After a turnaround season last year, Eastern is looking to kick off the 2024 season with an upset over the University of Illinois.
After finishing his first season 2-9 from ending his most recent season 8-3, some would say that Eastern’s head coach Chris Wilkerson pulled off one of the biggest turnarounds in Football Championship Subdivision history.
Wilkerson is excited to see the team play against an opponent other than itself.
“All the guys have worked really hard all offseason through the winter, into the spring, into the summer and preseason camp,” Wilkerson said.
The Fighting Illini ended their 2023 season with a 5-7 overall record. This team is in the Football Bowl Subdivision, so their competition is normally higher than the FCS.
According to ESPN Analytics, Eastern has a 2.2% chance of pulling off the upset against UofI.
Senior defensive back and team captain Mark Aitken said the analytics don’t bother the team.
“We already expected it,” Aitken said. “We’ve always been underdogs, so we’re going to do what we always do.”
Although the odds are not in favor for the Panthers, the team is feeling ready to bring the competition to the Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium.
“We’re excited to get out there,” Panther’s graduate quarterback Pierce Holley said. “[We’ve] been prepping all summer [and] all spring for it, so it should be good to get out there.”
Here are three aspects to keep in mind for Eastern:
1. The offensive line
Eastern’s offensive line has a lot of returners that made an impact last season.
Offensive linemen are not talked about as much at the collegiate level, but having a strong offensive line provides the rest of the offensive to function properly.
“Up front, we’ve returned four out of five starters, and we’ve added more depth,” Wilkerson said. “They’ve all gotten bigger and stronger, and I’m excited for their continuation in development.”
Graduate offensive lineman Sebastian Pares is back with the Panthers for his final year in college, and he is ready to bring a game plan against the Fighting Illini.
“We got a good game plan coming up for Illinois, and we’re going to take it to them this year,” Pares said.
Two more offensive lineman that made an impact last season that returned to the team include sophomore Nic DiSanto and senior Drew Wilder.
“We got a lot of guys that came back and everyone [has been] staying healthy throughout camp,” Wilder said. “[We’re] feeling good [and] ready to go.”
2. New additions and returners from the wide receivers
There are two strong returners in the wide receiver room for the Panthers.
Seniors Eli Mirza and DeAirious Smith were two of Holley’s top targets in the 2023 season, but two more of Holley’s top targets did not return for the 2024 season.
Two transfers that have come in during the summer for training camps are redshirt sophomore CJ Nelson and junior Cody Davidson.
Nelson transferred from the University of Houston after two years to play with the Panthers.
Nelson used his redshirt year in 2023 but played in all 13 games on special teams as a freshman.
While he trained with the Panthers throughout the summer, Nelson thinks the wide receivers have improved since they all attended summer camp.
“Receiver wise, our route running has improved,” Nelson said. “[We’re] helping the quarterbacks by catching the ball.”
Davidson committed to Eastern coming out of Santa Rosa Junior College. While at his junior college, Davidson ranked fifth in all of California junior colleges in receiving yards per game with 103.3. Davidson also earned first team All-NorCal League honors as a sophomore.
Coming into Eastern and preparing for week one against the Fighting Illini, Davidson feels good about the game.
“I feel like we prepared for this for the last few weeks [and] all through camp, so [we’re] looking to get ready and win the game,” Davidson said.
3. The return of Elijawah Tolbert
Tolbert, the senior linebacker transferred from Eastern to Missouri State University in spring 2024.
Tolbert transferred back to Eastern in the summer of 2024 to continue his collegiate career with the Panthers.
Tolbert ended the 2023 season with a total of 87 total tackles (46 solo, 41 assisted) and one interception.
Tolbert is an explosive playmaker, as he is one of the strongest linebackers in the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference.
“I’m feeling good about week one,” Tolbert said. “We’ve been preparing all summer, all fall, [and] I really like where we’re at [on] offense, defensive and special teams.”
Here are two aspects to keep in mind about UofI:
1. Quarterback Luke Altmyer’s ability to make plays
The junior from Starkville, Mississippi, started nine games for the Fighting Illini last season. Altmyer ended the season with 175 for 270 passes for 1,883 passing yards and 13 passing touchdowns.
After ending the season with a concussion that sidelined him for the last three games, there are some questionable concerns on if the quarterback will bounce back to kick off the season with a win over the Panthers.
Altmyer was the most sacked quarterback in the B1G Ten last year with 34 sacks. If Altmyer is not quick on his feet and with his hands, the quarterback should expect more sacks on Thursday.
2. Cole Rusk injury leads to tight end situation
Rusk, the tight end for the Fighting Illini, suffered a season-ending knee injury. The four-star transfer from Murray State announced on Twitter that he will miss the remainder of the season.
The question for Illinois is who will fill that spot in the tight end room. Rusk would’ve been the starting tight end, so the Fighting Illini would have to figure out their game plan for that situation before Thursday’s kickoff.
Someone that could take over the starting tight end position for the Illini could be Tanner Arkin. The junior from Fort Collins, Colorado, played in 12 games with three starts last year for the Fighting Illini.
Eastern is set to play the Fighting Illini to kick off both teams’ seasons on Thursday at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8:10 p.m.
Zaria Flippin can be reached at 581-2812 or zhflippin@eiu.edu.
