2017 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

2017 Big Ten Conference football standings
	East Division
	West Division
	Championship: Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 21
	$ – Conference champion; x – Division champion/co-champions; y – Championship game participant; Rankings from AP Poll

2017 Illinois Fighting Illini football
2017 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
	West Division
2017 record	2–10 (0–9 Big Ten)
Head coach	Lovie Smith (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Garrick McGee (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Hardy Nickerson (2nd season)
Base defense	4-3
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium; (Capacity: 60,670)
	Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

The 2017 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Fighting Illini played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, and competed in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They were led by second-year head coach Lovie Smith. They finished the season 2–10, 0–9 in Big Ten play to finish in last place in the West Division.

Recruiting[]

Position key[]

Back	B	Center	C	Cornerback	CB	Defensive back	DB
Defensive end	DE	Defensive lineman	DL	Defensive tackle	DT	End	E
Fullback	FB	Guard	G	Halfback	HB	Kicker	K
Kickoff returner	KR	Offensive tackle	OT	Offensive lineman	OL	Linebacker	LB
Long snapper	LS	Punter	P	Punt returner	PR	Quarterback	QB
Running back	RB	Safety	S	Tight end	TE	Wide receiver	WR

Recruits[]

The Fighting Illini signed a total of 25 recruits.

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Mike Epstein RB	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	St. Thomas Aquinas HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Aug 6, 2015
Mike Epstein RB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Ricky Smalling WR	Chicago, Illinois	Brother Rice HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	189 lb (86 kg)	Apr 26, 2016
Ricky Smalling WR	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Kendall Smith WR	Bolingbrook, Illinois	Bolingbrook HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Apr 26, 2016
Kendall Smith WR	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Cameron Thomas QB	Richton Park, Illinois	Marian Catholic HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	May 31, 2016
Cameron Thomas QB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Vederian Lowe OG	Rockford, Illinois	Auburn HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	352 lb (160 kg)	Jun 12, 2016
Vederian Lowe OG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Marc Mondesir LB	Chicago, Illinois	St. Rita HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jun 12, 2016
Marc Mondesir LB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Tony Adams WR	St. Louis, Missouri	St. Louis University HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Aug 12, 2016
Tony Adams WR	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Larry Boyd OG	St. Louis Missouri	Trinity Catholic HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	310 lb (140 kg)	Aug 13, 2016
Larry Boyd OG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Carmoni Green WR	Miami, Florida	Miami Central HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	Aug 25, 2016
Carmoni Green WR	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Olalere Oladipo DE	Huntley, Illinois	Huntley HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	238 lb (108 kg)	Aug 25, 2016
Olalere Oladipo DE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Ra'Von Bonner RB	Cincinnati, Ohio	Sycamore HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sep 27, 2016
Ra'Von Bonner RB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Del'Shawn Phillips LB	Highland Park, Michigan	Garden City Community College	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Dec 14, 2016
Del'Shawn Phillips LB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Howard Watkins OG	Cincinnati, Ohio	Colerain HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	Dec 19, 2016
Howard Watkins OG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Kendrick Green DT	Peoria, Illinois	Peoria HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	Dec 22, 2016
Kendrick Green DT	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Nate Hobbs CB	Louisville, Kentucky	Male HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Dec 23, 2016
Nate Hobbs CB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Owen Carney DE	Miami, Florida	Miami Central HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	232 lb (105 kg)	Dec 25, 2016
Owen Carney DE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
James Knight S	East St. Louis, Illinois	East St. Louis HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jan 16, 2017
James Knight S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Louis Dorsey TE	Jacksonville, Florida	Ribault HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jan 21, 2017
Louis Dorsey TE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Alex Palczewski OT	Prospect, Illinois	Plant HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	260 lb (120 kg)	Jan 20, 2017
Alex Palczewski OT	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Deon Pate DE	Jacksonville, Florida	Trinity Christian Academy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	246 lb (112 kg)	Jan 30, 2017
Deon Pate DE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Bennett Williams CB	Watsonville, California	Saint Francis HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	Jan 31, 2017
Bennett Williams CB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A
Dawson DeGroot S	Fort Myers, Florida	Fort Myers HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jan 31, 2017
Dawson DeGroot S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A
Jamal Woods DE	Hueytown, Alabama	Hueytown HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Feb 1, 2017
Jamal Woods DE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Bobby Roundtree DE	Largo, Florida	Largo HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Feb 1, 2017
Bobby Roundtree DE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Isaiah Gay DE	Rocky Mount, North Carolina	Northern Nash HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Feb 10, 2017
Isaiah Gay DE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Illinois Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017. "2017 Illinois Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017.

