SOTC Update: Illinois Fighting Illini

The Illini got to ten wins in 2024. They are doing it with swagger. How does this roster look for a run-back? Let's take a look. This is the State of the Chart update for the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Mar 05, 2025

State of the Chart™ Recap Edition

Live All-In Ranking: 29th
Offense: 45th
Defense: 21st
2024 Results: 10-3 (6-3 in Big Ten)

The following information is just the beginning and everything will be updated in our first edition of the State of the Chart™ digital magazine. Slated for a launch in July of 2025, learn more about this and shoot us your email to be kept up-to-speed on launch dates and receive sneak previews…

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|||||| STATE OF THE CHART™ SUMMARY

Bret Bielema is really feeling himself these days. He’s backing it up with a double-digit win 2024 campaign. He’s picking fights with opposing coaches and is not afraid of that conflict. His program is developing NFL-caliber players each year, which should continue to manifest in attracting talent to Champaign. They hit on transfer quarterback Luke Altmyer, who has developed into a leader for this offense. They have a stable of young, talented running backs, and while they will have to replace two dynamic wide receivers, they seem to churn them out year after year. The coaching staff is sticking around and building continuity. They got to ten wins without really doing one thing particularly well. That’s a sign of a full team effort and, frankly, a little luck. They stayed on the plus (6) side of the turnover game, which certainly helps. They won a one-point game against a bad Purdue team and finished up with a loud win over the SEC’s South Carolina in the bowl game. Looking ahead to 2025, we don’t see any reason this can’t repeat itself. Outside of the two aforementioned receivers — Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin — leaving, this roster comes back in good shape, led by a more experienced secondary that can shut things down. The schedule is a bit more friendly and if the offensive line can gel with 4/5 starters returning, we could see them playing for another double-digit win season in 2025. To expect anything more would remain slightly unrealistic.

|||||| HEAD COACH AND COACHING STAFF

Bret Bielema has the Illini back on track after a down 2023 and he's doing it with his chest out. Picking fights with other coaches and telling it how it is. I guess you can do that when you win ten games. He is also producing NFL-caliber talent which sells in the portal and recruiting games. He keeps his essential staff around and happy heading into 2025 as the attempt to take the next step, which would be a spot in the College Football Playoff. That’s an awfully daunting step.

Coaching Staff Notes/Changes:

Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Barry Lunney Jr. enters his fourth season at the helm of the offense. He has done a fine job here and gets to continue to work with quarterback Luke Altmyer for one more season. They will need to develop another set of dynamic wide receivers, but that has been a yearly challenge accomplished over the past few seasons.
Defensive coordinator Aaron Henry was promoted prior to the 2023 season after Ryan Walters left to take the Purdue head coaching job. He’s continued the momentum and is supported with Bielema’s defensive mindset.
There is building continuity in this staff as just one assistant coach left the program. Linebackers coach Clint Sintim is moving to Colorado State and is replaced by Trent Harris, who was promoted from assistant linebackers coach.
Former Illini quarterback Artur Sitkowski was promoted to co-quarterbacks coach, elevated from assistant quarterbacks coach, for the 2025 season. He has been with the program as a coach for two seasons and was on the 2022 team that beat Penn State after three years playing at Rutgers.

Note: This is a “dynamic” article; meaning we will update any information that comes in this “off-season” and post a note when impactful moves are made or news breaks.

|||||| 2024 SCHEDULE / RESULTS ANALYSIS

This wasn’t the worst possible schedule, coming in at 43rd in our final SOS+ metric. They did have to travel to both Happy Valley (Penn State) and Eugene (Oregon) and that is quite brutal. Those were two of only three losses on the season. The other came at home to Minnesota, the only real let down of the 2024 campaign, save for a near loss to a really bad Purdue team in Champaign. The rest as simply taking care of business. They got Kansas at the right time (early); won in Lincoln (Nebraska); beat Michigan at home by 14 points and finished strong in Big Ten play. They got to double-digits with their fun (and heated) bowl game win over Shane Beamer’s South Carolina team that included some back-and-forth bickering between the head coaches. Who says these guys don’t care about bowl games?

