Illinois prospect dies in deadly party shooting
By Meghan Rest, Sports Editor
May 7, 2019
Filed under Football, Men's Sports, Sports, Sports Top Stories
Fourteen-year-old football standout Jaylon McKenzie was shot and killed in the St. Louis metro area late Saturday night. McKenzie was a running back and wide receiver at the Mason-Clark Middle School in East Saint Louis and received offers to play football at the University of Illinois just five days...
Illinois quarterback Rivers enters transfer portal
By Alec Busse, Contributing Writer
May 4, 2019
Filed under Football, Men's Sports, Sports, Sports Top Stories
Illini freshman quarterback M.J. Rivers announced via Twitter Saturday night he will be entering the transfer portal due to “personal circumstances.” “The road to your dreams often are not straight and narrow, usually they have bumps, curves, and dips,” River said in a tweet. https://t...
Patterson uses Trinity Catholic background for Illinois recruitment
By Alec Busse, Contributing Writer
April 29, 2019
Filed under Football, Men's Sports, Sports
Football Head coach Lovie Smith was adding more than just another name to his coaching staff when he brought Cory Patterson to Champaign as a tight end’s coach in January 2018. Patterson possesses a plethora of knowledge when it comes to the St. Louis area from his days as the head coach at Trinit...
Allegretti selected by Kansas City Chiefs in NFL Draft
By Gavin Good, Staff Writer
April 29, 2019
Filed under Football, Men's Sports, Sports, Top Stories
Former Illinois offensive guard Nick Allegretti became just the second Illini player drafted in the last three years on Saturday when the Kansas City Chiefs selected him with the 216th pick in seventh round of the NFL Draft. Allegretti captained Illinois in each of the past two seasons and anchored t...
Illinois Staff using Catapult Tech
By Gavin Good, Staff Writer
April 22, 2019
Illinois always wants to know more about the physical outputs and performance capabilities of its players. That’s part of why the program bought 44 Catapult vests that provide coaches with a live feed of data as players go about their everyday efforts in practice and workouts. Fit with a GPS device...
Illinois looks forward to fall
By Gavin Good, Staff Writer
April 15, 2019
Filed under Football, Men's Sports, Sports, Sports Top Stories, Top Stories
There may still be about four-and-a-half months before Illinois football’s season opener against Akron, but Illinois put on its first spring game since 2015 on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. Though there will likely be many changes to the Illini’s lineup, and since the class of 2023 is...
Illini prepare for upcoming season
By Tati Perry, Staff Writer
April 15, 2019
Filed under Football, Men's Sports, Sports, Sports Top Stories
At this point hearing that the Illini football squad looks good and will finally have a good season is just a loaded cliche that leaves fans more disappointed because they dared hope. For the entirety of coach Lovie Smith’s time with the team, all I have heard is, “Just wait, this team will be something...
Illinois signs second USC transfer to 2019 roster
By JJ Kim, Assistant Sports Editor
April 14, 2019
Filed under Football, Men's Sports, Sports
The Illinois football staff continued to make splashes in the recruiting world today as they poached another graduate transfer from the Trojans with commits former four-star wide receiver Trevon Sidney Sunday afternoon and from former five-star defensive end Oluwole Betiku last week. https://twitter....
Coaches looking to assess players’ performances during spring game
By Gavin Good, Staff Writer
April 12, 2019
Filed under Football, Men's Sports, Sports
It may be head coach Lovie Smith’s fourth year in charge of Illinois football, but Saturday will mark the program’s first spring game with Smith at the helm. With three returning scholarship quarterbacks healthy and on the roster — a first since Smith has been in charge — Illinois finally...
Illinois Football scores Southern California DE transfer
By JJ Kim, Assistant Sports Editor
April 12, 2019
Filed under Football, Men's Sports, Sports, Sports Top Stories, Uncategorized
The Illinois football staff continued to make splashes in the recruiting world today as they poached graduate transfers from the Trojans with commits from former five-star defensive end Oluwole Betiku Thursday. Betiku, the first USC graduate transfer to commit to Illinois, made his decision early T...
Athletic director gifts $100,000 in honor of football alumni
By Sports Staff
April 11, 2019
Filed under Football, Men's Sports, Sports
Illinois' new 107,650-square-foot, $79.2 million Henry Dale and Betty Smith Football Performance Center will add a corridor recognizing athletic director Josh Whitman and his wife Hope, made possible by the family's $100,000 gift. "Hope and I are making this gift to solidify our personal commitment,...
Junior Day pulls in new recruits
By Gavin Good, Staff Writer
April 11, 2019
Filed under Football, Men's Sports, Sports, Sports Top Stories, Top Stories
On Saturday, Illinois football had zero commits for the Class of 2020. But that changed after the Illini took advantage of hosting a slew of elite recruits for its Junior Day, turning the visits into commitments. By early afternoon on Monday, Illinois had racked up big-time commitments from thre...
