Top 50 most important Illini: No. 14 Seth Coleman | Sports | news-gazette.com – News-Gazette

Every day for leading up to the first Illinois football game, beat writer Scott Richey will unveil the most important Illini players for the 2022 season

➜ Vitals: 6-5, 240, So., OLB

➜ Hometown: Melbourne, Fla.

➜ High school: Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy

➜ Looking back at 2021: Coleman broke through in his third year at Illinois, displacing Isaiah Gay in the starting lineup to make his first career start (and then second and third). Then an injury sent perhaps the Illini’s best speed rusher to the sideline. Gay pulled a Wally Pip by finishing out his final season playing some of his best football, and Coleman reverted to his backup outside linebacker role. Coleman finished the year with 22 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 10 games.

➜ Looking ahead to 2022: Gay was always ahead of Coleman on the Illinois depth chart. Both when they were defensive ends for Lovie Smith and outside linebackers for Ryan Walters. Now, Gay is gone, eligibility exhausted, and Coleman is now at the top of the depth chart. There’s some competition in the outside linebacker room, but guys like Alec Bryant and Gabe Jacas are more the Owen Carney Jr. type. They’d play opposite Coleman, who remains the best speed rush option from the edge.