||||||| POSITION GROUP CHECK-INS

OFFENSE: Barry Lunney’s offense had some weapons in 2024, led by now ‘veteran’ quarterback Luke Altmyer, the Ole Miss transfer. They ended up posting a 28.3 points per game (64th in FBS) but that may be a bit misleading as they really took advantage of some bad defenses along the way — getting 41 against Eastern Illinois, 50 against Purdue and 38 in three straight to end the regular season against the mediocre of the Big Ten. They managed just seven against Penn State, nine against Oregon and 17 in the loss to Minnesota. Sure, those are tough tasks, especially on the road, but the number bear out that his was a middle-of-the-pack offense. The offensive line came in at 70th in our talent rankings; allowing too many tackles in the backfield. They allowed 32 sacks (ranked 94th). They were right in the middle in explosive plays, netting 50 plays of over 30 yards. They were just okay in the red zone. The one area that jumps off the page is their third down success rate at 46.5%, coming in at 15th in college football. As Altmyer grew into his role, he did rely on two really good wide receivers, Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin. Those two are moving on and the next wave of talent at that position must step up. They get their stable of running backs back and with better health, they could be the focal point in 2025.

||| QB

Luke Altmyer transferred here prior to the 2023 season and has developed into a really good quarterback. He makes good decisions, can make all the throws and utilizes his athleticism. He is back for his final season in 2025 and while he loses his top two targets, he should continue his upward trajectory and have another fine season. Backup Donovan Leary is transferring to Tulane and they bring in NIU starter Ethan Hampton for that role. He may have an injury waiver claim in his back pocket to get an extra year and potentially start for a season in 2026.

||| RB

This is a young, talented stable of backs here. Now, to keep them all healthy and contributing is the key. Josh McCray and Aiden Laughery developed into a solid 1-2 punch after Kaden Feagin was injured in the Penn State game week five. All three return and Feagin likely returns to a top spot; however, all three will be involved and we don’t see much of a drop off in production, no matter who has the ball. Ca’Lil Valentine is now depth, but got his feet wet as a true freshman and is the future here.

||| WR

Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin were all over the field for the Illini making plays in 2024. They combined for 169 targets from Altmyer and produced. Both will move on and replacements will be needed. They address one spot with Hudson Clement coming in from West Virginia. He should make an immediate impact and likely by the No. 1 with Hank Beatty operating in the slot. Can former 4-star recruit Malik Elzy step into that other outside role? Justin Bowick transfers in from Ball State and could also get in the mix. It’s tough to match this production, but this group could do it with their veteran quarterback leading the way.

||| TE

Tanner Arkin never really left the field for this offense and developed into a fine blocker, chipping in with the occasional catch when needed. He turned three of his 16 grabs into scores. His backups both depart and they bring in Davin Stoffel from Colorado State, who has some playing experience but will need to pick up his game to compete at this level. Arkin returns and will play a similar role in 2025.

||| OL

For this offense to really fly to the next level, this group needs to lead the way. They did not do that in 2024. They will return 4/5 starters with another year to season. Only RG Zy Crisler is transferring out. Brandon Henderson should step into that role and appears to be an upgrade. Idaho transfer Ayden Knapik will challenge for Melvin Priestly’s RT spot. If the rest can build that cohesion and take a step forward, this group should be improved in 2025 — setting the entire offense up for success.

DEFENSE: The best way to describe this defense is that they just seemed to get in the way. They didn’t do much spectacularly, but did enough to throw offenses off and make it tough to put up big numbers — for the most part. We still aren’t sure what happened in that Purdue game, but throw that out and you’ll see a profile that operated on the ‘keep everything in front’ and lock down in the red zone. The Illini allowed the ninth fewest explosive plays by our count (over 30 yards) and held opponents to a 53% touchdown rate when they reached the red zone, which limited the damage. They didn’t create too much havoc in the backfield, though their final sack total of 31 was in the top third of FBS rankings. They were most effective with a set of defensive backs that made it tough to move it through the air, allowing just 6.6 yards/attempt on the season. Had they been better at getting off the field on third down (just 44.9% success rate), this could have been better.

