Tim Kynard is the last man standing.

Of the five defensive linemen who started any games last season, Kynard is all that remains. 

The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Kynard opened last season with the first unit while Justin Staples served a one-game suspension. Kynard eventually ceded the job back to Staples for six of the final nine games.

But now, Staples is gone, and so are starters Michael Buchanan, Glenn Foster and Akeem Spence, all of whom either used their final year of eligibility last season or, in Spence’s case, declared for the NFL Draft early.

Kynard is the lone senior on a defensive line littered with inexperience. 

“It’s gonna be different this year,” Kynard said, admitting he’s not a natural vocal leader. “I’m more of a show by my work ethic and how I play. … I’ve got to be able to rise up to the occasion and do it.”

Although he’s only notched six career starts, Kynard cut into Staples’ playing time all last year, appearing in 11 games and totaling 18 tackles, three for a loss, one sack and two fumble recoveries. He also played in 11 games in a reserve role as a sophomore and appeared in all 12 as a redshirt freshman.

“Tim’s got a lot of moxie, a good feel for the game,” said defensive line coach Greg Colby, a new addition to head coach Tim Beckman’s staff this season. “When Tim goes 90 miles an hour, he’s pretty good. When Tim doesn’t go 90 miles an hour, he’s average, so he needs to play that way all the time. If he does, he’ll be a really solid guy for us.”

Colby, like his defensive linemen, is another fresh face for Beckman’s Illini, but the former Millersville head coach is no stranger to Illinois. Colby was a three-year starter in both football and baseball before becoming a graduate assistant football coach from 1974-75 and 1977-78. He returned to Illinois as an outside linebackers and special teams coach from 1988-95.

Colby identified Kynard and juniors Jake Howe and Austin Teitsma as his top three guys on a very thin defensive line unit.

“The good news is they’re getting a lot of reps, but the bad news is things are showing up when they get tired,” he said. “But that’s good for them, to be able to fight through that. All in all, I like where we’re at, but we’ve still got a long way to go.” 

Beckman said the Illini this season will employ a 3-4 defensive front — a system he says better fits the current roster — more often. Although junior linebacker Houston Bates is currently sidelined with a concussion suffered last week, and sophomore defensive lineman Darrius Caldwell is sitting out the spring to focus on academics, the shift to more 3-4 should have them looking more like linebackers than linemen in the hybrid outside linebacker/defensive end Leo position.

“I’m proud of the way they’re playing,” Beckman said. “They’re playing hard, it’s just we’re only two-deep at each position. We’ve only got eight defensive linemen and we’ve got to get ready.”

Friday’s spring game will offer a chance for the Illini to gauge how far this untested unit has come since the 2012 season wrapped on Nov. 24.

“It’s important to see where guys are at and how they progressed throughout the spring,” Kynard said. “We’re trying to figure out who can play and who can’t. It’s pretty big for us.”

If all goes well for the Illini, Kynard won’t be alone at the top of the depth chart for long.

Chad can be reached at [email protected] and @cthornburg10.