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⚽️ Illini soccer began the 2026 season with a 0-0 tie against No. 19 Georgia at Demirjian Park behind four saves from goalkeeper Izzy Lee.
⛳️ Illini senior Max Herendeen fell in the Round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur 5-and-4 to Adam Bresnu (Morocco).
In today's edition
🏥 An injury hits the Illini WR room
📺 Behind the Illini's big screen
🏈 Two former Illini QBs got extended reps in preseason
🏈 Illini lose a WR, add a WR
Alex Perry (Photo: courtesy Illinois athletics)
Illinois football lost a rotational wide receiver to injury but also quickly added one through the transfer portal.
➖ Illini head coach Bret Bielema announced on Thursday that fifth-year wideout Alex Perry will likely miss the entire season with a shoulder injury he suffered during the spring. Bielema said Perry pinched a nerve while sleeping, and the injury worsened and will now require surgery.
➕ But Bielema also announced the Illini added Incarnate Word transfer Josh Lorick to the roster this week.
Perry wasn't expected to start for Illinois but was expected to play a rotational role as a big-bodied, contested-catch winner.
The 6-foot-5, 210-pound wideout had 56 receptions for 840 yards and nine touchdowns last season at FIU.
This is likely Perry's fifth and final season of eligibility. Bielema said Illinois will appeal for another season of eligibility but doesn't know if the NCAA will grant an extra season after a new 5-year eligibility rule passed.
Illinois expects Lorick to earn a fifth year of eligibility following a federal court injunction on July 31, though Bielema said the Illini are still waiting on official word from the NCAA on his status.
Over two seasons at Incarnate Word, Lorick had 108 receptions for 1023 yards and three touchdowns.
Last fall, the 6-foot, 170-pound wideout had 59 receptions for 503 yards and three touchdowns and had six punt returns for 49 yards.
What it means: Illinois has an exciting starting group at wide receiver with starters Collin Dixon, Hudson Clement and Jayshon Platt as proven FBS difference-makers but has fairly unproven depth behind them, and that depth is thinned by the injury to Perry, who was expected to play a similar role to Justin Bowick, who played 309 snaps for Illinois last season with 22 receptions for 265 yards and five touchdowns before transferring to Oklahoma State.
⬆️ Who must step up
A sophomore breakout? Brayden Trimble certainly elevates into a bigger role. The 6-foot-2 Mt. Zion native was the No. 514 overall prospect in the Class of 2025 and has received good buzz from the Illini staff since the summer despite redshirting (seven offensive snaps) last season. He is now guaranteed to be a very important piece of the receiver rotation.
Veteran transfers. Josh Lorick (Incarnate Word), Ty Robinson (Ball State) and Eddie Kasper (Illinois State) have experience but must prove themselves at a higher level. Robinson (6-4, 205 pounds) has the size Illinois lacks without Perry but has a long injury history.
A talented freshman class. Illinois has six true freshmen receivers, including two Composite four-star prospects: Jacob Eberhart and Nas Rankin. But Bielema mentioned freshman Nate Cichy as a standout performer so far during training camp, and big-bodied freshman Kenyon Alston — whom Illinois fended off Michigan to sign — is another option who could push for some reps.
🗣️ Bielema told Illini Inquirer: "AP was probably going to be a second-string role player for us, but definitely a perimeter player. Collin is definitely really solid and Huddy [Clement] on the other side. Brayden Trimble has come into his own. He can play inside and outside. He's a little bit like Collin. I would say it would put even more of an emergence on Brayden. But also Nathan Cichy … has been very impressive in fall camp and has been running with our twos. Super impressed with where he's at. …Obviously, some of those guys are going to have to step up."
🏥 Another injury: Illini TE BJ Thurman will miss this season with a Jones fracture, Bielema said. The No. 1 JUCO tight end in the Class of 2026, Thurman was in a competition for the fourth tight end spot behind the clear top three of Christian Abney, Kaden Feagin and Davin Stoffel. Expect fifth-year Maurice Smith Jr., freshman Will Vala and sophomore Logan Farrell to battle for that fringe-reps spot.
📰 Sidebar of links
(Photo: Getty)
🏀 David Mirkovic is the No. 1 power forward in college basketball,Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney writes. Despite a foot injury that will cost him most of the lead-up to the season, the hype train continues for the Illini sophomore. Toot toot!
📺 The Illini's new scoreboard is a sign of a department renaissance, The Athletic's Scott Dochterman writes. More on the scoreboard below.
🏈 Kaden Feagin and Christian Abney are both ranked among the top-20 senior tight ends in the 2027 NFL Draft, The Athletic's Dane Brugler writes. Both have a lot to prove, but both have another year of eligibility. So tight end could go from a big question for Illinois entering 2026 to a big strength in 2027.
