2023 Football Roster
Jersey Number 4
John Paddock
- Position:
- QB
- Class:
- Senior
- Height:
- 6-0
- Weight:
- 190
- Hometown:
- Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
- High School:
- Bloomfield Hills
- Prev School:
- Ball State
 2023 All-Big Ten |
2023 Senior
- All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (coaches)
- Played in seven games with three starts at quarterback
- Made first Illinois start in 48-45 win vs. Indiana (11/11/23), throwing for 507 yards while tossing four TD passes, including the OT game-winner to Isaiah Williams, to earn B1G Offensive Player of the Week honors
- Paddock’s 507 passing yards vs. Indiana marked a Memorial Stadium record, the second-most in Illinois history, and the most ever by a winning Illini quarterback
- Led Illinois to a win at Minnesota (11/4/23) after entering the game for the first time with 1:25 remaining and facing a 4th-and-11 from the Minnesota 15-yard line with Illinois trailing by five. Paddock needed just 35 seconds to drive the Illini 85 yards on three straight completions, including a 46-yard game-winning touchdown throw to Isaiah Williams. Paddock finished the game 3-for-3 passing for 85 yards, one touchdown, and a 448.0 passer rating in one of the all-time great performances by an Illini back-up quarterback.
- Saw first extended action at helm of Illinois offense in 4th quarter vs. #7 Penn State (9/16/23)
- Ten completions to six different receivers for 129 yards and hit freshman WR Malik Elzy for his first-career TD reception vs. #7 Penn State (9/16/23)
- Made Illinois debut at Kansas (9/8/23) taking one snap on Josh McCray’s successful two-point conversion rush from the 1-yard line
- Transferred to Illinois with one year of eligibility remaining
- Enrolled at Illinois for the spring semester of 2023
2022 Senior - Ball State
- Started all 12 games at quarterback
- 286-for-480 passing for 2,719 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season
- Career highs in completions (40) and passing yards (403) against Northern Illinois 10/1/22
- Multiple touchdown passes in seven games, including three touchdown passes against Murray State and Northern Illinois
2021 Junior - Ball State
- Played in two games as team's backup quarterback
- 18-for-26 passing for 132 yards on the season
- 5-for-6 passing for 50 yards at Penn State 9/11/21
- 13-for 20 passing for 82 yards against Wyoming 9/18/21
2020 Sophomore - Ball State
- Served as the team’s backup quarterback
- Did not play in a game
2019 Redshirt Freshman - Ball State
- Played in two games as the team’s backup quarterback
- 1-for-2 passing for five yards on the season
2018 Freshman - Ball State
- Played in one game and redshirted the season
- Made his collegiate debut in the season finale at Miami (Ohio) 11/20/18
- Completed 5-of-6 passes for 43 yards on the season
High School
- Two-star recruit by 247Sports
- Played for head coach Dan Loria at Bloomfield Hills
- Three-year letterwinner
- Team captain
- Two-time honorable mention all-state
- Three-time all-conference
- Winningest quarterback in program history
- School record holder in passing yards (4,086) and touchdowns (26)
- Led Bloomfield Hills to the division championship as a junior
- Led Bloomfield Hills to the playoffs for the first time in program history
- Also golfed in high school
- Finished in the top 15 in the state in golf
- Two-time all-conference in golf
Personal
- Son of Steven and Ashley Paddock
- Four sisters, Maclane, Caroline, Ashley, and Erin; and four brothers, Wright, Briggs, Tommy, and Mack
- Fourth-generation Illini following his great grandfather, grandfather, and uncle as Fighting Illini football players
- Great grandfather, Robert C. Wright, lettered at Illinois in 1935
- Grandfather, John Wright Sr., lettered at Illinois from 1965-67 and was a two-time All-American, Academic All-American, two-time All-Big Ten selection, and went on to play in the NFL for the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions
- Uncle, John Wright Jr., lettered at Illinois in 1990 and 1991
- Graduated from Ball State with a degree in professional selling
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