Tag: Illinois

Mini Preview: Michigan vs. Illinois

NOTE: This is a ridiculously busy week for me, and sometimes you just have to punt. I have a couple family members with medical issues, a bunch of stuff going on with football, and other stuff.

ROSTER NOTES

• Illinois players recruited by Michigan include: OL Verdis Brown, RB Mike Epstein, TE Luke Ford, LB Dele’ Harding, WR Josh Imatorbhebhe, QB Brandon Peters, WR Trevon Sidney, LB Khalan Tolson, QB Isaiah Williams
• Illinois QB Brandon Peters (questionable) transferred from Michigan
• Illinois LB Dele’ Harding (56 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 2 INT, 1 TD) was committed to Michigan in the 2016 class
• Michigan players from the State of Illinois include: LB Jordan Glasgow, RB Danny Hughes, OL Trevor Keegan, QB Michael Sessa, TE Will Sessa

LAST TIME THEY PLAYED

• On October 22, 2016, Michigan beat Illinois, 41-8
• Illinois QB Jeff George, Jr. completed 4/15 passes for 95 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
• Karan Higdon ran 8 times for 106 yards and 1 TD
• 14 different Michigan players ran the ball, and 11 different Michigan players registered at least one reception

PREDICTIONS

• Joe Milton throws and runs for a TD
• Josh Uche gets 2 sacks
• Michigan 38, Illinois 13

Recruiting Snapshot: Illinois

Oak Lawn (IL) Brother Rice WR Ricky Smalling

Team Ranking for 2017: #45. Illinois signed 25 three-stars.

Cream of the Crop for 2017: Illinois’ top-ranked player is Oak Lawn (IL) Brother Rice linebacker Ricky Smalling, a 3-star, the #52 wide receiver, and #357 overall. He picked the Fighting Illini over offers from Minnesota and Wisconsin. They also signed 6’1″, 215 lb. Delshawn Phillips, the #31 overall JUCO player from Garden City (KS) Garden City Community College. Phillips played his high school ball at Detroit (MI) Cass Tech. The one player Michigan offered in the Illini’s class is 6’0″, 185 lb. running back Mike Epstein, a 3-star, the #59 running back, and #1051 overall.

Team Ranking for 2018: N/A. Illinois has zero commits.

Cream of the Crop for 2018: N/A. See above.

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Michigan 41, Illinois 8

Karan Higdon (image via Atlantic Broadband)

Michigan shakes up the offensive line. After the injury to left tackle Grant Newsome a few weeks ago, Michigan has been searching for some consistency on the left side. Redshirt sophomore Juwann Bushell-Beatty was the first player to draw into the lineup in Newsome’s spot. I know some people said he was doing fine, but I saw a guy who was struggling with his assignments. This week the Wolverines started fifth year senior Ben Braden at left tackle and true freshman Ben Bredeson at left guard, which I think is a superior lineup. I said since he committed (LINK) that I think Bushell-Beatty can play left tackle down the road if he manages his body properly, but I also thought he would be a guy to potentially start late in his career, not necessarily as a redshirt sophomore. There are still some things to work on for the future. Meanwhile, I thought the line had a decent day outside of right guard Kyle Kalis, who I think probably played his worst game of the season.

Hit the jump for more in the win vs. Illinois.

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Preview: Michigan vs. Illinois

RUSH OFFENSE vs. ILLINOIS RUSH DEFENSE

Michigan is #15 in the country with 255 yards/game and tied for #13 (with Illinois) at 5.67 yards/carry. Pre-season afterthought Chris Evans leads the team with 400 yards on 8.3 yards/carry, though he’s just third on the team in carries behind De’Veon Smith (336 yards, 5.5 yards/carry) and Ty Isaac (297 yards, 5.6 yards/carry). It would be remiss of me not to mention fullback Khalid Hill, whose meager 1.6 yards/carry on 13 attempts has netted 7 touchdowns – he’s the goal-line guy. Illinois is #86 in rush defense (185 yards allowed/game) and tied for #78 in yards allowed per carry (4.32). Linebacker Hardy Nickerson (6’0″, 230 lbs.) leads the team by a wide margin with 58 tackles, but two of the next three guys are defensive backs. Defensive end Carroll Phillips (6’3″, 240 lbs.) has made 11 tackles for loss this season. He made 9 TFLs in the first three games (Murray State, North Carolina, Western Michigan) and has just two in the last three games (Nebraska, Purdue, Rutgers). The other end, Dawuane Smoot, is also pretty disruptive (8 TFLs). The Illini have a solid defensive line, but their linebackers leave something to be desired. Michigan’s offensive line has taken a step forward this year, so it won’t be the easiest of sledding, but the Wolverines should do a pretty good job against an undersized front.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for the rest of the preview.

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Illinois Recruiting Snapshot: February 2015

Ke’Shawn Vaughn

In something that I hope to make a semi-regular feature, I’m going to take occasional looks at recruiting around the Big Ten. Not only will this help keep an eye on what’s going on around the Big Ten, but it might introduce some of tomorrow’s Big Ten stars. Going in alphabetical order, we’ll start with the Illinois Fighting Illini. The next time the Wolverines play Illinois will be for Michigan’s homecoming in October 2016.

2015 Team Ranking: #45

Cream of the 2015 Crop: Illinois offensive tackle Gabe Megginson (#193) and Tennessee running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn (#314) were the Illini’s only 247 Composite 4-stars in the class. Illinois running back Dre Brown (#452) is also a solid player. Out of 24 signees, seven are junior college transfers. Head coach Tim Beckman seems to be taking the Bill Snyder approach of trying to make a quick turnaround with JUCO guys.

2016 Team Ranking: #60, one spot ahead of Eastern Michigan

Cream of the 2016 Crop: The only commit so far for the Illini is Illinois safety Juwuane Parchman (#931).