The regular season is finally in the books, capped by Illinois’ win over Northwestern on Saturday, and now the Illini wait to learn their bowl destination. But even as they await the postseason assignment, the program’s most consequential work is already underway. Illinois enters a pivotal offseason with more questions than answers — and nearly all of them intersect with roster turnover, coaching decisions, and the financial realities of modern college football.
The Illini must navigate an increasingly high-stakes portal market, determine whether their defensive structure needs a reset after a turbulent season, and identify the quarterback who will guide the offense into 2026. Bret Bielema insists Illinois is better positioned than ever in the NIL era, yet the scope of the roster rebuild will test just how far the program’s resources and strategy can take it.
With key decisions looming at the most important positions on and off the field, this offseason will shape whether Illinois can keep climbing or risks slipping backward in the new Big Ten. Orange and Blue News breaks down our three biggest questions facing Illinois football and head coach Bret Bielema this offseason.
Illinois enters the offseason staring at a roster with more than a few holes, and they’re not exactly subtle ones. A new quarterback is needed after Luke Altmyer wrapped up his time in Champaign. Several anchors on defense are either headed for the draft, out of eligibility, or weighing their futures. And at multiple position groups, the depth chart looks thinner than a year ago.
All of that means the Transfer Portal will once again be a major storyline. The catch? Competing for impact players now depends as much on financial muscle as recruiting pitch — and that’s where the Illini face their biggest question.
Bret Bielema insists Illinois should be in better shape than ever from an NIL and revenue-sharing standpoint, but he also drew a clear line between Illinois’ reality and the sport’s new financial giants.
“I should have the biggest opportunity financially that I’ve ever had here at Illinois,” Bielema said. “Of course, I always want more. Some of these guys that are dealing with $35-$40 million rosters — I can’t comprehend what that means. I’m not going to have that here. I’m not asking for that either.”
Illinois doesn’t need to match the highest rollers to stay competitive, but this particular offseason won’t be cheap. The defense, in particular, sits at a crossroads. Gabe Jacas is off to the NFL. Xavier Scott and Matthew Bailey could follow. Meanwhile, Illinois loses several veteran starters across the front seven and secondary, leaving only a handful of proven Big Ten-level defenders returning.
That reality forces Illinois to hit the market for pass rushers, starting linebackers, and multiple defensive backs — not just bodies, but players who can help immediately. And quality portal defenders command real NIL money.
Similar challenges exist on the other side of the ball. The quarterback search alone won’t come cheap. More on that below.
Unlike past cycles, Bielema sounds ready to churn his roster more aggressively. NIL dollars previously went toward retaining players; this year, he’s more inclined to reshape the bottom of the two-deep.
“I’m trying to decide whether or not you can play for me next year,” Bielema said. “That’s just the way it is, man. It’s a different world of college football. If you’re taking rev share and getting paid, we’re not handing out food stamps. You’ve got to go out there and earn it.”
And the timing only complicates the picture. The portal window opens January 2-16, but back-channeling is already widespread. Agents are calling nonstop. Players on teams with coaching turnover can jump early. The chaos, Bielema said, is already here.
“On Sunday, it’s going to be complete chaos,” he said before the Northwestern game. “Wednesday is signing day for high school kids. I’m assuming that most of these jobs are going to get filled immediately after that last game. As soon as a coach is named, those kids have five days to get in the portal.”
So the question becomes, does Illinois have enough NIL strength to grab the players it needs to stay trending upward?
There’s good news. Illinois can still sell a lot — Bielema’s quarterback track record, the opportunity for instant playing time at multiple spots, and a program that has won 18 games over the last two years.
But there’s also no hiding the scope of the task. Illinois must replace a starting quarterback, rebuild its defense at almost every level, and deepen position groups that sagged late. Competing for that many impact players takes resources.
The Illini don’t need $40 million to build next year’s roster. They do, however, need enough to keep pace with the middle tier of the Big Ten — and to win one or two key bidding wars along the way.
And that’s what will determine whether Illinois reloads or slips backward in 2026.
It remains to be seen if Bielema will go forward with Aaron Henry as his defensive coordinator after a season that never really found its footing on that side of the ball.
Illinois finished 13th in the Big Ten in total defense during league play, a number that feels even heavier after some lopsided afternoons. The 63-10 meltdown at Indiana is the one fans won’t forget, but the problems showed up in other losses — the defense cracked at Washington, stalled at Wisconsin, and never built the kind of identity that had become the program’s calling card during the Ryan Walters era.
Henry stepped into the role three years ago without previous play-calling experience, and that early uncertainty still shapes how fans view him. When things go sideways, that résumé becomes the first bullet point in message board threads. And this year, those threads have been busy.
The tricky part for Bielema is that the defense’s decline isn’t easy to pin on one factor. Illinois doesn’t have the same warhorses up front it once did and the loss of hybrid star Scott put stress on the secondary before the season even settled in. Younger players were forced into big roles, and at times it showed. Still, Bielema has acknowledged that experience gaps only explain so much.
