Illinois
Illinois’ Matthew Bailey Hopes To Regain 2022 Form After Missing Most Of Last Season
At this point, Illinois Fighting Illini safety is just content being back on the field.
He missed most of last season due to ankle and shoulder injuries. Now, he’s just ready to put everything behind him.
“It was a rough time,” Bailey said. “It’s in the past. I’m more worried about where I’m going.”
Bailey had a promising season as a true freshman in 2022. He played in all 13 games, finishing with three interceptions and 10 tackles. Last year was an expected breakout season but injuries prevented that. He only played one game before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in mid-September.
“It’s phenomenal,” Bailey said. “Obviously, I love this game. I love this sport. Just being able to come back after such a long time time off, it’s so thrilling but at the same I can step back and just enjoy the game Because I’ve been out so long, all these aches and pains that I dreaded two years ago, now I enjoy them because it makes me feel I’m back in the groove of things.”
Last season wasn’t a complete waste. He said his used the time on the sideline to become a better student of the game.
‘Being able to watch film a lot and being on the field almost from a coaching perspective and see how the numbers fit and how coverages work,” Bailey said.
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Illinois Fighting Illini On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com
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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (KWQC) – The IHSA football playoffs will be expanding by 50 percent in 2026.
IHSA member schools approved an amendment to expand the playoffs from 32 teams per class to 48.
There will still be 8 classifications increasing the total number of playoff teams from 256 to 384.
As a result of the change, the start of the season will be moved up by a week in August to allow the season to still finish with State Championship games the week of Thanksgiving.
Copyright 2025 KWQC. All rights reserved.
A woman was found dead near a shopping center in Schaumburg, Illinois early Tuesday, and a man was taken into police custody.
Around 5:25 a.m., Schaumburg police were called to the 100 block of South Roselle Road. They found a woman dead at the scene.
Police said a man was taken into custody at the scene.
The investigation so far indicates that the incident was domestic, and the man and woman knew each other.
Police said the incident was isolated and there was no threat to the public. But there was a large police presence at the scene, and alternate routes were advised.
PRINCETON, Ill. (WMTV) – The Illinois State Patrol is investigating a death after officials found a suspect’s vehicle wanted in connection to a Wisconsin homicide, Illinois State Police reported.
Just before 10 p.m. on December 10, ISP troopers and several other agencies attempted to pull a vehicle over in Princeton, Illinois, that was wanted in a Rock County homicide.
Officials did not specify which Rock Co. case this incident is connected to.
Princeton is about an hour and 45 minutes away from Rock County, Wisconsin.
After the driver did not pull over, police chased the vehicle into the Great Sauk Trail Rest Area on I-80 westbound.
When officers went up to the vehicle, authorities stated the driver was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Authorities did not identify the driver.
ISP is working with the Bureau County State’s Attorney’s Office in this investigation.
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Copyright 2025 WMTV. All rights reserved.
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