Illinois Football: Are Illini serious Big Ten West contenders for 2020?

Brandon Peters returns to lead budding offense

The Illini offense played last season as you’d expect: they were good against the weak defenses, but struggled against top defenses.

Fifth-year senior Brandon Peters returns at quarterback, and although he didn’t light up the stat sheet, Lovie Smith is very high on the Michigan transfer. Peters completed 55 percent of his passes for just under 1,900 yards and 18 touchdowns. He has a good arm, but could use a little improvement with his accuracy. Still, he’s becoming a good game manager.

Peters is going to have a ton of help out wide as his top four targets are all back. Former USC transfer Josh Imatorbhebhe was undoubtedly the top wide out for the Illini in 2019, leading the team with 33 catches for 649 yards and nine touchdowns. The rest of the Illini roster only caught a combined 10 touchdown passes.

Donny Navarro, Ricky Smalling and tight end Daniel Baker also return after a combined 69 receptions for 843 yards and seven touchdowns. Keep an eye on New Mexico State transfer Desmond Dan, who arrives in Champaign after an injury caused him to miss the final nine games of 2019.

Illinois’ best offensive unit in 2020 may very well be at running back. The losses of Reggie Corbin and Dre Brown might sting a little bit, but there’s plenty of talent at the position.

Mike Epstein returns after injuries have riddled him throughout his entire career. He’s shown a ton of potential when he’s been healthy averaging 6.4 yards per carry over 13 games played. His sophomore season in 2018 saw him run for 411 yards on 60 carries. If he’s healthy, he has 1,000-yard potential.

Ra’Von Bonner will be looked at as a leader, as he’s the best returning back at Illinois. Only 225 yards and three touchdowns might not look or sound impressive, but this year he will get a chance for similar numbers to Corbin and Brown’s 600-yard range.

Another name for Illinois fans to know is Chase Brown, a transfer from Western Michigan who ran for over 350 yards as a true freshman in 2018. He only saw the field for three carries in 2019 but expect to hear a lot more of his name in 2020.

Of course, none of the talent at running back, or quarterback for that matter, will matter if the offensive line doesn’t improve. It’s a “glass half full or glass half empty” scenario.

There’s depth and experience — four starters return — but its depth and experience from a unit that frequently had Brandon Peters running for his life. Only 12 teams in the whole country allowed more sacks than Illinois’ 39 last year. There were moments where the line showed some hope, most notably the comeback against Michigan State. Other moments had linemen blocking as well as cardboard cutouts.

A line that returns 80 percent of its starters from last year simply has to get better.