After Bret Bielema led the Illini to a 5-7 record in his first year as head coach, there have been multiple significant changes to the coaching staff and player roster. A new offensive coordinator was hired, a new quarterback transferred in, and several positions will see new players in significant roles.

The Orange and Blue Spring Game doesn’t always tell much, but what it does is give a better idea of who could earn real minutes this year and what the offensive/defensive schemes may look like in the fall. With that being said, here is who, and what, I’ll be watching closely in Bielema’s second spring game.

Tommy DeVito

It all starts under center. With now-graduated Brandon Peters no longer on the roster, and junior Artur Sikowski likely missing time due to surgery, senior transfer quarterback Tommy DeVito will more likely than not get the starting quarterback role in 2022.

DeVito transfers to Illinois after spending four years at Syracuse, where in his sophomore season started 11 games and threw for 2,360 yards, 19 touchdowns and just five interceptions. However, due to injuries and more talent coming in, DeVito threw for only a combined 981 yards over his final two seasons.

In his sophomore season at Syracuse, DeVito was good, but not great. The Orange failed to make a bowl game despite high expectations coming into the season, and a lot of DeVito’s big stats came from garbage time or poor competition. Still, he had some good moments and has never thrown a lot of interceptions.

Regardless of his previous stats, DeVito now finds himself older, healthy and in a new conference. The offensive line should be able to give him decent protection, but the wide receiver group he’ll be throwing to has a lot of question marks as well. It will be interesting to see how newly hired offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. plans to use DeVito, but seeing how he’s used, who he throws to and his decision making will be something to look out for on Thursday evening.

Barry Lunney Jr.

Speaking of Lunney Jr., I’m very excited to see what Illinois’ new offensive coordinator has in mind for this offense. Former offensive coordinator Tony Petersen was run heavy, somewhat conservative in his play calling and led the Illini to just 20 points per game last season.

Lunney, on the other hand, led a UTSA Roadrunners team to 36.9 points per game. When Illinois and UTSA faced off last season, Lunney was the clear better play-caller, and his offense put up 37 points against an Illinois defense that had a great season.

The running back group for Illinois is talented, and though you don’t know exactly how good the wide receiver group is, junior receiver Isaiah Williams is a weapon that should be used a lot. In the spring game, I hope to see Lunney run a variety of plays for Williams, while using the running back duo of junior Chase Brown and sophomore Josh McCray on the ground and in the air. 

This hire could be one that Bielema looks back on one day as one of the best he’s ever made, but only if Lunney finds a way to score points consistently. I hope the running back group and guys like Isaiah Williams help with that. 

Wide receivers

Sticking with the offense, Illinois’ wide receiver room is probably the group that’s considered the thinnest on the team. Though Williams will probably end up in the NFL one day, those behind him have either not seen big minutes yet or haven’t proven themselves as go-to targets.

Casey Washington will be a junior (eligibility wise) in the fall, and caught 21 receptions for 294 yards this past season after a whirlwind of an offseason. He was second on the team in receptions, and caught the game winning two-point conversion in Illinois’ thrilling 9OT win over Penn State. Washington has good hands, but needs to work on his route-running more to be a big-time player this year. In the spring game, I’ll be looking for how open he can make himself against weaker defensive backs.

Brain Hightower, who transferred from Miami for the 2020 season, will be a senior in the Fall. He redshirted last season, but was tied for the team lead in touchdowns during the COVID-19 year with three. Despite injury problems in the past, if Hightower can stay healthy, I believe he can make a real impact on the offense this season. I expect DeVito to target Hightower a significant amount on Thursday.

There are more receiver to look out for, like sophomore Pat Bryant, but someone that I think may surprise people this fall will be true freshman Shawn Miller. Miller comes in as a three-star recruit out of IMG Academy. He’s fast, is a good route-runner and can beat defenders by getting open early. His ball security was a little down in high school, but if he improves on that, I really think Miller may be one of Devito’s top targets in 2022. I’m interested to see where he stands in the rotation entering the spring game.

Defensive backs

Illinois lost multiple key DB’s from last season, including Kerby Joseph to the NFL draft and Tony Adams due to eligibility. That leaves Devon Witherspoon as the most proven guy in the group, and a lot of questions outside of him.

Junior Sydney Brown, who’s been thrown into the fire ever since he got to Illinois, will lead the safeties. Brown improved a lot last season under defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, but losing Joseph really hurts the position. Senior Quan Martin will likely start, a player who has seen good field time and has built up much-needed experience over the last two seasons, but hasn’t been a starter. That is where the experience really ends at safety. 

At cornerback, I really like Witherspoon, who also had a strong season in 2021. Tahveon Nicholson, who redshirted last season, seems most likely to get the start. Junior Kendall Smith could see some time as well, but again, there isn’t any true experience outside of Witherspoon.

In the whole defensive back group, some young guys are really going to have to step up if the defense wants to be as good as it was last season. I’m interested to see what Walters has in mind on Thursday, and also to see if the transfer portal will ultimately end up helping with this position.

CJ Hart

With Jake Hansen and Khalan Tolson off to the NFL, the linebacker position loses two key players from previous years. However, with Tarique Barnes back, there is experience, but CJ Hart could be another very strong starter.

Hart transferred to Illinois from NC State for the 2021 season, and was amazing … in his one half against Nebraska. He was phenomenal in that half, picking up 1.5 tackles for loss and returning a fumble for a touchdown, good enough to earn him national defensive player of the week. But, this all came before a season-ending injury. 

If Hart performs like he did in week one of 2021, Illinois’ defense could be looking very good again this upcoming season. Hart plays hard, knows how to read a defense and is exciting. I’m really excited to see him play in front of a crowd again this Thursday. 

Some other guys…

Those positions and players stand out to me the most, but there are some other players I’m excited to see but won’t have as much an idea of what they can do solely based on the spring game.

Senior tight end Luke Ford caught the ball more last season, 15 receptions and two touchdowns, and I anticipate Lunney having a better plan for him in 2022. Last spring game, he caught a ton of passes, so we won’t know a ton about Ford until the fall.

The offensive line received a big boost for 2022 with Alex Palczewski returning for another season, who will shatter the Illinois games started record. Guys like juniors Isaiah Adams, Jordyn Slaughter and Julian Pearl will have bigger roles this season, but again, it’ll be hard to judge in a spring game.

The younger running backs also intrigue me. Brown and McCray are a clear one-two, but that doesn’t mean other guys couldn’t get some real minutes this upcoming season. Sophomore Reggie Love and incoming freshmen Aidan Laughery and Jordan Anderson really intrigue me. All three could get playing time this year if Brown or McCray face injuries, and I’m interested to see if Lunney will give them significant field time in the spring game.

Although we don’t learn everything we need to know in any aspect through the spring game, there are some things to watch out for. Huge credit to Bret Bielema for the coaching staff he’s put together, the players he’s kept on the team and now the ones he’s bringing in. I’m hoping this ends up being an improved team we get to watch in 2022, starting with Thursday’s spring game.

@JPietsch14

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