That solid defense we saw last year had multiple players depart to the NFL Draft. This was supposed to leave holes in the team, but for the Illini, it is a next-man-up mentality.
One of those talented players that went into the NFL Draft was defensive end, Jihad Ward. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the 2nd round of the draft.
Ward’s production is going to be hard to top. He had 54 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks. That could be difficult to replace, on most teams.