A 3-3 start is not where Illinois expected to be halfway through the season, and the reasons are piling up fast. A defense that has struggled, a few missed chances on offense, and now injuries have put the Illini’s push for another nine-plus win year in real danger.
Bret Bielema spent the offseason reshaping the roster after plenty of turnover from last season, leaning on the portal and waiting to see which younger players would take a step forward. Some have done exactly that. Others, though, have not come close to matching the preseason buzz.
With Illinois heading into a bye week, here are three players who need to raise their level over the final six games.
Xavier Scott sits at the top of that list. He passed on the NFL and came back to Illinois for one more season, but the return has not gone the way he hoped. The expectation was that he would anchor the secondary next to Matthew Bailey, who has been a tackling machine this year.
Instead, Scott has been one of the main reasons this defense has been leaky in the back end. He has struggled to stay locked on receivers and has produced just 19 tackles, including 10 solo stops, along with two passes defended. Illinois’ secondary has not been nearly as sturdy as it has been in past seasons, and Scott’s play has not helped steady it.
Brayden Trimble comes next, and the frustration is a little different. He was supposed to slide into the role opened up when Jayshon Platt went down, and there was real buzz around Trimble during fall camp after his growth over the past year.
The problem is that opportunity has not turned into production. With Colling Dixon soaking up most of the targets from Houser, it has been tough for any other receiver to get rolling, but Trimble has not done much with the chances he has had.
Through six games, he has 19 catches for 172 yards and has not scored a touchdown. He is still a young player with plenty of room to grow, and with Dixon and Platt gone after this season, plus possibly Hudson Clement as well unless he uses the five-for-five rule, there should be chances ahead.
Michael Clayton II taking over for the injured Houser for a while could open another door for Trimble to make an impact.
Jayshon Platt is the hardest name to put on a list like this, because he has not played a snap yet. Still, the preseason expectations around him were high enough that his absence has been felt all season. The FAU transfer was supposed to upgrade this receiver group, but instead the burden has stayed almost entirely on Colling Dixon.
Illinois never got a clear timeline on Platt’s injury, or even what exactly it was, and his absence has stretched much longer than anyone expected. Bielema said he believes Platt will be good to go after the bye week when Oregon comes to town, which would finally give the Illini a chance to see whether all that preseason hype can still turn into something on the field.