both high school and international experience adding to the intrigue around a prospect whose ceiling has made him one of the more closely watched young frontcourt players in the country.
For Illinois, the encouraging part is not just being included, but being included at this stage after the list tightened. Wabbington comes in as a major target with plenty of room for the next wave of recruiting momentum, and his profile suggests the kind of big man every program wants to keep in the conversation. The visits will matter, and so will the impression Illinois makes when the dust settles on this round of evaluation. [Read more 🡒]