The Illinois special teams unit will look familiar next season with kicker James McCourt, punter Blake Hayes and long-snapper Ethan Tabel all returning. McCourt will be in his sixth season with the Illini, while Hayes and Tabel will play their fifth seasons.
There were high expectations for Illinois after signature wins and a trip to a bowl game during the 2019 campaign, but after going 2-6 this past season, the trio says it is ready to improve and right its wrongs.
“If the season went well and we all performed well, I would’ve been fine walking away knowing the team was in a better place now than when I first got here, but that wasn’t the case,” McCourt said.