'The King is gone but he's not forgotten.'

45 bottles of beer on the wall...

*McCray in the transfer portal…

-Illini senior running back Josh McCray announced last week he was entering the transfer portal.

-McCray MVP of the Cheez-it-Bowl vs. South Carolina….Bret Bielema’s first verbal commitment when he took the Illini job in 2020….Running back had an up and down career in Champaign…assistant before he left the staff told a former teammate, ‘Josh can’t be trusted, sometimes he works sometimes he doesn’t but Bret (Bielema) loves him like a son’.....let him get away with it.

My information was the coaches felt they had gotten thru to McCray this off season/matured…..hell they gave him large majority of reps during the QB club scrimmage last Monday night/Tuesday he is in the portal so hard to think they weren’t ‘shocked’….had anticipated him transferring….Bottom line….McCray could be a good player…big loss?….Nope….ILL. has a full/talented running back room…..Update: Being reported McCray will transfer to the University of Georgia.

*Illini in the NFL draft...

-Later this week NFL draft…..Expect at least two Illinois football players to be picked.

Pat Bryant wide receiver-Went from suspect to prospect in 2024....excellent size 6-foot-2 strong build and hands...4.61 forty time going to drop him/struggles to get separation vs. good man-to-man coverage...some draft analysts also figured out Bryant's best games were against bad bad cornerbacks/defense's last fall...none the less will become a dependable 3rd or 4th wideout type in the league...Prediction: 4th to 5th round pick.

Seth Coleman outside linebacker/defensive end-Has size 6-foot-3, 242-pounds NFL looking for....four-year productive player...more read and react type vs. shedding blockers/being physical at point of attack....at times showed burst off the edge rushing the passer...better than former Illini linebacker/edge Milo Eifler who has bounced around the NFL for several years....Prediction: 5th to 7th round pick.

TeRah Edwards nose guard/defensive tackle-Bull strong 29 reps 225-pound bench press....good straight ahead speed (5.12 forty) for a big man...only problem is if he doesn't beat lineman with bull rush....no 2nd move...poor lateral agility/struggles to shock and shed....since interior defensive line hard to find...Prediction: Priority free agent (priority means player gets a signing bonus from whichever team he picks)

Zakhari Franklin wide receiver-UTSA/Ole Miss transfer is talented that being said….skinny lower body/doesn’t break tackles/injury-prone....Prediction: Free agent

Ryan Mead linebacker-off the charts workout warrior...5-foot-11, 230-pounder ran 4.5 forty, 37-inch vertical....last workout 26 reps at 225-pound bench press....doesn't translate to the field....slow to diagnose plays...struggles in pass coverage....with his athletic ability could be a special teams demon...Prediction: Type of player that tries out for a chance to sign a free agent contract.

*Illini football gain four verbal commitments lose one...

-Last week…..Bielema's program picked up two Florida recruits and Palatine (Ill.) High School lineman Tony Balanganayi after their recent official visits to Champaign….Saturday picks up a transfer portal tackle in Tyler McMillan.

Wrote about how much love Balanganayi last newsletter….potentially best o-lineman in state…if he wants to try ‘D’ first fine with me….last Illini recruit from Palatine High School?….all could find was four-star quarterback Jeff Hecklinski class of 1993….Jeff great guy….over-hyped in high school ended up leaving Champaign for Western Illinois….coached at several schools including the Illini 2015.

Almirian Thomas cornerback Cape Coral (Fla.) High School-Listed at 6-foot-1, 165-pound three-star prospect....scholarship offers from the likes of Minnesota/Indiana/Michigan State......on film....guess will have to 'trust the staff' on this one....just not impressed...long arms/length......did a lot of running around (has speed) drag down tackler with little technique....raw very raw....and get it want to get prospects out of the Ft. Myers area where he is from....build a pipeline likely why you take an early verbal.

Tony Williams linebacker Jacksonville (Fla.) Raines High School-Listed at 5-foot-11, 210-pounds three-star prospect....had several B1G/Big 12/SEC offers....now this kid is hell on wheels....two inches taller and a four-five star prospect....can play weak side linebacker/athletic enough could be a box safety (close to the line of scrimmage) 3-3-5 scheme....love this pickup....speed to the ball...ton of bricks hitter...with Illinois playing a scheme where the d-linemen majority of time 'block the blockers' keeping them off the linebackers/back seven....Williams' talent perfect fit.

Tyler McMillan tackle-6-foot-6, 315-pound Southeast Missouri transfer has two years of eligibility....played for Illinois defensive backs coach Corey Parker at River Rouge (Mich.) High School....McMillan has seen the world last few years…..He originally committed to Tulsa in high school….program made a coaching change….McMillan ended up signing with Mississippi Valley State....after a year in Itta Bena...transferred to Northwestern State (La.) starting six games at tackle in 2023....next stop SEMO started 9 games at left tackle last fall.