🏈 The new 5-for-5 eligibility rule has wide support, 247Sports' Mike Roach writes, but coaches want the recruiting calendar fixed next.
🔒 The VIP vault
Nick Hankins Jr. (Photo: courtesy Illinois athletics)
🏷️ Sign up for Illini Inquirer VIP access — $1 for your first month or 60% OFF for your first year — and get the best, most in-depth coverage of Illini athletics. Plus, complimentary Paramount+ access after your promotional period! Sign up now!
Get VIP access to stories like these:
🏈 DB Nick Hankins has impressed so far, and the Top247 prospect likely will make an immediate contribution to the Illini, Joey Wagner writes.
🏀 Five-star Bolingbrook guard Brady Pettigrew set an official visit to Illinois for October, Illini Inquirer confirms. Kyle Tausk gives his take on the news.
📬 Joey Wagner answers loads of VIP member questions in his latest mailbag, including reasons for optimism and concern for Illini football this season.
🏀 247Sports' Kyle Tucker asked prominent college coaches for one common-sense change to improve college basketball**.**The most popular answer focused on transfer rules.
📺 Illini on the big screen
(Photo: courtesy Illinois athletics)
Illinois has unveiled the largest video display in college football during training camp. The Illini recently hosted a screening of "Air Bud" for the public at Gies Memorial Stadium on its 17,300+ square foot LED video board, which will make its gameday debut in Illinois football's season opener on Thursday, Sept. 3 against UAB.
The video board, created by Daktronics, is 1.6x bigger than the second-biggest in college football (Auburn).
The Illini's display would be the fifth-largest video board in professional football.
🛠️ By the numbers
The curved screen is about 70 ft tall x 249 ft wide, the size of more than 1,600 60-inch televisions.
350 individual panels make up the 7600 x 2160 pixel display, which has just over 16 million pixels.
480,000 pounds of rebar support the foundation of the eight-story structure.
Two large screens (29.5 feet x 52.5 feet) were installed on the back of the main stadium video board, allowing marketing opportunities and for fans outside the stadium to see the action.
Three new ribbon boards were installed as well: a super ribbon (12.5 feet x 180 feet) above the north end zone and two sideline ribbon boards (4 x 427 feet), one on the east grandstand and one on the west grandstand.
Largest videoboards in college football
1. Illinois 17,315 sq. ft.
2. Auburn 10,690 sq. ft.
3. Purdue 8,461 sq. ft.
4. Oregon 8,208 sq. ft.
5. Michigan 8,165 sq. ft.
6. Wisconsin 7,941 sq. ft.
7. Utah 7,808 sq. ft.
8. Oklahoma 7,803 sq. ft
9. Mississippi State 7,777 sq. ft.
10. Texas A&M 7,635 sq. ft.
🆕 The Illini made other improvements to the gameday experience for a growing attendance, which has increased from an average of 35,347 in Bret Bielema's first season to 58,350 last season (96.2% capacity). Illinois sold out its 42,000 season-ticket allotment last year and expects to sell about 45,000 season tickets this year.
💡 The Illini installed new stadium lights in the stadium.
🔈 The Illini installed a new sound system throughout the stadium.
🛜 The Illini installed new WiFi throughout the stadium.
Illini athletics director Josh Whitman said last month: "As our attendance has grown now up near capacity last year, it's important that once we get them in the building, we give them a really strong experience and one that they want to come back and have again. So these last two years have been fantastic, but we have to continue to find ways to build upon that."
Illini football attendance last 10 years
🏈 NFL preseason recap
Tommy DeVito (Photo: Getty)
Former Illini were in action in last night's NFL preseason games. Some highlights.
🦁 Lions QB Luke Altmyer completed 13 of 22 passes for 130 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a 16-14 loss to the Bengals, though his first interception went through his receiver's hands and deflected off his helmet for the pick. Altmyer is battling Josh Dobbs (4-for-8 for 32 yards) for the backup role behind Jared Goff.
🤌 Patriots QB Tommy DeVito completed 13 of 22 passes for 138 yards and one touchdown. DeVito is locked in as the Patriots backup behind Drake Maye.
⛏️ 49ers WR Malik Turner had two receptions for 23 yards in a 19-13 loss to the Titans. Hank Beatty was targeted once but did not have a reception.
👀 What to watch tonight
More NFL preseason action tonight.
🏈 Denver Broncos at Atlanta Falcons (6 p.m., ESPN Unlimited): Pat Bryant has received plenty of training camp buzz in Denver, and Alex Palczewski and Miles Scott should get some run for the Broncos. Also, Sydney Brown makes his Falcons debut.
🏈 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at NY Jets (6 p.m., NFL Network): Isaiah Williams has already proven himself as a great punt returner with the Jets, but he has had a strong camp with the Jets as a receiver too.
👋 That's it for today. Have a great weekend! Hopefully it stops storming at some point this month...