Anyone who slanders Dain Dainja couldn’t be more wrong. He changed his entire body, helped get the team ready for every game, stepped up in a huge way when we needed him, and never complained once when he wasn’t getting minutes for most of the year. Can’t wait to watch him
This Dain Dainja run makes me so emotional. Worked his ass off behind the scenes while not getting playing time for most of the season and he’s just as dialed in as anyone.
John Paddock isn’t even on a scholarship. He had a starting college quarterback job and came here as a walk-on because he’s a fourth generation Illini and loves this school.
This is the year. Luke Altmyer has improved so much in year two of the offense. He’s focused. He’s having fun. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a dark horse for the Heisman.
Part of the portal we do not talk about.
Luke now has the opportunity to earn a MBA from another school on top of his top 5 business school Gies Finance degree.
Now that is 🔥🔥.
Carson Cooper sporting a new mask. MSU sophomore got a bloody nose vs. Purdue but said it’s not conclusive if he broke it. Plans to explore having a corrective procedure after the season but will wear the mask - created by a 3D scan of his head - the rest of this season.
Lots to say after Purdue wins outright Big Ten title. Zach Edey and Braden Smith are All-Americans. Fletcher Loyer is back. And the Illinois crowd is ugly. Mocking a Boiler's 2-year-old DUI, while Illini star Terrence Shannon plays with active rape charge?
Illinois is not serious. Never been. Never gonna be. Just a big spaceship arena in a parking lot without Indiana's banners or Purdue's overall consistent success begging for a rivalry with both.
Officiating is not why Illinois lost today, that would be the offense completely malfunctioning for the final ~8-9 minutes. But, this was an insane sequence:
1. Goode shoved in the back
2. Ball clearly off of MSU
3. Official gets in Goode’s face?
This is the year. Luke Altmyer has improved so much in year two of the offense. He’s focused. He’s having fun. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a dark horse for the Heisman.
For the Illinois fans that aren't aware, the game Wednesday at Penn State is being played at Rec Hall, the PSU equivalent of Huff Hall in Champaign. Will be an awesome game to watch, could be a helluva challenge for the Illini.
Hearing Kylan Boswell is already back in the gym working out, has to be the most Kylan Boswell thing ever. Dude didn’t even take a week off. That’s tough.
UDFA Isaiah Williams telling vet Donovan Peoples-Jones where he's supposed to be on a play. DPJ doesn't get there and the Lions burn a timeout to save the penalty
I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that RayJ Dennis leading his in-state university to their first Sweet 16 in 20 years would have made him a program legend. Instead, he strung Illinois along and chose to finish his career on a Baylor team that was just upset in the R32.
Johnny Newton has lost the 2023 Bronko Nagurski Award. Yet another example of how the Illini continue to be overlooked by the national media. No Illini has won the award since its inception in 1993.
March Madness is hilarious because you’ll have sickos who spent thousands of hours watching the sport instantly get lapped on their bracket picks by someone in their office pool who chose logos that they thought were funny.
It was always likely that Domask and Hawkins would be moving on, but now that both are official, it’s sinking in that a maximum of three players from the Elite 8 roster will be back.
Talking shit to someone after a loss like that is so nasty. We are all hurting. You’re just piling on at this point. Your parents should be ashamed for not raising you better. Show some humility you classless fucks.
#illini
Justin Harmon on getting loose balls: "If we don't get on the floor first, we're going to hear it from the big dog."
Underwood in the hallway: "Big dog, really?!"
Lance Jones on the Purdue fan base: “I always thought Illinois was a basketball state but quickly realized that Indiana was the basketball state since I’ve been here.”
I truly get it and don’t care when any other team in the Big Ten chants “no means no” but it really doesn’t sit right coming from Michigan State. Short term memories in East Lansing?
Illini fans treating a rape charge like a recruiting battle because fake insiders like Schroat want to get views is so pathetic. Just let it play out and don’t expect him back before any legal resolution.
I keep trying to push this out of my mind and when it comes back it still doesn’t feel real. This is the worst sports related feeling I’ve ever experienced.
The more this group of Illini rookies ball out in the NFL, the worse it looks that we couldn’t win the Big Ten West. Borderline inexcusable at this point
Some of the portal names that have interest in Illinois and the staff are shooting down are WILD. Going to be very interesting to see who they end up taking.
Just got a call from one of
#illini
Terrence Shannon Jr.'s attorneys, Mark Goldenberg, who said Shannon's legal team will file a motion on Wednesday for a temporary restraining order against the UI to allow the guard to return to the court immediately.
Hearing Braden Smith is already back in the gym working out, has to be the most Braden Smith thing ever. Dude didn’t even take a week off. That’s tough.