WESTERN MICHIGAN GAME PROMOTIONS
• Tailgating at Grange Grove » Noon-3 pm (games, food trucks, beer tent and live music)
• Illini Walk » 12:30 pm (Ikenberry Commons to First Street, then through Grange Grove)
OPENING KICK
• Ready for Maction: The Fighting Illini (1-1) look to bounce back from last week's setback against North Carolina when the Western Michigan Broncos (2-0) come to Memorial Stadium for a Big Ten-MAC matchup on Saturday (3:01 p.m. CT kick on ESPNews).
• TFL U: The Illini defensive has been making plays in the backfield early and often in 2016.
» Senior DE Carroll Phillips is tied for the FBS lead with 6.5 TFLs (3.0 vs. Murray St. and 3.5 vs. UNC), while senior DL Gimel President ranks 12th in the nation with 4.5 TFLs.
» As a team, the Illini lead the Big Ten and rank second nationally (11.5 TFLs per game).
» The Illini are averaging 4.0 sacks per game, good for 10th-best in the nation.
• Selling Out: Illinois welcomed a sellout crowd of 60,670 last Saturday against North Carolina, marking the first sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium since hosting Michigan on Nov. 12, 2011.
• Dynamic Duo: The backfield tandem of junior Kendrick Foster and sophomore Ke'Shawn Vaughn has been lethal thus far, combining for 337 yards and four touchdowns in the first two games of 2016.
» Foster broke out for a career-high 118 yards and two touchdowns on just four carries in the opener vs. Murray State (29.5 ypc), breaking a 61-year old Illini record for most yards per rush in a game. Foster has 172 yards on the ground and is averaging 10.8 yards per carry this season.
» Vaughn started the North Carolina game with a 65-yard touchdown run and finished the night with 116 yards on 15 carries, his second career 100-yard game. He has 165 yards and two touchdowns on the season, and is closing in on 1,000 career rushing yards (888 entering Saturday's WMU game).
• Breakaway Speed: Illinois has three runs of 50+ yards this year, tied for the most in the nation with Navy and New Mexico. Kendrick Foster had a pair of 56-yard TD runs against Murray State and Ke'Shawn Vaughn had a 65-yard TD scamper against North Carolina.
• Lunt's Legacy: QB Wes Lunt ranks in the top 10 on several UI career lists:
» 122.8 passing efficiency – 7th (just behind Kurt Kittner's 124.8 for 6th)
» 33 passing TDs – 9th (2 behind Johnny Johnson for 8th & 5 behind Tony Eason for 7th)
» 455 completions – 9th (7 behind John Beutjer for 8th & 19 behind Jeff George for 7th)
» 4,877 passing yds – 10th (312 behind Jeff George for 9th & 313 behind Jon Beutjer for 8th)
» 4,621 yards of total offense – 10th (146 behind Jeff George for 9th)
• Throwing Strikes: After throwing five touchdowns and zero interceptions in the first two games of 2016, Lunt has thrown 33 TDs against just nine INTs in his two-plus years at Illinois. He is one of nine QBs in the nation with 55+ attempts and zero INTs this season.
• Lunt 2 Leek: Three of junior WR Malik Turner's six receptions this season have gone for touchdowns. All have been from QB Wes Lunt. The duo hooked up for scores of 5 and 68 yards against Murray State and then from 7 yards out against North Carolina. Turner's high school football coach, Ken Leonard (Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin HS), is the father of Lunt's high school football coach, Derek Leonard (Rochester HS).
• Smoot Points: Senior DE Dawuane Smoot tackled UNC RB Elijah Hood in the end zone for a safety on Saturday, marking the Illini's first safety since Sept. 13, 2014, at Washington. Smoot, who has 1.5 TFLs, two hurries and one safety in 2016, was named a preseason All-American and the 20th-best college football player in the country by Pro Football Focus. He has drawn plenty of attention from NFL draft experts heading into 2016.
• In the Negative: The Illinois defense held Murray State to -10 yards rushing, the lowest total in the nation by a wide margin during the opening weekend – the next closest was Miami (FL), who held Florida A&M to 22 yards on the ground. The last time an opponent had negative rushing yards against Illinois was Western Michigan (-6) in 2012.
• Boys of Summer: The Illini are 23-3 in Aug./Sept. home games dating back to the start of 2007, third-best in the Big Ten (Wisc: 29-0 and OSU: 1-2).
• Captain Vote: Prior to the season-opener, Coach Smith announced that QB Wes Lunt, LB Hardy Nickerson, DE Dawuane Smoot and OL Joe Spencer would be the 2016 team captains after a vote by players and coaches.
