Three Players to Watch for Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl

The ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Florida, is simply three days away, and Mississippi State and Illinois are having enjoyable and dealing onerous forward of the matchup.

The Bulldogs have bowled, performed pool and visited Busch Gardens. The actions exterior of soccer will come to a halt for each groups quickly as MSU traces up towards a bodily Illinois protection that has been one of many high items within the nation this season. The Combating Illini even have an explosive speeding assault, despite the fact that proficient operating again Chase Brown has opted out on account of preparations for the 2023 NFL Draft.

Listed here are three gamers from Illinois to look at because the Bulldogs and the Combating Illini battle within the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 2:

Johnny Newton (DL)

Illinois’ protection has been a key part of their success this season, due partly to a strong line of defense. Defensive lineman Johnny Newton leads this proficient protection with 13 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks this season, together with 50 quarterback pressures. Newton can be the No. 9 graded defender in response to Professional Soccer Focus.

The proficient sophomore additionally has a plethora of All-American nominations to go together with a powerful 2022 season. Newton is a difference-maker on the gridiron and a participant that the Bulldogs might want to account for in the event that they wish to discover success offensively.

This defensive unit has allowed a third-down conversion proportion of .290 (49 of 169), which ranks eighth within the nation. MSU has to flip the script by changing third downs and stopping Newton from reaching quarterback Will Rogers. Successful the battle up-front shall be an enormous key to victory for MSU.

Tahveon Nicholson (CB)

Illinois additionally has a proficient secondary that pairs properly with its strong line of defense. Nonetheless, the Combating Illini misplaced arguably one of the proficient cornerbacks within the nation: Devon Witherspoon. Witherspoon opted out of the sport as a result of 2023 NFL Draft, which implies Illinois will want cornerback Tahveon Nicholson to step up.

The sophomore defensive again recorded his first profession interception, seven cross deflections and 19 whole tackles in 2022. The absence of Witherspoon permits Nicholson to step up as CB1 and exhibit his expertise in Tampa.

Nicholson could have loads of alternatives towards MSU’s Air Raid offense. Rogers and the Bulldogs’ extensive receiver corps should look out for Nicholson, however the opt-out of Witherspoon might give MSU’s offense the benefit within the passing recreation.

Tommy DeVito (QB)

Illinois’ offense took a giant hit with the opt-out of operating again Chase Brown as a result of NFL Draft. Brown led the Large Ten Convention in speeding and ranked fourth within the nation with 1,643 speeding yards in 2022. With Brown not collaborating within the bowl recreation, the Combating Illini will flip to quarterback Tommy DeVito to search out methods to attain towards a bodily MSU protection.

DeVito leads the Large Ten and ranks fourth nationally in completion proportion this season, however he additionally could be harmful along with his legs. The Illinois signal-caller recorded 70 speeding yards and 5 speeding touchdowns whereas additionally throwing for two,397 passing yards and 15 passing touchdowns this season.

The MSU protection has struggled at occasions when going through cellular quarterbacks, so shutting down DeVito and forcing Illinois to maintain all the pieces contained in the hashes shall be key on this matchup.