VIDEO: Illinois DL Isaiah Gay - 2020 Training Camp - Day 9
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois senior defensive lineman Isaiah Gay spoke to local and statewide media following a morning practice on Oct. 8.
The topics included his team's preparations for the Oct. 23-24 season opener at No. 19 Wisconsin, the inexperienced Illini defensive line and the best basketball players on the Illini football roster.
Gay played in 11 games and started five at defensive end last season where he recorded 27 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, three PBUs, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery on the season. Gay had a career-high six tackles, career-high two pass breakups, his first career forced fumble, and one sack in 38-10 win over Rutgers on Nov. 2. He had a season-high three tackles (all solo) in Illinois’ 24-6 win at Purdue on Oct. 26. The North Carolina native had a fumble recovery vs. No. 6 Wisconsin on Oct. 19 to help Illinois win 24-23 and complete one of the biggest upsets in Big Ten Conference history.
Illinois Fighting Illini defensive lineman Isaiah Gay (92) sacks Western Illinois Leathernecks quarterback Sean McGuire (18) during the second quarter of a 2018 game at Memorial Stadium.
Mike Granse/USA TODAY Sports
Gay played nine games with three starts at defensive end as a sophomore in the 2018 season where he finished with 20 tackles, one tackle for loss and one sack on season
Gay is expected to start at defensive end when the Illini open the 2020 season at No. 19 Wisconsin alongside Owen Carney Jr. on the opposite side alongside Roderick Perry and Jamal Woods on the inside.