Pro Football Focus Ranks Illini Returning OL As Big Ten’s Best

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Pro Football Focus has identified the specific reason all Illinois football fans should be excited about the offense for the upcoming 2020 season.

In a tweet released Tuesday evening, Illinois’ returning offensive line scored the highest overall grade of any returning unit in the Big Ten Conference this season. This reality should come as no surprise to anybody paying attention to Illini football and is a major reason head coach Lovie Smith has pointed toward the 2020 season as a potential turning point for the program in what will be his fifth season at the helm.

Highest-graded Big Ten OLs (returning players):

➤ Illinois - 81.6
➤ Ohio State - 80.1
➤ Iowa - 79.8
➤ Penn State - 75.6 pic.twitter.com/62NWXyhcDJ
— PFF College (@PFF_College) July 7, 2020

The Illini will likely have three starting seniors and a rising junior (Kendrick Green) already drawing interest from National Football League scouts returning for the upcoming 2020 season. Of the seven Illinois players named to Athlon Sports’ All-Big Ten Teams, three (Green, right tackle Alex Palczewski and center Doug Kramer) were on the starting offensive line unit.

Palczewski, an All-Big Ten third-team selection by the league’s coaches, ended the 2019 campaign with 36 straight career starts. Green was graded by Pro Football Focus as the sixth-best offensive guard in the nation and second-best among Power Five Conference schools entering bowl games in the 2019 season. Kramer was an All-Big Ten honorable mention selection by both the league’s coaches and media contingent and did not allow a sack in 751 snaps last season.

Just a few instate kids who chose to build something #HomeGrown #OLP #KeepItTight✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾 https://t.co/ChP40slV1G
— Rob Delaney (@CoachDelaney52) July 7, 2020

In order to fill the gap left by the one starter the Illini are losing due to graduation (graduate transfer guard Ritchie Petibon), Illinois offensive line coach Bob McClain went hunting via the transfer portal again.

Blake Jeresaty, a 2019 Associated Press All-America selection, gave his verbal pledge to the Illini program in early April.

Jeresaty has started 29 games at center over the last three seasons at Wofford and was named an FCS All-America selection by AP, STATS FCS, the American Football Coaches Association and Phil Steele.

Jeresaty was an anchor on a Wofford offensive line that helped pave the way for the second-ranked rushing game in FCS football at 305.8 yards per game and allowed only four sacks in a triple-option offense during a season where the Terriers finished 2019 with a 8-4 overall record that concluded with a first round loss in the NCAA FCS Playoffs.

The only concern for Illinois’ offensive line is depth as Kramer missed most of the regular season finale and the bowl game due to injury and the backups on the Illini two-deep are highly inexperienced.

With an experienced offensive line filled with entirely upperclassmen starters, Illinois offensive coordinator Rod Smith will look to open the playbook more for returning starting quarterback Brandon Peters.

Peters, a transfer from Michigan who didn’t arrive last season until August, finished the season fifth in the Big Ten Conference in passing touchdowns (18), eighth in yards per completion (12.4), eighth in points responsible for (126), ninth in completion percentage (55.3), ninth in passing efficiency (128.6), 10th in passing yards (1,884), and 10th in total offense (190.6). All of these numbers were done despite Peters being out of two games last season due to concussion symptoms from the previous week.

Illinois is expected to return four offensive linemen, six receivers who started a game in the 2019 season and Peters as the trigger man of fast-paced offense where Rod Smith wants a play run every 15 seconds of game time.