The College Football awards are tonight 12/8 and they include two finalists from Illinois and one from Northwestern.
Northwestern did not have much to be proud of this year after they went 1-11. Their only win came in Ireland at the beginning of the year and they didn’t win a single game in America. Despite that it seems they have one player to be proud of in Peter Skoronski. Following in the footsteps of Rashawn Slater, Skoronski is set to become a first rounder and some mock drafts have him being selected in the top 10.
Skoronski is currently up for the Outland Trophy which is awarded to the top interior lineman in the country. The award will probably go to Olusegun Oluwatimi from Michigan as they went undefeated and his name has been called on a bigger stage more times than Skoronski. Nonetheless Skoronski is a highly sought after player for this upcoming draft and even with a pretty miserable season from the Wildcats there is something to be excited about.
Illinois could have had a brilliant year and definitely one to remember but unfortunately it slipped away towards the end after a couple bad losses. Although the season did not end as it should have there were definitely a couple players that were the highlights of this team.
Starting with Devon Witherspoon who was the Illini’s best defensive back and quickly became one of the best in college football. His statistics were very good as he contributed greatly to an Illinois defense that was top 5 in college football for passing defense all year long. Devon is a finalist for the prestigious Jim Thorpe award. This award is given to the best defensive back in college football. He looks like he has a real shot to win this one comparatively. Devon is another player who is shown in mock drafts for 2023 that could be taken in the first round.
The final player up for an award is Illinois football’s Chase Brown. Arguably the best running back in college football this year but many seem to think otherwise.
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Chase Brown is the leader of the offense and was the workhorse. He was the guy Illinois looked to when they needed momentum or points. His stats were absolutely incredible rushing but he was so helpful in the passing game for DeVito and the Illini. Brown is up for another prestigious award in college football, the Doak Walker award. The award given to the best running back in college football. Brown joins some solid company with Bijan Robinson from Texas and Blake Corum from Michigan. Although Chase may not win this one it is undeniable that he had an incredible season and was a major part of Illinois football’s success.
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