Schedule[]

Illinois announced its 2017 football schedule on July 11, 2013. The 2017 schedule consisted of 7 home and 5 away games in the regular season. The Fighting Illini hosted Big Ten foes Indiana, Nebraska, Northwestern, Rutgers, Wisconsin, and traveled to Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Purdue.^[1]

The Fighting Illini hosted two of the three non-conference opponents, Ball State from the Mid-American Conference and Western Kentucky (WKU) from Conference USA, and traveled to South Florida from the American Athletic Conference.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	11:00 a.m.	Ball State*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	W 24–21	42,505
September 9	7:00 p.m.	WKU*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	W 20–7	41,923
September 15	6:00 p.m.	at No. 22 South Florida*	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPN	L 23–47	35,404
September 29	7:00 p.m.	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	FS1	L 6–28	43,058
October 7	11:00 a.m.	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	BTN	L 16–45	69,894
October 14	11:00 a.m.	Rutgers	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	L 24–35	35,675
October 21	2:30 p.m.	at Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	L 17–24	45,243
October 28	11:00 a.m.	No. 5 Wisconsin	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPN	L 10–24	42,101
November 4	11:00 a.m.	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	BTN	L 10–29	46,027
November 11	11:00 a.m.	Indiana	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	BTN	L 14–24	40,195
November 18	2:30 p.m.	at No. 8 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ABC	L 14–52	105,282
November 25	3:00 p.m.	No. 23 Northwestern	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	FS1	L 7–42	30,456
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:^[2]

Game summaries[]

Ball State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	7	0	14	0	21
Fighting Illini	6	10	0	8	24

WKU[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hilltoppers	0	0	0	7	7
Fighting Illini	3	10	7	0	20

at South Florida[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	2	7	0	14	23
No. 22 Bulls	9	14	14	10	47

Nebraska[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cornhuskers	7	14	0	7	28
Fighting Illini	0	3	3	0	6

at Iowa[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	3	10	3	0	16
Hawkeyes	7	10	7	21	45

Rutgers[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Scarlet Knights	7	14	7	7	35
Fighting Illini	3	7	0	14	24

at Minnesota[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	7	0	0	10	17
Golden Gophers	7	0	3	14	24

Wisconsin[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Badgers	7	10	0	7	24
Fighting Illini	0	3	0	7	10

at Purdue[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	7	3	0	0	10
Boilermakers	7	6	3	13	29

Indiana[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hoosiers	0	14	3	7	24
Fighting Illini	0	0	7	7	14

at Ohio State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	0	0	7	7	14
Buckeyes	28	10	7	7	52

Northwestern[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	14	14	14	42
Fighting Illini	7	0	0	0	7

Roster[]

2017 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`2`	Reggie Corbin	So
QB	`3`	Jeff George, Jr.	So
WR	`4`	Ricky Smalling	Fr
WR	`5`	Carmoni Green	Fr
QB	`7`	Chayce Crouch	Jr
WR	`8`	Dominic Thieman	So
WR	`9`	Sam Mays	Jr
QB	`10`	Cam Thomas	Fr
WR	`11`	Malik Turner	Sr
QB	`12`	Charlie Reinkemeyer	Fr
TE	`13`	Caleb Reams	So
QB	`14`	Cam Miller	Fr
QB	`15`	Trenard Davis	So
QB	`16`	Connor Kelly	Fr
WR	`17`	Kendall Smith	Fr
WR	`18`	Mike Dudek	Jr
TE	`19`	Louis Dorsey	Fr
RB	`21`	Ra'Von Bonner	Fr
RB	`22`	Kendrick Foster	Sr
RB	`26`	Mike Epstein	Fr
RB	`27`	Dre Brown	So
RB	`29`	Christian Bobak	Fr
RB	`36`	Austin Roberts	Jr
TE	`38`	Brandon Roberts	Sr
TE	`39`	Nathan Echard	Sr
TE	`45`	Henry McGrew	Jr
OL	`52`	Adam Solomon	So
OL	`53`	Nick Allegretti	Jr
OL	`63`	Alex Palczewski	Fr
OL	`65`	Doug Kramer	Fr
OL	`66`	Jordan Fagan	Sr
OL	`67`	Christian DiLauro	Sr
OL	`68`	Jake Stover	Fr
OL	`71`	Zeke Martin	So
OL	`72`	Gabe Megginson	So
OL	`73`	Jake Cerny	Fr
OL	`75`	Kurt Gavin	Fr
OL	`76`	Larry Boyd	Fr
OL	`79`	Vederian Lowe	Fr
TE	`81`	Griffin Palmer	Fr
WR	`82`	William DuPont	Fr
TE	`83`	Bobby Walker	So
WR	`84`	James Bartholomew	Fr
TE	`85`	Andrew Trainer	So
RB	`88`	Brandon Jones	Fr
TE	`89`	Alex Pihlstrom	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`1`	Jaylen Dunlap	Sr
LB	`2`	Julian Jones	Jr
LB	`3`	Del'Shawn Phillips	Jr
DB	`4`	Bennett Williams	Fr
DL	`5`	James Crawford	Sr
DB	`6`	Tony Adams	Fr
DB	`7`	Stanley Green	So
LB	`9`	Dele Harding	So
LB	`10`	James Knight	Fr
DB	`12`	Chris James	Jr
DB	`20`	Harvey Clayton, Jr.	Fr
DB	`21`	Patrick Nelson	So
DB	`23`	Frank Sumpter	So
DB	`24`	Dawson DeGroot	Fr
DB	`25`	Nate Hobbs	Fr
DB	`26`	Evan Jones	Fr
DB	`27`	Ahmari Hayes	Sr
DB	`28`	Nolan Bernat	So
DB	`30`	Julian Hylton	Jr
DB	`31`	Cameron Watkins	So
LB	`32`	Justice Williams	So
LB	`33`	Tré Watson	Jr
LB	`34`	Christion Abercrombie	Fr
LB	`35`	Jake Hansen	So
DB	`37`	Zach Holman	Jr
LB	`41`	Jimmy Marchese	So
DB	`42`	Michael Marchese	Fr
LB	`44`	Drew Murtaugh	Fr
DL	`47`	Sean Adesanya	Jr
DL	`48`	Kevin Hinders	Fr
LB	`52`	Ayo Shogbonyo	Fr
LB	`54`	Marc Mondesir	Fr
DL	`55`	Jamal Milan	So
DL	`90`	Lere Oladipo	Fr
DL	`91`	Jamal Woods	Fr
DL	`92`	Isaiah Gay	Fr
DL	`94`	Tito Odenigbo	Jr
DL	`95`	Kenyon Jackson	So
DL	`96`	Tymir Oliver	So
DL	`97`	Bobby Roundtree	Fr
DL	`98`	Deon Pate	Fr
DL	`99`	Owen Carney Jr.	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P	`14`	Blake Hayes	Fr
K	`17`	James McCourt	Fr
P	`37`	Bryce Baringer	Fr
P	`40`	Ryan Tucker	Jr
K	`43`	Chase McLaughlin	Jr
LS	`56`	Ethan Tabel	Fr
LS	`58`	Sean Mills	So

