Illinois Football 2026 Scouting Report: Running Back Ca'Lil Valentine

Illinois on SI is delivering scouting reports for each of the key players on the Illini football team's 2026 roster. Below, we present our breakdown of junior running back Ca'Lil Valentine. We will add more as other on-field contributors emerge during the season.

Ca'Lil Valentine | Running back | Junior | No. 5

Hometown: Hayward, California

High school: Chandler (Arizona)

Height: 5-foot-11

Weight: 205 pounds

Scouting report

Valentine has a coveted blend of athletic traits and running back intangibles. Although many backs are notably more comfortable running north-south or east-west, Valentine, who didn't have the strongest offensive line play last season, showed he could be productive at both – often during the same play. He showed he could bounce outside, make a defender miss behind the line of scrimmage and cut back the against the grain or find an inside seam and run it up the gut.

Laterally, Valentine is a fantastic athlete, and he also has good burst when he decides to hit the gas. In open-field situations, Valentine has plus straight-line speed but isn't an extraordinary blazer. In terms of vision and patience, Valentine is superb. He is willing to sit behind his blockers and calmly assess the situation, waiting for his opportunity.

Valentine thrives outside the red zone with more real estate to work with. Although he has added bulk over the past few years, he isn't a true hammer in short-yardage situations at just 205 pounds. In pass protection, he shows room for improvement.

Experience

Rarely do freshmen backs produce in the Big Ten, but Valentine, despite sitting behind a three-headed monster in Kaden Feagin, Josh McCray and Aidan Laughery, registered 53 carries for 212 yards in his debut season in 2024.

Last year, Valentine took a huge stride forward, beating out both Feagin and Laughery (the latter of whom battled injuries throughout the year) for the lead-back role. He led the Illini in rushes and rushing yards while being fairly efficient at 4.7 yards per carry.

Year	Team	Games	Carries	Rushing Yards	Rushing TDs	Catches	Receiving Yards	Receiving TDs
2024	Illinois	12	53	212	1	5	30	0
2025	Illinois	13	131	614	4	10	55	0

Media highlights

What they're saying

"I wouldn't say, like, one big focus, because I'm trying to get better at all areas," Valentine said of his offseason priorities in early August. "So just being better on my feet, pass protection – just doing it all really."

2026 outlook

With Feagin's shift to tight end, the Illini have a clear two-back unit with Valentine and Laughery, while Jordan Anderson may get a handful of opportunities in short-yardage and goal-to-go situations.

Valentine is Illinois' most dynamic threat in the backfield and has the most elusiveness in his game. He can flip two-yard losses into four-yard pickups and, when in rhythm, he can rip off chunk play after chunk play. Although he'll split carries with Laughery, the expectation is that Valentine, who was named to the Doak Walker Watch List, should earn the label of RB1 (though it will likely be more like 1A and 1B).

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