2026 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

2026 Illinois Fighting Illini football

Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	0–0 (0–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bret Bielema (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Barry Lunney Jr. (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Bobby Hauck (1st season)
Home stadium	Gies Memorial Stadium

2026 Big Ten Conference football standings

Team	W		L	W		L
Illinois	0	–	0	0	–	0
Indiana	0	–	0	0	–	0
Iowa	0	–	0	0	–	0
Maryland	0	–	0	0	–	0
Michigan	0	–	0	0	–	0
Michigan State	0	–	0	0	–	0
Minnesota	0	–	0	0	–	0
Nebraska	0	–	0	0	–	0
Northwestern	0	–	0	0	–	0
Ohio State	0	–	0	0	–	0
Oregon	0	–	0	0	–	0
Penn State	0	–	0	0	–	0
Purdue	0	–	0	0	–	0
Rutgers	0	–	0	0	–	0
UCLA	0	–	0	0	–	0
USC	0	–	0	0	–	0
Washington	0	–	0	0	–	0
Wisconsin	0	–	0	0	–	0
Championship: December 5, 2026
As of July 5, 2026 Rankings from AP poll

The 2026 Illinois Fighting Illini football team will represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2026 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They will be led by sixth-year head coach Bret Bielema, the Fighting Illini play their home games at Gies Memorial Stadium at Champaign, Illinois.

Offseason

Departures

NFL draft

Name	Pos.	Team	Round	Pick
Gabe Jacas	DE	New England Patriots	2	55
J. C. Davis	T	New York Giants	6	192
Miles Scott	S	Denver Broncos	7	246

Outgoing transfers

Name	No.	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	New school
Justin Bowick	0	WR	6'4"	210	Jr	Powder Springs, GA	Oklahoma State
Kaleb Patterson	1	DB	6'1"	195	Jr	Jackson, MS	Kansas State
Mario Sanders II	1	WR	5'10"	195	Jr	Minneapolis, MN	Southern Miss
Ashton Hollins	2	WR	6'5"	195	Jr	Lucedale, MS	Georgia Southern
Saboor Karriem	2	DB	6'3"	210	Jr	West Orange, NJ	Temple
Alexander Capka-Jones	7	WR	6'4"	195	Sr	Oak Park, CA
Malik Elzy	8	WR	6'2"	215	So	Chicago, IL	LSU
Jeremiah Warren	8	DL	6'3"	310	So	Belleville, MI	Pitt
Ethan Hampton	10	QB	6'3"	230	Jr	Elburn, IL	Southern Miss
Donovan Turner	11	DB	6'2"	190	Jr	Long Beach, CA	Sacramento State
Trey Petty	12	QB	6'0"	205	Rs-Fr	Starkville, MS	Western Michigan
Amar Reynolds	12	DB	6'0"	190	Rs-Fr	Fort Pierce, FL	FAU
Cole Rusk	14	TE	6'5"	250	Sr	Rock Island, IL	Arizona
Tyson Rooks	19	DB	6'4"	205	Jr	St. Simons Island, GA	FAU
David Olano	24	K	5'11"	180	Jr	Naperville, IL	Texas A&M
Vernon Woodward III	24	CB	6'1"	200	Rs-Fr	DeLand, FL	Jacksonville State
Aaron Ball	25	RB	5'11"	205	Rs-Fr	Chicago, IL	Indiana State
Jojo Hayden	30	LB	6'2"	245	So	East St. Louis, IL	Purdue
Tomiwa Durojaiye	36	DL	6'5"	300	Jr	Philadelphia, PE	South Carolina
Angelo McCullom	44	DL	6'2"	300	So	Pickerington, OH	Texas A&M
Malachi Hood	45	LB	6'2"	235	Jr	Plainfield, IL	West Virginia
Easton Baker	47	LB	6'0"	220	Rs-Fr	Stansbury, UT
Harrysson Ngassa	49	LB	6'2"	215	Rs-Fr	Chicago, IL	South Florida
Clayton Leonard	51	LB	6'4"	250	Jr	Danforth, IL	Southeast Missouri State
Kellen Francis	65	OL	6'5"	320	So	Princeville, IL
Tyler McMillan	70	OL	6'5"	335	Jr	Detroit, MI	Eastern Michigan
Jake Furtney	82	TE	6'4"	250	Rs-Fr	St. Charles, IL	Ohio
Tysean Griffin	83	WR	5'10"	180	Rs-Fr	Chicago, IL	Western Illinois
Eli Coenen	96	DL	6'7"	290	So	Baldwin, WI	Michigan State
Curt Neal	99	DL	6'0"	310	Jr	Cornelius, NC	Purdue