||| DL

A pair of transfers, Dennis Briggs Jr. and TeRah Edwards led the way for this group and were solid. They both primarily played in the interior and did everything well, but not great. With both graduating and Ezekiel Holmes joining them, they hit the portal to bring in some portal talent with James Thompson Jr. (Wisconsin) and Tomiwa Durojaiye (Florida State) joining this group with aspirations to start. Alex Bray chipped in as a true sophomore and should see an increased role in 2025. This group should be able to match the ‘24 production.

||| LB

This was a deep group as Gabe Jacas emerged as a star. He led the team with eight sacks and 33 stops. Seth Coleman and Dylan Rosiek were also primary contributors, but this went deeper, with three more getting meaningful playing time in this 3-4 scheme. Jacas returns, but Coleman, Rosiek, and Ryan Meed are graduating. They bring in another Wisconsin transfer Leon Lowery Jr., to likely jump into a role here. They should be just fine, led by Jacas and other in-house folks stepping up.

||| DB

This was a solid and young group in 2024 and by the looks of it, every contributor will return for 2025. That’s exciting. There doesn’t appear to be a true ‘star’ of this group, just a bunch of dudes doing their jobs well. The safety pairing of Matthew Bailey and Miles Scott really stepped up and Xavier Scott does it all. Kaleb Patterson appears to be on a trajectory to stardom as well. Throw in four more quality depth players coming off the bench and this winds up in the top four secondaries in the Big Ten.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Place kicker David Olano did a fine job, hitting 17/20 field goals. Punter Hugh Robertson was just ‘meh’ and they are bringing in some competition as Keelan Crimmins comes in from Purdue, where he had plenty of opportunities to hone his craft. They will lose their top kick returner, Kenari Wilcher, but Hank Beatty returns as the primary punt returner and may just take on both jobs, of which he does very well.

Reader feedback is requested and encouraged! Who knows these teams better than their passionate fan bases? We don’t pretend to know it all and would love your feedback. We will update/edit based (and credit) for anything that is brought to our attention. Let’s do this together…

|||||| TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER

Bielema and company are hitting the portal a little harder this year than in the past. They are addressing key needs, led by a dynamic wide receiver from West Virginia in Hudson Clement. They have their veteran starting quarterback, but getting an experienced backup to step in if needed can save a season. Convincing Ethan Hampton to do that, coming in from Northern Illinois is a solid addition. They avoided any catastrophic losses in the portal and that gets you to a plus-talent churn rating, which at this point in the process, is a big win.

Below is a screen shot of the full, live Transfer Portal Tracker over at CFBDepth.com. Click the image or the button below to view it in its entirety…

Live Illinois Portal Tracker >

|||||| 2025 RECRUITING CLASS

This class won’t knock your socks off based on the ratings, but Bielema has never worried much about that. They believe in recruit, retain and develop. They are going after some offensive weaponry to help fill in some gaps in the future, especially at quarterback, running back and tight end. They keep WR Brayden Trimble (Mt. Zion, IL) home and he could make an early impact.

Here is a snapshot of the 2025 Recruiting Class+ with a link to the live page with updates throughout the cycle:

2025 Illinois Recruiting Class+ >

|||||| 2025 SCHEDULE LOOK AHEAD

They trade Oregon and Penn State for Ohio State and Indiana in the Big Ten slate; so slightly easier, especially since they get the Buckeyes in Champaign in week seven. That’s certainly circled on the calendar. They do have a tough non-conference battle with Duke on the road in week two and could be a tone-setter for the season. USC has to come to Champaign. Overall, it’s not a lot different from 2024 and if they can avoid that slip up (see: Minnesota last year), and win the close ones again they could be pushing for another double-digit win season.

There is a lot of movement and decisions to be made throughout the off-season, including more portal moves, winter workouts and spring ball. Get all caught up with the full-on State of the Chart Magazine coming in July. If you missed the ad before, get more information and give us your e-mail to stay in the loop on everything SOTC!

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