Illinois Fighting Illini (NCAA '12)

[Tracemander]

Hello everyone! I'm a long time silent follower of Dynasties and decided that I wanted to start my own. I'll be doing mine with Fighting Illini and I plan to make them into a powerhouse. Please forgive any shortcomings with the formatting of this page. I'm new to this, lol.

ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI DYNASTY

Console: Xbox 360

Difficulty: All-American

Sliders: SECElite's

Rosters: OS Community Roster

Quarter Length: 8 minutes

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RON ZOOK OUT AT ILLINOIS

The Fighting Illini decided that they would part ways with Head Coach Ron Zook. After going 7-6 and finishing fifth in the conference the year before, the Athletic Administration (currently with no AD) all mutually agreed that it was time for change. In the '07-'08 campaign, Zook led the Illini to an unprecedented appearance in the Rose Bowl where they were crushed by a superior USC team 49-17. Ever since then, Illinois has posted records of 5-7, 3-9, and 7-6. "I'm absolutely in shock right now." Zook remarked after hearing of his unexpected departure. "I thought we had taken a step in the right direction, but I guess the University had other ideas." Zook leaves behind a fairly young team led by Sophomore Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase. The man replacing Zook is Offensive Coordinator Eric Dawson. Dawson was the Quarterback coach at Delaware and groomed Baltimore Raven's QB Joe Flacco. After seeing the success of Delaware and Flacco's NFL prowess, Illinois decided to take a chance on him last season. "I'm really grateful for the opportunity I'm receiving here." said Dawson of his newly acquired job. "Illinois was my alma matter, and I'm really excited to take this team over and try to finish what Coach Zook started."

I'll post some position breakdowns in a little bit. I might just keep the schedule the same, but I'm open to any suggestions. I'm really pumped and want to give you guys a great product!


Records/Results
2011-

NCAA National Champions
2011-

All-American Selections
2011-

All-Big 10 Selections
2011-

National Awards
2011-

[Tracemander]

OFFENSIVE POSITION BREAKDOWNS




Can Nathan Scheelhaase lead the Illini back to the Rose Bowl?
QUARTERBACKS
Starter: SO Nathan Scheelhaase- Nathan led the 2010 Illini to a 7-6 record and a win in the Texas Bowl against Baylor. He threw for 1825 yards with 17 TD's and 8 INT's, while maintaining a 58.7% completion percentage. He is the focal point of the 2011 Illini offense. He's quick on his feet and can extend plays. He has great accuracy and good touch on his passes, but his arm strength isn't that of some of the elite QB's in the nation. Coach Dawson loves to use the deep ball, so it's going to be interesting to see whether or not Nathan can put his deep throws right on the money to compensate for length.

Backup: SO Miles Osei- Miles only saw action in 2 games last year but didn't put up any note worthy stats. Miles has a better arm than Nathan, but his throws are more errant. However, if Nathan struggles to be efficient on offense and this team is off to a slow start, expect to see this Sophomore take the reigns.


Will Bud Golden emerge as the next big play threat for the Illini?
HALFBACKS
Starter: SR Jason Ford- Jason saw limited action last year due to Mikel LeShoure's breakout year. Jason had 480 yards on 99 carries with 7 touchdowns last year. He doesn't have great hands, so don't expect to see many balls thrown his way. He's a power back and is on the hot seat due to Coach Dawson wanting this offense to have some explosiveness to it. If he doesn't show much, he might be limited to goal line/short yardage situations.

Backup/3rd Down: SR Troy Pollard- Troy hasn't seen much action at all, but he looks to be a big part in the offense. He's got good speed and great hands, so expect to see a lot of him in the shotgun and on 3rd down. He's also going to play a big role in Kickoff returns, but we'll have more on that later.

The Dark Horse: SO Bud Golden- Bud has been impressing a lot of the coaches at Practice. He's got game breaking speed and has play maker written all over him. With a running back position that's up in the air at this point, watch out for Bud to be the next Mendenhall/LeShoure.


Prosch looks to lead the way for his backs.
FULLBACKS
Starter: SO Jay Prosch- This will be Jay's first full year as a starter, and he's running away with the job. He's been demonstrating a lot of great blocking and catching out of the backfield. At 6-1 and 250 lbs, watch out for this guy running at you.


Can AJ Jenkins repeat what he did last year?
WIDE RECEIVERS
Starter: SR AJ Jenkins- AJ is looking to build off of a solid Junior year in which he had 56 receptions and 746 yards with 7 TD's. He's got good speed and a great frame. He can make some great plays once he has the ball in his hands. He can shed off defenders as well, making him a valuable weapon.