Retirements

Coaching departures

Name	Previous Position	New Position
Aaron Henry (American football)	Illinois – Defensive coordinator	Notre Dame – Co-defensive coordinator & defensive backs coach

Acquisitions

Incoming transfers

Name	No.	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Prev. school
Jayshon Platt	1	WR	6'1"	180	Sr	Sarasota, FL	FAU
Katin Houser	4	QB	6'3"	225	Sr	Anaheim, CA	East Carolina
Alex Perry	9	WR	6'5"	210	Sr	Port Charlotte, FL	FIU
Lavon Williams	9	S	5'10"	180	Sr	San Antonio, TX	East Texas A&M
Ty Robinson	10	WR	6'4"	190	Sr	Aurora, CO	Ball State
Maurice Smith Jr.	14	QB	6'4"	245	Sr	Fort Pierce, FL	Chowan
Isaiah Thomison	17	DL	6'3"	280	Jr	Fayetteville, TN	Bowling Green
Deuce Fillmore	22	CB	5'11"	185	Sr	Biloxi, MS	Georgia State
William Holmes	24	EDGE	6'4"	245	Jr	Detroit, MI	Utah State
Ethan Moczulski	37	K	5'11	200	Sr	Spokane, WA	Washington
Robert Edmonson	45	LB	6'2"	225	Jr	Houston, TX	Colorado State
Zach Haber	49	LS	5'10"	226	Jr	Durango, CO	Arkansas
Jake Renfro	59	IOL	6'4"	315	Jr	Mokena, IL	Wisconsin
Christian Martin	72	OT	6'6"	300	Jr	St. Rose, LA	Colorado State
Eddie Kasper	83	WR	5'10"	160	Sr	Burlington, WI	Illinois State
Carter Janki	90	DL	6'5"	290	Sr	Redding, CT	Penn
Connor Sullivan	94	DL	6'4"	270	Rs-Fr	Glenview, IL	Washington State
Darrell Prater	96	DL	6'3"	300	Sr	Fort Payne, AL	Jacksonville State
James Finley		S	6'1"	185	So	Portage, IN	Northern Illinois

Recruiting class

College recruiting information (2026)
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

New walk-ons

Coaches acquisitions

Name	Previous Position	New Position
Bobby Hauck	Montana – Head Coach	Illinois – Defensive coordinator

^[1]^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV
September 3	8:00 p.m.	UAB*	Gies Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN
September 12	2:30 p.m.	Duke*	Gies Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	FS1
September 19	1:00 p.m.	Southern Illinois (FCS)*	Gies Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	Peacock
September 26	TBD	at Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck)	TBD
October 3	TBD	Purdue	Gies Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	TBD
October 10	TBD	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	TBD
October 24	TBD	Oregon	Gies Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	TBD
October 31	TBD	at Maryland	SECU Stadium College Park, MD	TBD
November 6	7:00 p.m.	Nebraska	Gies Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	FOX
November 13	8:00 p.m.	at UCLA	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA	FOX
November 21	TBD	Iowa	Gies Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	TBD
November 28	TBD	at Northwestern	Ryan Field Evanston, IL (rivalry)	TBD
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Central time Source: ^[3]

Rankings

Ranking movements
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP
Coaches
CFP	Not released																Not released

Game summaries

vs UAB

UAB Blazers (0–0) at Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Blazers			0
Fighting Illini			0

at Gies Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

Date: September 3
Game time: 8:00 p.m. CST
TV announcers (BTN): TBD

Statistics	UAB	ILL
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UAB	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Duke

Duke Blue Devils (0–0) at Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Blue Devils			0
Fighting Illini			0

at Gies Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

Date: September 12
Game time: 2:30 p.m. CST
TV announcers (FS1): TBD

Statistics	DUKE	ILL
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Duke	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Southern Illinois

Southern Illinois Salukis (0–0) at Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Salukis (FCS)			0
Fighting Illini			0

at Gies Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

Date: September 19
Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
TV announcers (Peacock): TBD

Statistics	SIU	ILL
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southern Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Ohio State

Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) at Ohio State Buckeyes (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Fighting Illini			0
Buckeyes			0

at Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio

Date: September 26

Statistics	ILL	OSU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Ohio State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Purdue

