Wisconsin's 2018 season is still a few months away, but it's never too early to get the inside scoop on the teams the Badgers will square off against this fall.
The Badgers will welcome the Illinois Fighting Illini to Camp Randall Stadium again on Oct. 20, so we asked Doug Bucshon of OrangeandBlueNews.com a few questions about what the Illini are expecting out of their football team in 2018.
Our questions and Doug's answers are included below.
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How would you describe the state of the program at the moment, coming off of a season that saw the Illini go from 2-7 in Big Ten play in 2016 to 0-9 in 2017? Is this a make-or-break year for Lovie Smith, or will the athletic department give him some time to continue to try and rebuild this program?
Doug Bucshon: Illinois is still in re-building mode, and Athletic Director Josh Whitman will give Lovie Smith plenty more time to see what he can with his own recruits. Whitman is committed to Lovie and he believes in him. Some early recruiting success in the class of 2019, with two Rivals100 prospects committed, has created some positive buzz. Now Illinois needs to make progress on the field this fall.
What kind of offense should teams expect to see the Illini use in 2018, now that they’ve brought in Rod Smith from Arizona to be their new offensive coordinator? Are we going to see the Illini move to a Rich Rodriguez-inspired spread attack - and do the Illini have the personnel to make that work in 2018?
Doug Bucshon: Rod Smith was given full control over the offense during spring ball, and he installed the spread that he has been part of at multiple stops under Rodriquez. Illinois will try to spread defenses out horizontally and put the ball in the hands of playmakers in space. Expect it to be a run-heavy spread, much like Arizona last season, at least until Smith figures out who the quarterback will be and what skills he brings to the field.
Who do you expect to play quarterback for the Illini? That position was a bit of a revolving door last year, to say the least.
Doug Bucshon: Sophomore Cam Thomas was the only scholarship quarterback on the roster this spring. He struggled in spot starts last year a true freshman, but the playing experience and reps during spring ball give him a head start on the four newcomers who will report later this summer.
Still, I expect grad transfer AJ Bush, who was a backup at Virginia Tech, to push Thomas. Rod Smith doubles as the quarterback’s coach, and he will have to help Bush refine his passing and become more accurate. He’s known as a physical runner with raw tools, but he hasn’t been able to put it all together.
The other three newcomers are true freshmen. Unless one of them sets the world on fire in camp, the starters job will go to Thomas or Bush when the Illini open the season against Kent State.
Are there any storylines you’re going to be watching on defense this fall? What question marks do the Illini still need to address there?
Doug Bucshon: The development of a talented but still very young front four is something to watch. Illinois coaches feel like they have play-makers in sophomore defensive end Bobby Roundtree, tackles Tymir Oliver and Jamal Milan, and a group of sophomores that were part of a good 2017 recruiting class. Illinois has been bad at stopping the run, and this is a group that could help to change that.
As deep as they are up front, Illinois equally thin at linebacker. It’s the biggest question mark for the Illini on either side of the ball. Starting MLB Tre Watson transferred out of the program, and another projected starter Jake Hansen missed the entire 2017 season with a serious knee injury. If Hansen can come back healthy and the Illini get solid play out of former JUCO transfer Del’Shawn Phillips, they could be okay. But the linebacker corps is unsettled coming out of the spring.
What does a successful season look like for Illinois in 2018, in your opinion?
Doug Bucshon: I think this team is still a year away from contending for bowl eligibility, but they really need to at least double their win total and be competitive in Big Ten conference play. Any recruiting momentum that Illinois has would likely evaporate if we see a repeat performance of last year. The offense gets a fresh start and a new scheme after anemic number that landed them in the bottom five of the country a year ago. Fans want to see some signs of life. Get to five wins, and that will be considered progress. Make a bowl game, and fans will really start believing.
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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.