Head coach

Lovie Smith

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Garrick McGee – Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks
Hardy Nickerson – Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers
Mike Phair – Run Game Coordinator / Defensive Line
Bob Ligashesky – Special Teams Coordinator / Tight Ends
Donnie Abraham – Safeties
Luke Butkus – Offensive Line
Andrew Hayes-Stoker – Wide Receivers
Thad Ward – Running Backs
Paul Williams – Cornerbacks
Joe Fotu - Graduate Assistant - Defense
Brett Nelson - Graduate Assistant - Offense
Shane Toub - Graduate Assistant - Offense
Robert Wright - Graduate Assistant - Defense
Charles Drewek - Defensive Analyst
Kingsley Osei-Asibey - Defensive Analyst
Nathan Scheelhaase - Offensive Analyst
Tim Knox - Director of Football Operations
James Kirkland - Director of Player Personnel
Tre' Stallings - Director of Football Player Development
Patrick Embleton - Director of Football Student-Athlete Development
Nathan McNeal - Director of High School Relations
Travis Perry - Graphics/Social Media
Joey Boese - Head Football Strength & Conditioning Coach
Jeremy Busch - Head Football Athletic Trainer
Trent Chestnut - Head Football Equipment Manager
Alex Benizzi - Director of Football Video

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 13, 2016

References[]

^ "Big Ten Announces 2016 and '17 Football Schedules" (Press release). University of Illinois Department of Athletics. July 11, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
^ "2017 Illinois Fighting Illini Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved February 17, 2017.

[UI17-1] "Big Ten Announces 2016 and '17 Football Schedules" (Press release). University of Illinois Department of Athletics. July 11, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2017.

[2] "2017 Illinois Fighting Illini Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved February 17, 2017.

[1]

[2]

v t Illinois Fighting Illini football
Venues	Illinois Field (1890–1922) Memorial Stadium (1923–present) Soldier Field (1994-present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Michigan Missouri Northwestern (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk, 1945–2008; Land of Lincoln Trophy, 2009–present) Ohio State (Illibuck) Purdue (Purdue Cannon)
Culture & lore	Illinois Loyalty "Oskee Wow-Wow" Marching Illini Gene Honda Fighting Illini Sports Network Chief Illiniwek 1960s slush fund scandal 2021 Penn State game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
National championship seasons in bold

2017 Illinois Fighting Illini football

Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	West Division
2017 record	2–10 (0–9 Big Ten)
Head coach	Lovie Smith (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Garrick McGee (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Hardy Nickerson (2nd season)
Base defense	4-3
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 60,670)
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
East Division
No. 5 Ohio State xy$		8	–	1		12	–	2
No. 15 Michigan State		7	–	2		10	–	3
No. 8 Penn State		7	–	2		11	–	2
Michigan		5	–	4		8	–	5
Rutgers		3	–	6		4	–	8
Indiana		2	–	7		5	–	7
Maryland		2	–	7		4	–	8
West Division
No. 7 Wisconsin xy		9	–	0		13	–	1
No. 17 Northwestern		7	–	2		10	–	3
Iowa		4	–	5		8	–	5
Purdue		4	–	5		7	–	6
Nebraska		3	–	6		4	–	8
Minnesota		2	–	7		5	–	7
Illinois		0	–	9		2	–	10
Championship: Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 21
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll