Illinois Stat of the Day: Can the Illini Cut Down Their Sacks Allowed in 2025?

There is arguably no more important objective in football than protecting the quarterback.

But this is especially true for No. 12-ranked Illinois, which must do everything in its power to protect quarterback Luke Altmyer as it enters the 2025 season – especially if the Illini intend to stay competitive in the standings against some of the Big Ten's projected heavyweights.

Fortunately for Altmyer and Illinois fans, the team appears poised to achieve that goal by returning five experienced offensive linemen: left tackle and 2024 All-Big Ten third-team selection J.C. Davis, All-Big Ten honorable mentions Josh Gesky (left guard) and Josh Kreutz (center), experienced junior right guard Brandon Henderson and veteran right tackle Melvin Priestly. But exactly how much does experience count in this case?

CBS Sports Analyst Kevin Carter: "This offensive line could be one of the best in college football this year. They could win the Joe Moore Award."

Talked #Illini with @KevinCarter_93 today. Hear more from him tomorrow in our Your Illini Nation Kickoff Show - 6:30 p.m. on WCIA. pic.twitter.com/5O80ohZUU5
— Glenn Kinley (@glenn_kinley) August 26, 2025

Illinois Stat of the Day: 32 sacks allowed

Despite the Illini bringing back all five seasoned starters, there is a reality that needs confronting: The same group struggled in pass protection in 2024, leading Illinois to be ranked among the bottom half of teams nationally and the bottom four in the Big Ten in sacks allowed.

Specifically, the team's group of hogs, led by offensive line coach Bart Miller, allowed 32 sacks on the year, an average of 2.46 per game, which tied Illinois with seven other schools for 97th in the country.

The best pass protection starts with the run

To try to alleviate some of the pressure on the group last year, offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. implemented several wrinkles in the playbook to slow down opposing pass rushers, including lining up in the shotgun, running quick-hit passes and liberal use of play-action, which can be expected to continue in 2025. To some degree, that's standard practice for passing offenses across the game for neutralizing a defense's front seven.

However, the only way play-action and those other offensive wrinkles truly work is if the run game is established early, keeping pass rushers and linebackers on their toes before each play, allowing the Illinois offensive line more time – even fractions of a second matter – to get into their pass-protection sets.

So it will be imperative for the Illinois offense to get Kaden Feagin and the run game going early in games this season, which will, in turn, tire and wear down the opposing defense's front seven and give the OL group an instant longer to get out of their stances and establish optimal angles and foot position. In that sense, the Illini should be in good shape: They tied for fifth in the Big Ten in yards per carry (4.4) and really hit their stride from Week 6 on (167.1 rushing yards per game at 4.8 yards per carry over their final eight games).

Illinois running back Kaden Feagin searches for a hole — Oct 6, 2023; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini running back Kaden Feagin (3) runs through an opening in the Nebraska Cornhuskers defense during the first half at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

In addition to getting the run game going, the group can also improve by truly leveraging the experience they've gained working together over the past year.

"I think, obviously, this is the most experience that we've had returning – and it's good experience," Lunney said during a recent press conference when asked about his linemen.

Play in the trenches is all about trusting the guy next to you, and luckily for Altmyer and Illinois, the Illini front five should have plenty of that as they head into the season, having played almost a full season next to one another in 2024, plus countless reps in spring ball and fall camp. All told, this group should be poised to improve on the 32 sacks it gave up just a season ago.