Purdue Boilermakers (0–0) at Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Boilermakers			0
Fighting Illini			0

at Gies Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

Date: October 3

Statistics	PUR	ILL
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Purdue	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Michigan State

Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) at Michigan State Spartans (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Fighting Illini			0
Spartans			0

at Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan

Date: October 10

Statistics	ILL	MSU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Michigan State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Oregon

Oregon Ducks (0–0) at Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Ducks			0
Fighting Illini			0

at Gies Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

Date: October 24

Statistics	ORE	ILL
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oregon	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Maryland

Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) at Maryland Terrapins (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Fighting Illini			0
Terrapins			0

at SECU Stadium • College Park, Maryland

Date: October 31

Statistics	ILL	MD
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Maryland	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Nebraska

Nebraska Cornhuskers (0–0) at Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Cornhuskers			0
Fighting Illini			0

at Gies Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

Date: November 6
Game time: 7:00 p.m. CST
TV announcers (FOX): TBD

Statistics	NEB	ILL
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Nebraska	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at UCLA

Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) at UCLA Bruins (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Fighting Illini			0
Bruins			0

at Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California

Date: November 13
Game time: 8:00 p.m. CST
TV announcers (FOX): TBD

Statistics	ILL	UCLA
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
UCLA	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

vs Iowa

Iowa Hawkeyes (0–0) at Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Hawkeyes			0
Fighting Illini			0

at Gies Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois

Date: November 21

Statistics	IOWA	ILL
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Iowa	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Northwestern

Illinois Fighting Illini (0–0) at Northwestern Wildcats (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	Total
Fighting Illini			0
Wildcats			0

at Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois

Date: November 28

Statistics	ILL	NU
First downs
Plays–yards
Rushes–yards
Passing yards
Passing: comp–att–int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Northwestern	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Roster