Legit tackle...long arms...thick lower body...2024 played against many under-sized speed rushers and held his own/stayed balanced in his kick slide/ability to adjust his feet/body quickly to second move of pass rusher....physical in run game so could play him inside at guard....obviously will have to adjust to the power he will face in the Big Ten…..plenty of positive tools to be developed....McMillan's tape better than Melvin Priestly's was coming out of Grambling....excellent pickup that should compete for a starting job at tackle or guard pre-season camp.

Late Saturday evening 2026 Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic four-star cornerback Victor Singleton flipped his commitment from Illinois to Texas A&M…why getting excited about high school verbal’s this time of year……ah never mind.

All I know at this time about the Luke Altmyer and Tennessee ‘rumors’…..someone I know talked to Altmyer after the QB club scrimmage last Monday night...very happy with his Illini deal...'can't wait' for the fall.....did say Vols had contacted him ‘not interested’….again that was last Monday night.

*Some Illini football history...

-Last week's 'guess the Illini assistant' was former defensive coordinator Mad Max McCartney (1980-1985)....in researching information about McCartney's 'recruiting'...came across the NCAA allegations against Mike White's program early 80’s....will share a few involving then defensive line coach John Teerlinck.

Background on Teerlinck....Illini assistant Brad Childress was friends with Teerlinck…..Childress Eastern Illinois alum/Teerlinck 78-79 Panthers defensive coordinator...helped get him a job on White's first staff (1980)....He was fired after 1983 signing day cause of his 'role' in NCAA violations....after Illinois went on to a long career coaching d-line in the NFL.

One allegation against Teerlinck...after their official visit to campus December 1980..…..D-line coach drove Iowa Central junior college All-American defensive end Chris Pack, Triton (Ill.) College defensive tackle Mark Tuck (traveling back home to Charlotte, N.C.) and U.S. Army 82nd Airborne paratrooper Willie Young to O'Hare Airport....White recruiting coordinator Gary Horton had found the 6-foot-7, 260-pound lineman playing in an All-services All-Star football game.

Violation 1....as a full-time assistant coach…..Teerlinck by NCAA rules was not supposed to be providing transportation for recruits off-campus (White’s staff got busted for this a lot during that period of time….couldn’t find the specific ‘rule’)...Violation 2...while waiting for their flights...using his own money Teerlinck spent 88 dollars buying 45 alcoholic drinks for the group.....hey it was 1980....45 in a two-hour period....shocker….all three signed with Illinois.

Pack and Tuck arrived in town January 1981....Pack couldn’t get eligible after taking courses at Parkland Community College.…..never heard from again....Tuck was asked to leave after spring semester ended up playing at Nebraska...Young two years on the Illini squad (8 starts 1982)/left team ‘mysteriously’….spent a season playing in the USFL/Chicago Blitz....reportedly he became a international drug kingpin supposedly faking his own death twice to throw authorities off....also enrolling January 1981 Leroy Shepherd a defensive back out of Garden City (Kan.) Community College....Shepherd didn't make it out of the spring transferring to Michigan State……He ended up in prison for running a drug ring……as you can see……White and his staff gave no fucks about recruiting rules…type of players they were bringing in first couple of years…..few too many outlaws…literally outlaws.

Year later Teerlinck after defensive tackle Willard Goff Jr. out of Dodge City (Kan.) Community College....Teerlinck four times in town during a no-contact with recruit period....takes Goff and his wife to the Cow Town Diner 'his treat' each visit....NCAA violation....6-foot-3, 280-pound Goff signs with Illinois...he and his wife arrive in Champaign January 1982....Teerlinck's wife takes the couple to the grocery story buying '50 dollars' worth of food/furnishings for their apartment.

Goff arrived same time as the infamous Elton and Delton duo....Elton Veals top junior college running back in country his buddy linebacker Delton Edwards both committed to Illinois....after arriving in Champaign pair decide 'too cold' not for them left campus/furnished apartment....Teerlinck takes Goff and his wife over to Elton/Delton’s place….’take whatever you want’….allegation said couple took a portable TV/mini-frig/dresser/shower curtains/bathroom supplies .....Goff doesn't make it past spring in Champaign either...ended up playing at West Texas A&M/few games in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.

After being fired by Illinois/White....Teerlinck held a grudge for many years feeling he had been scapegoated for the violations....years later met him thru my buddy Kansas City Chiefs d-line coach Joe Cullen....Teerlinck a mentor to Cullen....when I asked nicely about his time at Illinois the old d-line coach said something to the effect that.....White, McCartney and Gary Horton all knew what he was doing 'they were telling me what to do'....felt he was thrown under the bus by people who told him if he was loyal to them they would be loyal to him....never quite got over that.....Teerlinck passed away in 2020.

Damn you look back at Illini football 1980 till 1996 some great d-line coaches Teerlinck, Bob Karmelowicz, Bill Kollar and Denny Marcin.