No. 13: Eaton Spence, CB
Why he’s important: Quietly goes about his business and has turned into one of the more consistent pieces of the Illinois defense. The 6-foot, 190-pound cornerback doesn’t have quite the name recognition of his counterpart, V’Angelo Bentley, because he hasn’t accumulated the big plays that Bentley has so far during his time with the Illini. Yet, Spence is as steady as they come on the Illinois defense. He had 55 tackles last season and his first interception. Spence finished with seven pass deflections, good for second on the team and most among the Illini returnees.