Henry, for his part, hasn’t hidden from the criticism. He’s admitted that players looked hesitant at times, that communication and clarity weren’t always where they needed to be, and that the unit didn’t play fast enough. He’s preached aggression, insisted the defense has to attack instead of react, and said repeatedly he needs to put his players in cleaner situations.
“Nobody is more frustrated than our players and coaches on defense,” Henry said after the loss to Washington. “I have to do a better job to make sure things are clear and concise so our players can play faster again. They played with some hesitation on Saturday. Whether we have to simplify calls or do a handful of things, we’re working endlessly and tirelessly to make sure that gets corrected.”
But when stacked against expectations — especially for a team that briefly nudged itself into CFP conversation — the results weren’t close to standard. The numbers across Henry’s three-year run tell a similar story. Two of the three seasons have been uneven, and this year included too many games where Illinois needed the offense to cover the defense’s mistakes. A late-season surge against Rutgers, Maryland, and Northwestern helped stabilize the profile, but the disasters at Indiana, Washington, and Wisconsin are hard to overlook.
That leaves Bielema in a very complicated spot. He and Henry go back more than a decade to their Wisconsin days, and Bielema is famously loyal to people he trusts. He also knows firing a coordinator is more than a transaction — it’s personal, disruptive, and messy. He’s talked openly about how difficult those conversations can be.
“We all have these relationships,” Bielema said, “Personal relationships. Friendships, Husbands and wives. Co-workers. But a lot of times to lead through adversity is one of the most difficult things to do because it’s a very lonely position. It’s also hard to tell people that you love things they don’t want to hear”.
But he’s also emphasized that the defense needs meaningful fixes this offseason, and that “corrections” are coming. What those corrections look like is the mystery. Do they mean staff changes? Scheme adjustments? A full reset?
After the Northwestern win, Bielema praised Henry and said he enjoyed working with the defensive staff — comments that made it sound like he might be leaning toward continuity.
“I give credit to Aaron and the defensive staff,” Bielema said. “They a lot of really good game planning. I thought we had a plan all day long. That part of managing the game was really good.”
Still, it feels like Bielema has a genuine decision on his hands. Stick with Henry and sell stability? Or tap into a market loaded with veteran coordinators and big names who could jolt the program? He has the reputation and connections to land a strong candidate if he chooses to go that direction.
Altmyer walked off the field Saturday having closed the book on one of the most impactful quarterback stints Illinois has seen in years. His departure leaves Bielema with a significant offseason project in figuring out who leads the offense next fall.
Altmyer didn’t just steady the position — he elevated it. Illinois’ last two seasons don’t look anything like they do without him, and his success has only reinforced how much a high-level quarterback changes the ceiling of the program. That’s why the biggest storyline heading into winter is simple: where does Illinois go from here?
The Illini have a few in-house possibilities. NIU transfer Ethan Hampton has drawn positive reviews behind the scenes as a more polished passer than his MAC résumé suggested. Youngster Carson Boyd, the promising dual-threat freshman, has been steadily climbing the developmental ladder since arriving in January. And four-star 2026 recruit Michael Clayton arrives with plenty of buzz.
“He’s very gifted,” Offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. said about Boyd. “It’s a Big Ten-caliber skill set for sure. I’m excited as he matures and absorbs the offense and gets better from a mental standpoint — just comfortability. He’s got a lot of talent.”
But are any of them ready to take over a Big Ten offense next September?
Boyd is the name fans gravitate toward — he’s talented, confident, and fits well with what Barry Lunney Jr. likes to do schematically. The staff loves his trajectory. He just hasn’t played yet. Hampton is reliable, but banking on him to replace Altmyer might be a bigger risk than Bielema is willing to take, especially with roster uncertainty on defense and along the offensive line.
Illinois almost certainly dips into the transfer portal again.
Bielema’s track record with veteran quarterbacks is the best recruiting pitch he could possibly offer. Tommy DeVito revived his career in Champaign. John Paddock had his moment. Altmyer blossomed. Every transfer Bielema has handed the keys to has made the most of it — and the Illini now sell that development pipeline to future quarterbacks, along with legitimate NIL strength.
“My last five quarterbacks are playing in the NFL, and they were all kind of transfers,” Bielema said. “To put that out there in the market that we’re in — that’s why these days are so important to watch these guys.”
It’s unlikely Illinois will chase the highest-priced names in the portal, but it doesn’t need to. Someone ready to jump from a Group of Six job, or a talented backup stuck behind an entrenched starter in a Power Four program, could see Illinois as the right opportunity. With a returning core of playmakers and a coordinator who has proven he can work with transfer QBs, the fit is easy to pitch.
That approach also gives Boyd time to grow without being thrown into the fire in Year 2, while still letting him push for the starting job if he takes a leap in spring ball. And if Hampton makes a move, even better — competition is exactly what Bielema wants in that room.
Altmyer raised the bar. Illinois can’t afford to slide backward. Whether the next starter is already wearing orange and blue or hasn’t entered the portal yet, the choice will shape the next chapter of the program.