2026 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`0`	Kenyon Alston	Fr
WR	`1`	Jayshon Platt	Sr
QB	`2`	Carson Boyd	Fr
TE	`3`	Kaden Feagin	Sr
QB	`4`	Katin Houser	Sr
RB	`5`	Ca'lil Valentine	Jr
QB	`7`	Michael Clayton II	Fr
WR	`7`	Nas Rankin	Fr
WR	`8`	Davon Grant	Fr
WR	`9`	Alex Perry	Sr
WR	`10`	Ty Robinson	Sr
WR	`11`	Brayden Trimble	Fr
WR	`13`	Hudson Clement	Sr
TE	`14`	Maurice Smith Jr.	Sr
QB	`15`	Jershaun Newton	Fr
TE	`16`	Logan Farrell	Fr
WR	`17`	Collin Dixon	Jr
RB	`20`	John Forster	Fr
RB	`21`	Aidan Laughery	Sr
RB	`22`	Cedric Wyche II	Fr
RB	`23`	Jordan Anderson	Sr
RB	`24`	Javari Barnett	Fr
RB	`25`	Nelsyn Wheeler	Fr
RB	`27`	Corey Rashad	Jr
WR	`28`	Karson Kaiser	So
RB	`31`	Murphy Clement	So
OL	`51`	Alfred Washington	Jr
OL	`52`	Champ Smith	Fr
OL	`53`	Kai Pritchard	Fr
OL	`54`	Griffin Rousseau	Fr
OL	`55`	T. J. McMillen	Jr
OL	`56`	J. J. Hirdes	Fr
OL	`57`	Zach Barrett	So
OL	`58`	Landen von Seggern	Fr
OL	`59`	Jake Renfro	Sr
OL	`62`	Casey Thomann	Fr
OL	`66`	Brandon Hansen	Jr
OL	`68`	Michael McDonough	Fr
OL	`70`	Maika Matelau	So
OL	`71`	Nathan Knapik	So
OL	`72`	Christian Martin	Jr
OL	`74`	Zafir Stewart	So
OL	`75`	Brandon Henderson	Sr
OL	`76`	Dylan Frechette	Fr
OL	`78`	Eddie Tuerk	So
OL	`79`	TJ Taylor	Jr
WR	`81`	Leslie Mosley Jr.	Fr
WR	`82`	Jacob Harvey	Fr
WR	`83`	Eddie Kasper	Sr
TE	`84`	Grant Smith	Fr
TE	`85`	Will Vala III	Fr
TE	`86`	Christian Abney	Sr
TE	`88`	Davin Stoffel	Jr
TE	`89`	Tanner Hollinger	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`0`	Mac Resetich	Sr
DB	`1`	Xavier Scott	Sr
DB	`2`	R. J. Jones III	Fr
DB	`3`	Nick Hankins Jr.	Fr
LB	`4`	Daniel Brown	Sr
DB	`5`	Jakwon Morris	Jr
DB	`6`	Jaheim Clarke	Sr
DB	`7`	Matthew Bailey	Sr
LB	`8`	Cameron Thomas	Fr
DB	`9`	Lavon Williams	Sr
LB	`10`	James Kreutz	Sr
LB	`11`	Jacob Alexander	Fr
DB	`12`	Isaiah Williams	Fr
DB	`13`	Xanai Scott	Fr
DB	`14`	Andre Lovett Jr.	So
DL	`15`	Kingston Shaw	Fr
DB	`16`	Tanner Heckel	Jr
DL	`17`	Isaiah Thomison	Jr
LB	`18`	Mason Muragin	Jr
DB	`19`	Jacob Eberhart	Fr
DB	`20`	Almirian Thomas	Fr
DB	`21`	Ben Clawson	Sr
DB	`22`	Deuce Fillmore	Sr
LB	`23`	Jaylen Stewart	Fr
LB	`24`	Will Holmes	Jr
DB	`25`	Des Straughton	Fr
LB	`26`	Ismael Kante	Sr
LB	`28`	Kayden Bennett	Fr
LB	`30`	Tony Williams	Fr
DB	`32`	Tywan Cox	Fr
LB	`33`	Grant Beerman	So
LB	`34`	Erik Gayle	Fr
DB	`35`	Kaedyn Cobbs	Fr
DB	`37`	Caden Considine	Fr
LB	`38`	Jack Paris	Fr
DL	`43`	Joe Barna	Jr
LB	`45`	Robert Edmonson	Jr
LB	`48`	Carter Smith	So
DL	`51`	Parker Crim	Fr
DL	`52`	Pat Farrell	Jr
DL	`54`	Demetrius John	So
DL	`55`	Tony Balanganayi	Fr
DL	`56`	Guillermo Gallardo	Sr
DL	`90`	Carter Janki	Sr
DL	`91`	Cameron Brooks	Fr
DL	`94`	Connor Sullivan	Fr
DL	`95`	Isaiah White	Fr
DL	`96`	Darrell Prater	Sr
DL	`99`	King Liggins	Fr
DB		James Finley	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P	`18`	Jack Gray	Fr
K	`27`	Lucas Osada	So
K	`37`	Ethan Moczulski	Sr
LS	`44`	Patrick Mahoney III	Jr
LS	`49`	Zach Haber	Jr
P	`81`	Lars Rau	So

Head coach

Bret Bielema

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Barry Lunney Jr. – Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
Bobby Hauck – Defensive coordinator
Chris Hurd – Special teams coordinator
Ronnie Bradford – Secondary
Roger Cooper – Inside linebackers
Jared Elliott – Tight ends
Mike Linehan – Defensive ends
Archie McDaniel – Outside linebackers
Bart Miller – Offensive line
Mike Neu – Pass game coordinator
Corey Parker – Defensive backs
Artur Sitkowski – Quarterbacks
Justin Stepp – Wide receivers
Jordan Thomas – Defensive line/run game coordinator
Tyrone Wheatley – Running backs
Ben Miller – Senior head coach analyst
Danny Cameron – Senior offensive analyst/Assistant running backs
Myers Hendrickson – Senior defensive analyst
Byron Bell – Assistant offensive line
Harper Cole – Assistant wide receivers
Matt Ellerbrock – Assistant linebackers
Robby Hauck – Assistant defensive backs
Steven Koch – Assistant special teams
Alex Panos – Assistant defensive line
Ryan Simerson – Assistant secondary
Blake Smithback – Offensive front assistant
Tank Wright – Director, Strength and Conditioning
G. C. Yerry – Associate Director, Strength and Conditioning
Nick Elicone – Assistant, Strength and Conditioning
Jason Jones – Assistant, Strength and Conditioning
CJ McFarland – Assistant, Strength and Conditioning

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 5/5/2026

Notes

References

"Illinois Football Transfer Portal". ON3.
"Illinois Fighting Illini 2026 College Football Transfer Portal". 247Sports.
"2026 Illinois Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved December 20, 2024.