Starter: SR Fred Sykes- Fred had a very forgettable year last year and is looking to make some noise in his Senior season. He doesn't have great speed but he can fight for balls in the air, even over defenders that have more height on him.

Slot: SO Ryan Lankford- Ryan has a bright future ahead of him. He's got great speed and nice hands and could develop into a play maker over the next few years. He'll do well in the slot, preying on 3rd cornerbacks and linebackers that will be much slower than him.

The Dark Horse: SO Darius Millines- Has a lot of the same tools as Lankford, only problem is that he has ball control issues. If he can sort out those issues, this could be a potent wide receiving core. He has all the raw physical capabilities, let's see how he does.


With a tight end core this deep, Coach Dawson must be salivating at the potential
TIGHTENDS
Starter: SO Evan Wilson- Evan's combination of receiving and blocking has him as the starter of this deep pool of tight ends. He has nice hands and is the best run blocker of the bunch, but is a touch slower. The 6-6 245 lb sophomore will be a nice red zone target for Nathan Scheelhaase.

The Dark Horses: JR Eddie Viliunas and SO Justin Lattimore- These tight ends are all very similar, but Wilson's run blocking won him the job. Viliunas has a better chance at unseating Wilson because of his outstanding speed, but Lattimore has got some great moves for a tight end.


Will this highly touted line be as good as advertised?
OFFENSIVE LINE
Left Tackle: SR Jeff Allen; Left Guard: JR Hugh Thornton; Center: JR Graham Pocic; Right Guard: SR Jack Cornell; Right Tackle: JR Corey Lewis- This is one of the best Offensive Lines that the Illini have had in quite sometime. The only real weakness is RT Corey Lewis. He's a great run blocker, but lacks some of the footwork to handle those strong side linemen/linebackers. If he can pull through, they're going to give Scheelhaase all day to throw. Jeff Allen is the leader of the line and is going to give the weak side defenders fits.


This concludes my offensive breakdown. I'll hopefully have a defensive breakdown up tomorrow.

[Gosens6]

I don't know much about the Illinois football program, but I do love their jerseys.

For that reason I shall be following along. Good luck!

[Tracemander]

DEFENSIVE POSITION BREAKDOWNS

Breakout year for Justin Staples?
DEFENSIVE ENDS
Left End: JR Justin Staples- Justin played a limited role last year, but should see a lot more time as the full time starter. In 2010 he recorded 26 tackles with 2 forced fumbles and 1 sack. Justin is very quick and can get past a lot of the slower linemen, look for a big year from Justin.

Right End: JR Michal Buchanan- Michal is coming off a year in which he had 40 tackles with 2 sacks. The Illini are expecting a big year out of him. Buchanan has decent speed off the line, but he's good at bowling over people that get in his way. Should help tremendously in run defense.

Backups: JR Glenn Foster and JR Whitney Mercilus- Mercilus is a slow version of Staples, and Foster is a weaker version of Buchanan. They'll only be in the game to spell the starters.


Can Akeem Spence fill the hole Corey Liuget left?
NOSE TACKLES
Starter: SO Akeem Spence- With Corey Liuget gone, Akeem will take over the duties at NT. The Illini ran a 4-3 last year, so having Akeem produce immediate results is crucial for this line to do well. In 2010 he had 45 tackles and 1 sack. Spence has great strength, so teams will think twice about running up the middle. His only problem is that he's short at 6-1.

Backup: SR Craig Wilson- Craig had just 1 tackle last year, but this Senior will be seeing plenty of playing time spelling Akeem Spence. Craig is strong, but lacks the speed Akeem has. The upside is that he's 6-5, making him a nice fit on passing downs.

Ian Thomas is going to be the anchor for the Illini defense
LINEBACKERS
Weak Side: SO Jonathan Brown- Jon is coming off a year in which he had 31 tackles and 1 INT. He's very quick and shouldn't have a lot of trouble covering opposing tight ends and slower receivers. He needs to work on his run support.

Weak Inside: SR Ian Thomas- Ian looks to be the leader of this defense, replacing Martez Wilson. In 2010, Ian recorded 67 tackles, 1 sack and 1 INT. Thomas has great awareness and knows what's going on at all times, but he's a touch slower, but very good at stuffing up running lanes.

Strong Inside: SO Brandon Denmark- After recording 5 tackles the previous year, Brandon looks to step up and prove his worth on the Illini defense. Brandon is fast, but needs to work on his recognition skills, otherwise he might get burned for some big offensive gains.

