Football
8/10/2024 3:41:00 PM

Mike Williams

NORMAL, Ill. – It was a near perfect August morning at Hancock Stadium on Saturday, as the Illinois State football team held its first intrasquad scrimmage of Fall Camp ’24. The Redbirds worked for over two hours and ran just short of 140 snaps on the turf at Hancock Stadium, and the scrimmage featured several key sessions including coming off the goal line, driving the field, red zone, two-minute work and special teams periods.

Scoring Summary:
•    The first score of the day came via a two-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Matt Lawson, which capped off a 6-play, 66-yard scoring drive that was highlighted by a 43-yard run by Lawson.
•    A 46-yard by Ian Wagner put three points on the scoreboard on the ensuing drive for the second score of the day.
•    The second rushing score of the day came on a 1-yard run by Trazhon Tims that wrapped up a 6-play, 42-yard scoring drive. 
•    The first passing touchdown of the day came on a 17-yard strike from freshman quarterback Beckham Pellant to fellow freshman wide receiver Quinten Johnson to put six more points on the scoreboard and complete a 7-play scoring drive.
•    On the next drive, Lawson added his second rushing touchdown of the day this one from five yards out.
•    Wagner then added his second field goal make of the afternoon, connecting from 41 yards out for three more points.
•    As the action moved to the red zone, the offense needed just three plays to score again and for the third time it was Lawson who found the endzone this time for a 4-yard touchdown run.
•    Wagner added his third field goal of the day on the next drive, capping off a 6-play drive with a 20-yard field goal make.
•    Pellant and Johnson connected once again, this time on a 53-yard touchdown pass to continue the strong day for the freshman duo.
•    The offense then put together an 11-play, 63-yard drive (longest of the scrimmage) that resulted in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Rittenhouse to Wenkers Wright who made a one-handed grab out of the backfield for the score.
•    Jake Rubley and Andrew Rockford connected for the final touchdown of the scrimmage, as a 6-yard pass from Rubley to Rockford capped off a 9-play scoring drive.

Passing Leaders:
•    Tommy Rittenhouse:  15-for-20, 124 yards, 1 TD
•    Jake Rubley: 11-for-16, 94 yards, 1 TD
•    Beckham Pellant: 10-for-15, 151 yards, 2 TD

Rushing Leaders:
•    Cal Martine: 14 att., 71 yards
•    Matt Lawson: 13 att., 77 yards, 3 TD
•    Trazhon Tims: 12 att., 99 yards, 1 TD

Receiving Leaders:
•    Eddie Kasper: 7 rec., 48 yards
•    Dylan Lord: 4 rec., 84 yards
•    Quinten Johnson: 3 rec., 68 yards, 2 TD
•    Scotty Presson Jr.: 3 rec., 24 yards
•    Luke Mailander: 3 rec., 36 yards
•    Andrew Rockford: 3 rec., 28 yards, 1 TD
•    Bo Benassi: 3 rec., 26 yards 

Defensive Leaders:
•    Tye Niekamp: 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Sack
•    Chris Taylor: 8 tackles, 1 PBU
•    Paul Omodia: 8 tackles, 1 PBU
•    Amir Abdullah: 7 tackles, 3 TFL, safety
•    Anthony Corona: 7 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PBU
•    Jalan Gaines: 6 tackles, 1 TFL 
•    Emmet Wolf: 6 tackles
•    Dillon Gearhart: 4 tackles, 1 TFL
•    Josh Gettemy: 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack 
•    Doreon Dubose: 4 tackles, 1 PBU,
•    Mark Haering: 3 tackles, 1 INT

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:  Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
 

On Wednesday, Illinois football announced that it would honor the legacy of Red Grange and his six-touchdown day for Memorial Stadium’s rededication game on Oct. 19, when the Illini host the Michigan Wolverines.

October’s game will mark exactly 100 years since ‘The Galloping Ghost’ ran for five touchdowns and threw for another against the Wolverines. The game was Memorial Stadium’s “Dedication Game,” which honored those who served the nation in World War I.

In the first game ever played at Memorial Stadium, the Illini beat the Wolverines 39-14.

Earlier this year, the program also announced three different throwback helmets that the team would use this season.

The Rededication throwback uniforms feature helmets that look to imitate the leather caps that were worn when Red Grange played. The helmets are handpainted by one of two artists specializing in airbrushing football helmets.

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At Illinois Football Media Day on Thursday, The Champaign Room had the opportunity to speak with players and gauge their opinions on the throwback uniforms.

“The helmet was sick. You’ve never seen that type of helmet.” sophomore wide receiver Malik Elzy said. “I feel like I could drip them out. Put something on with them.”

“That was lit, seeing the uniforms. That was lit,” defensive back Torrie Cox Jr. said. The junior transferred in from Ohio this offseason. “I ain’t never had no special uniform as well, you know? They look nice. We’re gonna ball in them.”

Terrance Brooks, a defensive back and fellow incoming transfer, doesn’t quite share Cox’s enthusiasm.

“I love the helmet, but no I’m not really a fan of the jersey I’m not gonna lie,” junior defensive back Terrance Brooks said. Brooks is a former top-100 recruit, transferring in from Texas.”

While Brooks had his likes and dislikes about the uniform, some teammates seem to love it.

Teammate Zy Crisler, entering his third year at Illinois after starting his career at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, is one of those teammates.

“It was really cool to me,” offensive lineman Zy Crisler said. I ain’t really see how they used to wear the helmets with the little flaps, like little beanie hats back in the day. “It’s kind of nice and kind of cool. It made me go read more about back when they played and stuff like that. So I was pretty excited seeing it. I like the jerseys too, they’re pretty cool.”

“I like them. Especially the helmet, the helmet is pretty hard,” freshman quarterback Trey Petty said. He also tapped into how important the uniforms is, not just how they look. “Being able to be a part of that, the 100th anniversary and being able to wear those jerseys is a big honor.”

Tight end Tanner Arkin is also on the same page as Crisler and Petty, acknowledging the historical significance of the uniforms.

“I think they’re awesome. I think they did a great job,” Arkin said. “And I just think there’s so much history here. I just feel honored that I’m able to play in this 100 [year] anniversary game. I think it’ll be an awesome experience, especially against Michigan.”

When the Michigan Wolverines, the current defending champs, make the trip down to Champaign, the Illini will do their best to recreate what Red Grange did: beat the Wolverines.

What are your thoughts on the uniforms? Let us know in the comments!

Brad Underwood’s Fighting Illini landed two major prospects in the 2025 freshman class in guard Kasparas Jakucionis (Lithuania) and wing Will Riley, two players that have extremely high pedigree and could both find themselves in the first round of the NBA Draft in 2025. They added high four-star Morez Johnson as well, the Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year and another athlete with real professional potential.

Illinois had a very successful 2023-24 campaign in which they made the Elite Eight before running into the buzzsaw that was Connecticut. They had Terrence Shannon Jr. drafted at the back end of the first round, but lost several players to the portal as well as graduation.

Even with these departures, Illinois reloaded in a major way this offseason. Here are the two incoming players with the best odds of getting drafted in the first round.

Kasparas Jakucionis | Point Guard | Lithuania

The first player to discuss here is Lithuanian guard Kasparas Jakucionis, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound lead initiator whose functional handle and playmaking ability pop off the screen when watching his FIBA U18 tape. Though he lacks vertical pop, he is quick with the ball in his hands, using screens to get downhill and attack the basket and finishing at a decent rate (66th percentile according to Synergy Sports ).

What he lacks in consistent outside shooting ability he makes up for with extremely high feel on both sides of the ball. The aforementioned playmaking is obvious, but even on the defensive end, he knows how to read opposing guards and get his hands active in passing lanes, causing live ball turnovers. He’s a great transition passer on top of this, so he can easily turn bad passes into points on the other end.

Jakucionis isn’t a fantastic athlete (just one dunk in FIBA competition), but his IQ and effort, as cliche as it may sound, could will him into the top 30 picks in the 2025 NBA Draft alone. Given his ability to find bigs in the paint, playing with players like Carey Booth and the aforementioned Morez Johnson at power forward could give him an edge in the pick-and-roll game.

Will Riley | Wing | Canada (The Phelps Academy, PA)

Five-star wing Will Riley is an advanced shotmaker whose guard skills at 6-foot-8 truly make him an intriguing player. Displaying a more-than-functional handle and ability to create for himself off the dribble, Riley was ranked as the no. 2 player coming out of the state of Pennsylvania after reclassifying from the 2025 class to 2024 in order to play with the Illini this season.

Though other Illinois players like Ben Humichrous (transfer, Evansville) will challenge for minutes at the small forward position, Riley is too good of a player to be denied high-level minutes at the Power 5 level and has every opportunity to be a first-round pick in 2025.

His scoring ability alone makes him an elite prospect, but he does more than just that. He has shown flashes of playmaking aptitude, and the ability to access passes off of the bounce further indicates his handle is effective.

He’s also good in transition – according to Synergy Sports, he was 87th percentile in points per shot at 1.25. Though the sample size was limited in this particular category at Phelps, his tape shows that when on the break, he can not only score, but make winning plays.

Overall Outlook.

Given the amount of names on team that have legitimate college-level ability, neither of these players may stuff the stat sheet the way they would on a less talented team. However, playing with high-level teammates should, in theory, raise their level of play also.

Jakucionis seems that he will have an easier adjustment to this level given his FIBA experience as well as his skillset as a playmaking lead guard. Riley, while extremely talented, will not get the same volume he did in AAU and high school, meaning he will have to make his shots count. This means he will have to raise his shot quality, and not take so many difficult looks.

Look for Illinois to compete for a Big Ten Championship this season – they certainly have the talent to do so.

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