Notes: Illinois could boast versatile wide receiver room
· Yahoo Sports
Aug. 8—CHAMPAIGN — Pat Bryant has become the standard of comparison for Illinois wide receivers during Justin Stepp's tenure coaching that position for the Illini.
Bryant's willingness to block on the perimeter was held up as an example. So was the versatility he possessed that allowed Stepp and offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. to line him up in every spot a wide receiver could occupy.
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"We did all kinds of stuff with Pat," Stepp said. "We put him everywhere. We lined him up at fullback."
That was a special case, of course, but did lead to the game-winning touchdown against Nebraska two years ago in Lincoln, Neb. The Cornhuskers' defense didn't account for Bryant out of the backfield, and he was wide open in the end zone on a first-and-goal overtime play.
Bryant at fullback might have been an outlier, but being able to cycle as many wide receivers as possible through the more typical spots they line up at on game day is Illinois' goal. Stepp has that in this year's wide receiver corps from guys like Collin Dixon, Hudson Clement, Jayshon Platt, Brayden Trimble and even 6-foot-5, 220-pound Alex Perry.
"I tell them the more positions you can play the better off you're going to be," Stepp said. "I'm challenging those guys in the meeting room to learn it, and then go put it on the field. Be a plug-and-play guy. That stuff helps tremendously because you can mix a bunch of different packages.
Stepp has to see that ability his wide receivers in practice though, before he puts it on the field on game day. That level of commitment, he said, has been consistent during his now three seasons in Champaign working for Bret Bielema.
"Coach B. says it all the time that 'practice habits become game day reality,'" Stepp said. "You don't just turn it on on Saturday. You're going to play how you practice, and our guys, we practice hard. It's not a daggum camp around here. We're getting after it. You get confidence on Saturday because you know you've prepared your tail off the entire week. You practiced hard Monday through Friday, and Saturdays are easy."
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Jake Renfro has had more experience than he'd like on the sidelines during a college football career that started in Cincinnati, took him to Wisconsin to follow coach Luke Fickell and will end in Champaign playing his final season at Illinois.
The 6-4, 320-pound offensive lineman missed the entire 2022 season at Cincinnati because of a knee injury after starting 19 of 21 games at center for the Bearcats in his first two years with the program. That same injury also cost him the 2023 season at Wisconsin.
Multiple injuries limited Renfro to just four games in 2025 at Wisconsin after a healthy 2024 for the Badgers. His arrival in January in Champaign came with some limitations, too, as he sat out all of spring practices before being fully cleared May 1.
Renfro ultimately spent his first four months at Illinois helping Bart Miller and Byron Bell coach the offensive line.
"Unfortunately, I have done it before with the injuries, but I've grown more comfortable in that role as being that vocal guy that can help coach these guys," said Renfro, who was named to the Rimington Trophy watch list this week.
"I kind of earned the respect of the guys around me by just going out there and showing them what I know," Renfro continued. "I've played a lot of football in my career. Knowing what it takes to play the game, I was able to help these guys, and I was lucky enough they listened and they learned from it. It was a good spring."
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Will Holmes' move from linebacker to defensive line — albeit in a hybrid role that could see him play both this fall — was one of two position changes Bielema announced before Monday's first training camp practice.
How Holmes performed in Monday's practice was impressive enough new defensive coordinator Bobby Hauck jotted down in his notes from the day that the 6-4, 260-pound Utah State transfer would be "hard to handle" in the Illinois defense because of his size, speed and physicality.
Hauck was also clear he considers Holmes has only just begun to show what he's capable of on the football field. The fact the Detroit native's two seasons at Utah State were his first ever playing organized football plays a role in that evaluation that goes beyond Holmes' size, speed and physicality.
"His background with baseball and the way he goes through his training and the way he processes information and the way he goes and takes it immediately to the field, that's also extremely exciting," Illinois defensive line coach Jordan Thomas said. Holmes was a pitcher and outfielder in the Los Angeles Angels' system from 2018-2021 after being selected in the 2018 MLB draft.
"When you have kind of that pro sport mindset, it allows you to be even more successful in college because you've seen what it looks like at the highest level," Thomas continued. "He's been an absolute asset to have in the room."
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Tip Reiman might have started his third season in the NFL on the physically unable to perform list, but he's already proven himself with the Arizona Cardinals as the road-grader blocker complement to Trey McBride at tight end.
Tanner Arkin has begun to do the same for New England. An undrafted free agent, Arkin has begun to establish himself with the Patriots in the same way Reiman has in the desert. Block first. Catch later. Just like their respective Illinois careers.
How Reiman has stuck with the Cardinals after being selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft and how Arkin might do the same with the Patriots after going undrafted isn't going unnoticed in Champaign.
"I'm really excited to be able to build off what they have done," Illinois tight end Christian Abney said. The Ball State transfer started four games for the Illini last season playing with Arkin.
"It's the realization of seeing those guys work and it's like, 'OK, that's what it takes,'" Abney continued. "Those guys showed up to work every day and went as hard as they could. You see, over time, where they're at now, and it's a great example to look at."
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Illinois moving full-time to a 3-3-5 defense under Hauck won't lock the Illini into that structure every snap of every game. Don't be surprised to see Illinois' MIKE linebackers — guys like Daniel Brown and Mason Muragin — playing near the line of scrimmage.
Pass-rush ability has become a must for Illinois' MIKE linebackers, as that position as a whole likely changes the most under Hauck.
"From spring to now, it was just identifying who could do what," Illinois outside linebackers coach Archie McDaniel said. "Thee beauty of it is — the way it's going to be packaged and called — we can put guys in the right spots that don't expose any weaknesses. That's what we're figuring out.
"We've got a room full of guys that all have different skill sets, but they all work well together. When you look up and say, 'Well, we want to get this thing done and this specific player can't, there's somebody in the room who can.'"