2003 Statistics

Quarterback
Jon Beutjer has been given an extra year by the NCAA. After enjoying success in 2002, Beutjer was sideline with injury after the seventh 2003 game. Now, he comes back to try and help this squad to pose more of a threat than last season's anemic "offense". Beutjer has good size, a strong arm, and the capacity to carve a defense. Where he runs into trouble is when he is forced out of the pocket or hurried - he needs to work on his "pocket presence". He seemingly has lost the cool touch he had in '02, and, for both Turner's and the team's sake, he needs to get it back. When he falls, Illini fans will be eager to see the future, Chris Pazan; though, both QBs need to cut down on the INTs.

Running Back
Ron Turner admits E.B. Halsey can potentially do anything, but has done little to prove that to the rest of the world. He vows to give the ball to Halsey as much as it takes to get results, and that will be just what this offense needs. Halsey only averaged 15 carries a game last year, and at a mere 3.8 yards per carry clip. This was mainly because the Illini often found themselves down by the second quarter of many contests and relied on their rather poor passing game to compensate. Pierre Thomas quietly averaged over five YPC and had a solid spring game. Fullbacks Jason Davis and (freshman) Brock Bolen will provide a good balance. Any and all backs in the lineup are adept at catching the football and will be used accordingly.

Wide Receiver
Holes on defense took '03 leading flanker Kelvin Hayden from the offense. Despite the inexperience and minimal output last season, Illinois is quite alright in this area. Ade Adeyemo is the leader of the group and acquires his success through great work ethic. But he's just the tip of the iceberg. Hurst, Kornfeld, Jones, and DeJuan Warren will give defenses match-up problems, enabling Beutjer to spread the field effectively which will really allow Halsey to wreak havoc on the ground. Some claim that establishing a go-to guy is key, but, in this case, we beg to differ. Effectively utilizing talent in a balanced fashion prevents a defense from stacking and multi-covering a receiver, allowing them to take an offense out of its gameplan.

Tight End and Offensive Line
Melvin Bryant is the only TE posing a real threat catching the football. Anthony McClellan is better used as a run-blocker, though both could improve in that area. The entire offense will benefit from an offensive line returning four starters. Pass protection was okay, but run blocking was pathetic. Preston is the bell-cow, while fellow seniors Koch and Babcock provide worthy allies. The magnifying glass is on new left tackle J.J. Simmons. He steps in for Sean Bubin and will be imperative in keeping Beutjer healthy. Aside from that, they need to focus on run-blocking; step it up or get stepped on!

OFFENSIVE BREAKDOWN
Turner's teams used to succeed with the pass, but its time to utilize the strengths they have. Halsey is likely to be around for two, maybe three more years. Giving him more carries will only help his confidence, his game-shape, and, ultimately, the offense. More of a zone-blocking scheme would work well with this group, giving Halsey more of a crease to bust open. Beutjer is marginal when made to pass, so defenses will be stacking the box until he proves opposing secondaries should stay back (or else). Shifting the man at the helm midseason will only affect the momentum of this seemingly withdrawn offense. But, if Jon falters, the future will imminently happen as Pazan then becomes worthy of developmental focus.

Defensive Line
This is an area that needs help. They lost their best pass rusher and are undersized up front. Juniors Scott Moss and Ryan Matha will steady this crew and the return of Mike O'Brien gives them relative experience. But, as we all know, experience alone doesn't stop the run. Proving such, neither could the Illini, who finished dead last in the Big Ten and 111th in all of I-A, giving up 278 YPG on the ground. D-line coach Donnie Thompson needs to get this group going, the way he got things out of his famed D-linemen at North Carolina. It's going to be another long year in the Big Ten trenches.

Linebacker
The linebacker tradition in Champaign is well storied and again, the Illini should have one of the Big Ten's best trios. Sinclair led the conference in tackles (129) and brings a bulldog mentality. He's got a sixth sense about him that allows him to find the ball quickly and efficiently. Teaming with him are Josh Tischer, Mike Gawelek, and Antonio Mason. Mason is listed as a backup, but a strong performance last season and a solid spring lead us to believe he'll thrust himself into the lineup and be a valuable contributor to this corps.

Defensive Back
A single deck of cards in a Las Vegas poker game wouldn't be shuffled nearly as much as the Illini secondary has been the past few years. As stated above, Kelvin Hayden was brought over to compensate for the loss of Christian Morton at corner. The other switch was former RB Morris Virgil to the SS position. Both have good size for their positions, and, with their offensive mentalities, they can apply such to defensive tactics. Still, nothing equates to game experience, and they have none. Veteran Travis Williams must take charge of this crew and build upon last year's marginal success against the pass (35th in pass defense, but 96th in pass-efficiency defense). The Illini finished fourth in the Big Ten in pass defense, though only picking off but TWO passes!

DEFENSIVE BREAKDOWN
Newly promoted defensive coordinator Mike Mallory claims, "We're coming off the ball better. Our tackling is better. The effort is there. Guys are playing hard and there's some pretty good hitting going on". Well coach, that's all talk for now. This year's squad must be tougher in the pit. They're going to get pushed around and knocked off the ball, so a stacked front is a likely ploy, putting a lot of pressure to the converted DBs to step up. If Illinois can develop to the point of consistently stopping the run, this defense will be able to live up to its potential instead of constantly shifting a "patch work" mentality from weakness to marginal weakness.