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Welcome to another week of Fighting Illini football! Lovie Smith will hold his usual media session at 1:00pm CT, and he’ll be accompanied by Garrick McGee, Hardy Nickerson Sr., Wes Lunt, Hardy Nickerson Jr., Carroll Phillips, Dawuane Smoot, and Joe Spencer. We’ll have video of those interviews up later, but for now here’s a look at Illinois’ depth chart for the Western Michigan game.
So the biggest questions post-Saturday are on the offensive line and defensive backfield, as redshirt-freshman Gabe Megginson (ankle) and senior Caleb Day (knee) both left the game with injuries. Unsurprisingly, the Illini held steady with their roster and no official changes have been made. But just based on what happened to each player, I'd be pretty surprised if either of them are able to suit up against the Broncos.
Gabe Megginson at guard and Ryan Frain at punter listed as starters on #Illini depth chart
— Matt Daniels (@mdaniels_NG) September 12, 2016
#illini Lovie: Won't be talking about injuries early in the week.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWernerScout) September 12, 2016
Elsewhere, Ryan Frain will once again be handling the punting responsibilities; he missed the North Carolina game after being involved in a bicycle accident. Also, Wes Lunt is still the starting quarterback. Sorry, haters.
Here’s a closer look at the latest Illinois football three-deep.
Offensive Depth Chart
| QB | Wes Lunt (SR) | Chayce Crouch (R-SO) | Jeff George Jr. (R-FR) |
| RB | Ke'Shawn Vaughn (SO) | Reggie Corbin (R-FR) | Kendrick Foster (R-JR) |
| FB | Nate Echard (JR) | Austin Roberts (SO) | - |
| WR1 | Malik Turner (JR) | Dionte Taylor (SR) | Zach Grant (SR) |
| WR2 | Justin Hardee (SR) | Desmond Cain (SO) | Sam Mays (SO) |
| TE | Tyler White (SR) OR Andrew Davis (SR) OR Ainslie Johnson (SR) OR Caleb Reams (R-FR) | - | - |
| OT | Austin Schimdt (SR) | Connor Brennan (SR) | - |
| OG | Gabe Megginson (R-FR) | Jordan Fagan (JR) | - |
| C | Joe Spencer (SR) | Harry Black (JR) | - |
| OG | Nick Allegretti (R-SO) | Darta Lee (FR) | - |
| OT | Christian DeLauro (R-JR) | Adam Solomon (R-FR) | - |
Defensive Depth Chart
| DE1 | Dawuane Smoot (SR) | Henry McGrew (R-SO) | - |
| DT1 | Chunky Clements (SR) | Jamal Milan (R-FR) | - |
| DT2 | Robert Bain (SR) | Tito Odenigbo (R-SO) | - |
| DE2 | Carroll Phillips (SR) | Gimel President (SR) | - |
| WLB | James Crawford (JR) | Julian Jones (SO) | - |
| MLB | Hardy Nickerson Jr. (SR) | Mike Svetina (SR) | - |
| SLB | Tre Watson (SO) | Justice Williams (R-FR) | - |
| CB1 | Jaylen Dunlap (JR) | Cameron Watkins (R-FR) | - |
| CB2 | Darius Mosley (SR) | Chris James (JR) | Frank Sumpter (R-FR) |
| FS | Taylor Barton (SR) | Patrick Nelson (R-FR) | Dillan Cazley (SR) |
| SS | Julian Hylton (SO) | Caleb Day (SR) | Darwyn Kelly (JR) |
| Nickel | - | - | - |
Specialists Depth Chart
| K | Chase McLaughlin (SO) | David Reisner (SR) |
| P | Ryan Frain (SR) | David Reisner (SR) |
| H | Ryan Frain (SR) OR Zach Grant (SR) | - |
| LS | Michael Martin (SR) | Sean Mills (FR) |
| KR | Caleb Day (SR) | Kendrick Foster (JR) |
| PR | Darius Mosely (SR) | - |