• Long Time Coming: The season-opening victory over Murray State was the first college win as a head coach for Lovie Smith. Smith is back in college football for the first time since the 1996 Florida Citrus Bowl, when he was an assistant at Ohio State. Smith is coming off 19 years in the NFL, including 11 as head coach of the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• NFL Experience: Smith's Illini staff has 56 seasons of combined NFL head and assistant coach experience – the most in college football in 2016, ahead of UCLA (44), Michigan (41), Nebraska (32) and USC (30).
WESTERN MICHIGAN CONNECTIONS
• Illinois leads the all-time series against Western Michigan, 4-1, including wins in 2011 (23-20) and 2012 (24-7) at Memorial Stadium.
• Western Michigan head coach P.J. Fleck is a native of Sugar Grove, Illinois.
• Illinois offensive coordinator Garrick McGee was a quarterback at Oklahoma in 1995 when Western Michigan offensive line coach Brian Callahan was a graduate assistant for the Sooners.
• Western Michigan defensive line coach Jimmy Williams was an assistant at UAB from 2012-13 under then-UAB head coach Garrick McGee.
• Illinois defensive backs coach Paul Williams and Western Michigan OC Kirk Ciarrocca worked together at Delaware from 2002-04, before Williams departed to coach the safeties at Western Michigan from 2005-06.
• Illinois running backs coach Thad Ward was the wide receivers coach at Western Michigan in 2012.
• Illinois linebackers coach Tim McGarigle was an assistant at Western Michigan from 2012-15. He was the linebackers coach from 2012-13 and added run game coordinator to his title for 2014-15.
• Both programs were coached by Bill Cubit before the current head coaches took over. Cubit was the head coach at WMU from 2005-12 before P.J. Fleck took over in 2013, and he was the head coach at Illinois in 2015 before Lovie Smith was hired in March 2016.
• Illinois director of football operations Tim Knox came to the Illini after 15 seasons with Western Michigan, including three as a graduate assistant (1997-99), one season as running backs coach (2004) and 11 (2000-03, 2005-11) seasons as director of football operations.
• Illinois senior TE Tyler White is a native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, the home of Western Michigan University.
• Former Illinois QB Alex Mussat is a redshirt freshman at Western Michigan.
• Dike Eddleman's 92-yard punt return against Western Michigan on Nov. 8, 1947 still stands as the longest in Illinois history.
ATTENDANCE TRENDING UP
• Big Opener: The crowd of 48,644 for the 2016 season-opener against Murray State marked Illinois' best non-conference attendance since Sept. 17, 2011 against Arizona State (50,669) and was Illinois' best home-opener attendance since Sept. 11, 2010 against Southern Illinois (52,217).
• Selling Out: Illinois welcomed a sellout crowd of 60,670 last Saturday against North Carolina, marking the first sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium since hosting Michigan on Nov. 12, 2011. It was the first non-conference sellout since hosting Arizona State on Sept. 12, 1987 (Capacity at the time was 70,060).
• Arrow Pointing Up: In 2015, Illinois averaged 41,342 fans per game with a high of 51,515 (vs. Ohio State 11/14/15)
GRAD TRANSFERS MAKING EARLY IMPACT
Both of Illinois' graduate transfers made an immediate impact in their Illini debuts.
• Cal transfer LB Hardy Nickerson is averaging 11.0 tackles per game to lead the team, rank second in the Big Ten and 18th nationally. He has added 3.0 TFLs, third-most on the team, and a sack.
• Auburn transfer DE Gimel President has 4.5 TFLs to rank second on the team, third in the Big Ten and 12th nationally. He has seven total tackles and 2.0 sacks on the season.
TOUGH ROAD
• Only four college football teams will play against more 2015 bowl teams during the 2016 season. Illinois' nine bowl opponents are tied for fifth in the nation behind USC (11), BYU (10), Colorado (10) and Ole Miss (10).
• Four Illinois opponents are ranked in the current AP Top-25, with all four falling in the top 13 – No. 4 Michigan, No. 9 Wisconsin, No. 12 Michigan State and No. 13 Iowa. Two more are receiving votes – Nebraska and North Carolina.
• The Big Ten moves to a nine-game conference slate this season, meaning each team plays three division crossover games. Illinois' cross-division games are home against No. 12 Michigan State, at No. 7 Michigan and at Rutgers, meaning the Illini have five road games and four home games in B1G play.
ALL OVER THE NFL
• Illinois had 15 former players on NFL roster on opening day 2016, including four players from the 2015 roster – FS Clayton Fejedelem (Bengals), RB Josh Ferguson (Colts), OL Ted Karras (Patriots) and DE Jihad Ward (Raiders).
• The 2016 Illini in the NFL are – OT Jeff Allen (Texans), WR Arrelious Benn (Jaguars), TE Jeff Cumberland (Chargers), CB Vontae Davis (Colts), Clayton Fejedelem (Bengals), RB Josh Ferguson (Colts), TE Michael Hoomanawanui (Saints), OL Ted Karras (Patriots), TE Matt LaCosse (Giants), DE Corey Liuget (Chargers), LB Whitney Mercilus (Texans), DT Akeem Spence (Buccaneers), OG Hugh Thornton (Colts), DE Jihad Ward (Raiders) and DB Tavon Wilson (Lions).
• Two more Illini were signed to practice squads following training camp – WR Geronimo Allison (Packers) and LB Justin Staples (Titans).
HE'S LUNT, HE'S LUNT, HE'S LUNT, HE'S IN MY HEAD
• Senior QB Wes Lunt started off his final season with an efficient performance against Murray State, completing 15-of-21 passes for 226 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. His passing efficiency of 209.0 against the Racers ranked as eight-best in the nation during the first week of action. Through two games, he has five touchdowns and zero interceptions, while throwing for 353 yards.
• Lunt currently ranks in the UI career top-10 six different categories – total offense (10th), passing yards (10th), passing touchdowns (9th), passing completions (9th), passing attempts (9th) and passing efficiency (7th).
• Lunt was named to four preseason watch lists heading into 2016 – Maxwell Award, Davey O'Brien Award, Unitas Golden Arm and Manning Award
• Lunt has thrown 33 touchdowns against just nine interceptions in his three-year UI career. He threw just six interceptions in 481 pass attempts in 2015 (80.2 att/int) and has nine career interceptions in 778 attempts (86.4 att/int).
NO AVERAGE JOE
• Senior OL Joe Spencer continues to be a model student-athlete both on and off the field, as evidenced by being on the preseason watch lists for both the Rimington Award (top center in the country) and the Wuerffel Trophy (an award recognizing community service).
» On the field, Spencer has been an anchor of the offensive line for the past three years, making 27 career starts, and is regarded as a team leader by his teammates. He sat out the Murray State game due to injury, but returned to start at center against North Carolina, even picking up a fumble and advancing it 14 yards to nearly gain a key first down.
» Off the field, he's been even more valuable, serving as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Illinois Uplifting Athletes chapter, which raises money for rare disease research. He's also a member of the Illinois Leadership Academy, serves as a "Big" for Big Brothers Big Sisters and organizes countless visits to local schools and events.
» Spencer also is one of 11 graduates on this years roster, earning a bachelor's degree in finance in May. He's currently pursuing a master's degree in business administration.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Quick Strike: The offense was clicking in the season opener, scoring on five of seven first-half drives. Only one scoring drive was longer than 2:00 and only one was more than four plays. The trend carried over to Week 2, with the Illini going 80 yards in 1:25 for a touchdown on the opening drive.
• Equal Opportunity: At least 10 different Illini have caught passes in each of the first two games this season. Illinois' 16 completions against Murray State were spread around to 10 different receivers. Then against North Carolina, 11 different receivers caught Lunt's 17 completions. Through two games, 14 different Illini have at least one reception.
• Breakout RB: Junior RB Kendrick Foster rushed for a career-high 118 yards against Murray State on just four carries. His 29.5 yards per rush set an Illinois record, breaking the previous mark of 25.3 by Abe Woodson vs. Iowa State in 1955 (3-76). Foster had two 56-yard touchdown runs against the Racers on back-to-back drives. He entered the game with 78 career rushing yards.
• Turning Up: Junior WR Malik Turner is again the top Illini deep threat. He leads all Illini receivers with six catches for 116 yards (19.3 ypc) this season, including touchdown catches of five, 68 and seven yards. The 68-yard strike from Wes Lunt in the first quarter of the season-opener was the longest play of both players' careers. In 2015, Turner hauled in 39 catches for 510 yards for a 13.1 yards per catch average, second-best on the team behind current Green Bay Packer Geronimo Allison.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Push 'Em Back: The Illini rank second in the nation in TFLs per game (11.5) and sacks per game (4.0), led by seniors Carroll Phillips (6.5 TFLs) and Gimel President (4.5 TFLs), who rank first and 12th in the nation, respectively.
• Picking Up Where He Left Off: Cal graduate transfer LB Hardy Nickerson led Illinois with 11 tackles in each of his first two games at Illinois. Going back to his final season at California, Nickerson has had 10+ tackles in eight of his last 10 games.
• Setting the Tone: Sophomore SS Julian Hylton, making his first career start, intercepted Murray State QB KD Humphries on the second play of the game during the Sept. 3 season-opener, setting the tone for the game and the season.
