No. 50 Why he’s important: Wes Lunt can never have too many options to pass to, right? Especially considering Mikey Dudek is already lost for the season with a torn ACL and Justin Hardee is coming off a redshirt season in 2015 after breaking his foot. Grant, despite his prolific high school numbers catching passes from Lunt at Rochester, has never consistently seen the field for the Illini. Perhaps a new coaching staff allows the 6-foot, 195-pound Springfield native to showcase his talents. The former standout at St. Ambrose, who transferred to Illinois from Northern Illinois and sat out the 2013 season, has only one catch in his Illini career — a 7-yard reception — but was a fixture on special teams last year as the team’s holder.
Top 50 Illini Football Players of 2016: No. 50 — Zach Grant
