Three positions that Illinois Football must upgrade

Illinois Football is having a great season so far. The loss vs Oregon is rather reminiscent of the Illini basketball team getting curb-stomped in the Elite Eight vs UConn. Oregon may be the title favorite as it stands today, but it is simply at a different level. The Illini are well-coached and play very hard, however, they need a talent upgrade if they are going to battle with teams in the top 20. Depth has always been an issue at Illinois and they need to find a way to build it. Despite the early success, there are three glaring weaknesses that Illinois Football needs to upgrade at

Linebacker

Dylan Rosiek does a lot of the little things right and has come up with timely plays. However, Rosiek does not have much help in the linebacker room. Outside of Rosiek, the Illini are heavily relying upon walk-on Ryan Meed and redshirt sophomore, James Kreutz. On top of that, Rosiek has some physical limitations in his stature and athleticism that make his job all the more difficult. The Illini need an athletic linebacker to come in and help them cover tight ends and help stop the run. There is no way that the Illini can compete with the best and be relying on walk-on linebackers

Offensive Line

 Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The offensive line is serviceable, however, the room needs depth and a huge talent upgrade on the perimeter. JC Davis and Melvin Priestly have been solid at the tackle position. However, guard Josh Gesky and Zy Crisler have struggled throughout this season. If the Illini want to play power football and run the ball as much as they want to, they need to upgrade the interior line. Outside of their starting five linemen, they are also extremely young and unproven.

Wide Receiver

This position choice may surprise some, however, the Illini need to upgrade the wide receiver talent. Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin are outstanding, however, what’s next after that? Sophomore Collin Dixon has shown flashes of being able to take over for Pat Bryant. However, beyond Dixon, the Illini wide receiver room has barely shown up. They need that speedy playmaker that can break one to the house and function in space effectively. Also, Bryant and Franklin are not going to be in Champaign next year. Someone needs to step up and take over for those two.

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