• Taylor Made: Senior safety Taylor Barton is a veteran presence (team-high 31 career starts) in an otherwise inexperienced secondary. Heading into 2016, the rest of the secondary had just five combined starts under its belt (all by senior CB Darius Mosely). Barton had a career-year in 2015, making 56 tackles and a team-high four interceptions, the most for an Illini in a season since 2007. He has opened 2016 with nine tackles and an interception through two games and now has 199 tackles, seven PBUs, seven interceptions, 4.5 TFLs, two forced fumbles, one pick-six and one fumble recovery in his UI career.
• 3 and Done: The Illini forced 54 three-and-out drives in 2015 (4.5 per game), tied for the 17th-most in FBS, more than one per game over their 2014 average of 3.4 per game. In the 2016, the defense has forced nine three-and-outs on 27 drives (five on 13 drives vs. Murray State and four on 14 drives vs. UNC).
NFL STAFF IN CHAMBANA
The 2016 Fighting Illini football coaching staff, led by Lovie Smith, is loaded with experience from both the NFL and college levels. In fact, the Illini staff's 56 seasons of combined NFL head and assistant coach experience is the most in college football in 2016, ahead of UCLA (44), Michigan (41), Nebraska (32) and USC (30).
Illini NFL Experience by the Numbers:
» 56 Seasons NFL Coaching Experience (most in NCAA)
» 9 Additional Seasons of NFL Staff Experience (non-coaching)
» 18 Seasons NFL Playing Experience
» 3 Super Bowl Appearances
» 1 Super Bowl Title
» 1 NFL Coach of the Year
Of the 10 full-time coaches, seven have NFL experience:
» Lovie Smith – 19 seasons (11 head coach, 8 assistant/coordinator)
» Bob Ligashesky – 12 seasons (assistant coach/coordinator)
» Luke Butkus – 8 seasons (assistant coach)
» Mike Phair – 7 seasons (assistant coach)
» Andrew Hayes-Stoker – 5 seasons (assistant coach)
» Hardy Nickerson – 3 seasons (assistant coach)
» Garrick McGee – 2 season (assistant coach)
GRADS ON GRADS ON GRADS
The 2016 Fighting Illini roster features 11 student-athletes that have already earned a bachelor's degree, including one player – Justin Hardee – who already has two degrees and is working toward a third. The 11 graduates is tied for the third-most in the nation behind only Virginia (15) and Pittsburgh (13).
| Student-Athlete |
Bachelor's Degree |
Master's Pursuing |
| Rob Bain |
Communication (Dec. '15) |
Education Policy, Org. & Leadership |
| Taylor Barton |
Communication (May '16) |
Education Policy, Org. & Leadership |
| Ryan Frain |
Kinesiology (May '16) |
Technology Management |
| Justin Hardee |
Communication (Dec. '14) |
Education Policy, Org. & Leadership* |
| Wes Lunt |
Sport Management (May '16) |
Recreation, Sport and Tourism |
| Michael Martin |
Mechanical Engineering (May '16) |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Hardy Nickerson |
Legal Studies (Cal–Summer '16) |
Recreation, Sport and Tourism |
| Gimel President |
Fitness, Cond. & Perf. (Auburn–May '16) |
Education |
| David Reisner |
Advertising (May '16) |
Business Administration |
| Joe Spencer |
Finance (May '16) |
Business Administration |
| Mike Svetina |
Finance (May '16) |
Accountancy |
*Hardee already has a Master's degree in Recreation, Sport and Tourism (May '16) and is pursuing a second Master's
MAKING THE GRADE
The Illini have excelled in the classroom over the last four seasons.
• 42 football student-athletes earned degrees in 2015-16, including nine that are on the 2016 roster pursuing master's degrees plus two graduate transfers (Hardy Nickerson and Gimel President).
• Since 2012, the number of football graduates have gone from 15 (2012), to 16 (2013) to 21 (2014), to 38 (2015), to 42 (2016).
• Illinois has broken its school record for Academic All-Big Ten selections in each of the last four seasons in Champaign. Prior to 2012, the school record was 12 (2000 & 2009). Since then, the Illini have had 18 (2012), 21 (2013), 29 (2014) and now 31 (2015).
• For eight consecutive semesters, at least 40 football student-athletes have posted at least a 3.0 grade-point-average, including 59 in Spring 2016. In the same time frame, Illinois' team GPA also has risen steadily from 2.71 in fall 2012 to a high of 3.05 in Spring 2016.
» COMPLETE ILLINOIS-WESTERN MICHIGAN GAME NOTES (PDF)
