Illini Snap Counts & PFF Grades - Week 3 vs. Minnesota

Offensive Snap Counts (TOTAL: 59)

QB: Coran Taylor - 59

NOTE: Taylor confirmed that he suffered a slight injury to his right hand during the final quarter of the 41-14 loss to Minnesota but the Illini coaching staff never put freshman Gregory "Deuce" Spann in the game Saturday.

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Mike Epstein (Starter) - 32 (20 run plays, 12 pass plays)

RB: Chase Brown - 31 (17 pass plays, 14 run plays)

NOTE: Nick Fedanzo and Reggie Love were credited with participation but that had to be on special teams. Epstein and Brown were essentially split evenly in terms of playing time but Brown was used in a bit more passing situations, which is confusing because his pass blocking rating (36.2) and ability to pick up Minnesota blitzers was way below average Saturday.

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WR: Josh Imatorbhebhe (Starter) - 51 (28 run plays, 23 pass plays)

Casey Washington - 40 (20 pass plays, 20 run plays)

Brian Hightower (Starter) - 26 (13 pass plays, 13 run plays)

Donny Navarro - 11 (6 run plays, 5 pass plays)

Kyron Cumby - 6 (5 run plays, 1 pass play)

NOTE: I'm unclear of whether Miami (Fla.) transfer receiver Brian Hightower suffered an injury or was benched based on performance because Washington received more snaps at the same outside receiver position. Cumby was used primarily on jet sweep options on the RPO-based run plays and you can see Minnesota's defense pointing out arguably the Illini's fastest player when he would sub into the game.

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TE: Daniel Barker (Starter) - 40 (21 run plays, 19 pass plays)

Daniel Imatorbhebhe (Starter) - 39 (20 run plays, 19 pass plays)

Luke Ford - 18 (11 pass plays, 7 run plays)

NOTE: Illinois has consistently used a two-tight end set with Imatorbhebhe or Ford at the line-of-scrimmage and Barker as a bigger option at slot wide receiver to handle run blocking responsibilities. However, this is confusing because Pro Football Focus graded out Barker as the worst run blocking option (40.5) of any offensive player on the field.

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OL: Vederian Lowe (LT Starter) - 59 (31 run plays, 28 pass plays)

Alex Pihlstrom (LG Starter) - 59 (31 run plays, 28 pass plays)

Kendrick Green (C Starter) - 59 (31 run plays, 28 pass plays)

Verdis Brown (RG Starter) - 59 (31 run plays, 28 pass plays)

Alex Palczewski (RT Starter) - 59 (31 run plays, 28 pass plays)

NOTE: For the second straight week, Alex Pihlstrom, a former walk-on converted tight end who received a scholarship this past week in practice, was graded out the poorest by Pro Football Focus. The encouraging aspect of the OL grades by PFF is the positive ratings by Green but the Peoria native also had two penalties that severely set back two separate Illini offensive drives.

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Defensive Snap Counts (TOTAL: 78)

DE: Owen Carney Jr. (LE Starter) - 78 (47 run plays, 31 pass plays)

Isaiah Gay (RE Starter) - 42 (22 pass plays, 20 run plays)

Marc Mondesir - 36 (27 run plays, 9 pass plays)

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DT: Roderick Perry (Starter) - 50 (28 run plays, 22 pass plays)

Jer'Zhan Newton (Starter) - 50 (28 run plays, 22 pass plays)

Deon Pate - 28 (19 run plays, 9 pass plays)

Calvin Avery - 28 (19 run plays, 9 pass plays)

NOTE: Woods suffered an undisclosed injury in the first quarter against Purdue and so Newton, a true freshman, got his first career start and for the second straight week was a highly-rated graded Illinois defensive player by Pro Football Focus after having two tackles, three quarterback pressures and a sack. Calvin Avery played 28 snaps after only being able to get on the field for 34 plays in the first two games. Deon Pate had an excellent tackling rating by PFF.

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LB: Jake Hansen (Starter) - 78 (47 run plays, 31 pass plays)

Milo Eifler (Starter) - 78 (47 run plays, 31 pass plays)

Khalan Tolson (Starter) - 50 (31 run plays, 19 pass plays)

Delano Ware - 28 (16 run plays, 12 pass plays)

NOTE: For the second straight week, Tarique Barnes (who was in on special teams plays) didn’t receive any snaps of defensive action in the Week 3 loss vs. Minnesota. After being absent last week, Ware, a converted safety, got into the game for Tolson but was rated by PFF as one of the worst Illinois defensive players against the run.

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CB: Devon Witherspoon (Starter) - 78 (47 run plays, 31 pass plays)

Tony Adams (Starter) - 72 (42 run plays, 30 pass plays)

Kendall Smith - 6 (5 run plays, 1 pass play)

NOTE: Kendall Smith made his 2020 debut with six snaps and in those snaps was the second-highest ranked Illinois player against the run. The losses of Nate Hobbs (shoulder injury) and Marquez Beason (unknown injury) made the Illinois depth in the secondary a major problem and forced Ware to play a combination rover position of safety-linebacker.

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S: Sydney Brown (Starter) - 78 (47 run plays, 31 pass plays)

Jartavius Martin - 48 (34 run plays, 14 pass plays)

Derrick Smith (Starter) - 30 (13 run plays, 17 pass plays)

NOTE: Smith was ejected after a targeting call in the first half but Martin played solid in relief. Brown and Smith were the two worst tacklers according to PFF grades this past weekend - not exactly what you want out of your safety play.