Strong Side: JR Ashante Williams- To round out the inexperienced linebacking core, Ashante is another player who is going to have to prove himself. He's the fastest of this nimble linebacking core, which might lead to the Illini having problems stopping the run. Fast, but inexperienced, good tackling.

Cause for concern: While the linebackers are talented, there are a lot of question marks. The inexperience combined with lack of depth is a big concern for Coach Dawson. There are only 3 Inside linebackers on the roster, so if one is to go down, FR Ralph Cooper will have to step in. If that's the case, who will back up Cooper?

Can Miami Thomas escape the ghosts of Injuries past?
CORNERBACKS
Starter: JR Terry Hawthorne- Terry takes the starting role over last year's starter Justin Green. Terry is quick and shouldn't have much problem keeping up with receivers. The problems will come with his size, as bigger receivers will be able to out jump him.

Starter: SR Tavon Wilson- Tavon looks to build off his success in 2010, even though he only had 1 INT. Tavon is a hard hitting, physical corner. He's got decent speed and he changes direction very well.

Backup: JR Justin Green- Justin lost his starting job in camp, but still figures to play a big part in this secondary. He's very quick, but like the rest of the Illini secondary, he's short. Poor tackling was another reason for his demotion.

Backup: SR Miami Thomas- Miami played a huge role in '07, but has had his Illini career derailed by injuries. He can be a great player, he just needs to stay on the field. He's got great speed and can stay with most receivers. Staying on the field will be his biggest challenge.


Can Patrick Nixon-Youman compete for a starting job?
SAFETIES
Free Safety: SR Trulon Henry- Trulon played a big role last season with 64 tackles and 3 INT's. Not very fast, but can see plays well to compensate. Very good tackler, average hands.

Strong Safety: JR Supo Sanni- Sat out last year after rupturing his Achilles. It should be interesting to see how he responds this year. A touch slower than his backup, but is very strong and has great tackling for a safety.

Backups: JR Patrick Nixon-Youman and SO Steve Hull- Between the two of them, Patrick is more experienced and has received more playing time. Steve is a converted receiver and played in 8 games last year. They're both faster than the starters, so it's possible they could sub in for them on passing downs.

[Kcordloh]

Illinois is a rival of my Tigers, and I am following as I am curious how your team will turn out.

[Tracemander]

Thanks for the support you guys! I'll have a short Special Teams breakdown later on with my season schedule attached to it.

If you could, I'd appreciate some questions that I can use to write a season preview article with.

Also, I'm going to redo the depth chart. For some reason if you try and edit it, it loses the dividers. Weird.

[tony kant think]

You would be surprised how addictive this can get. I started a few days ago, and I can't stop.

[Tracemander]

SPECIAL TEAMS BREAKDOWN


Derek Dimke was a Lou Groza finalist in 2010
KICKERS
Place Kicker: SR Derek Dimke- Coming off a year in which he nailed 24/29 FG's, Derek looks to make his 2011 season even better. He's got a very good, accurate leg that will make life easier on the Illini.

Punter: FR Brad Janitz- Brad has got a booming leg. He'll be able to get the Illini out of some tough situations, but accuracy is really what he needs to work on. A couple of feet is what determines whether the opposition starts on the 3 yard line, or the 20.


It's going to be a busy year for Troy Pollard
RETURNERS
Kick Returner: SR Troy Pollard- Troy is the third down/shotgun back, so he'll be pretty busy. Coach Dawson wants to keep him fresh, which is probably why he won't be doing punt returns as well. He's been following his blocks well, and has shown a nice burst through the gaps.

Punt Returner: FR Eaton Spence- Eaton figures to be the 6th Cornerback on defense, giving him plenty of energy to run back punts. He has break away speed and should be a major threat in the return game. If he does well enough he should be able to overtake Pollard's kick return duties.

2011-2012 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
WEEK 1

ARKANSAS STATE RED WOLVES

WEEK 2

SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS

WEEK 3

#25 ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS

WEEK 4

WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS

WEEK 5

NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS

WEEK 6

INDIANA HOOSIERS

WEEK 7

#6 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

WEEK 8

PURDUE BOILERMAKERS

WEEK 9

PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS

WEEK 10
BYE

WEEK 11

MICHIGAN WOLVERINES

WEEK 12

#11 WISCONSIN BADGERS

WEEK 13

MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS

WEEK 14
BIG 10 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK