Notes: Pair of 'pro guys' anchor Illinois secondary

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Aug. 15—CHAMPAIGN — Ronnie Bradford spent the 2025 season with the Miami Dolphins.

It was a return to the NFL for Illinois' new secondary coach after following up his own 10-year professional player career with seven seasons in the league as a coach with the Denver Broncos (2003-08) and Kansas City Chiefs (2009).

So Bradford knows an NFL-caliber defensive back when he sees one. He was one. Then he coached more for the better part of a decade.

Matthew Bailey and Xavier Scott?

"Those guys are two pro guys," Bradford said following Saturday's training camp practice at Gies Memorial Stadium. "Me coming from the NFL from last year and seeing NFL talent, those guys have what it takes."

Bradford didn't have either Bailey or Scott on the field during spring practice. The former was in rehab and recovery mode following early December shoulder surgery. The latter was further along in the process, but still unavailable, after a foot injury last September that cost him the majority of the 2025 season.

Bailey and Scott's return has injected into the secondary exactly what Bradford thought it might having learned what he could about them the past eight months. While both have earned various levels of All-Big Ten recognition for their in-game efforts, including All-Big Ten First Team honors for Scott in 2024, their presence in the meeting room and on the practice field is just as important.

"What they've put on tape in the past, they continue to do that day after day," Bradford said. "The big thing I get coming out of camp from those two guys is their willingness to help the young guys, bring those guys along and hold them to the standard.

"They come prepared every day. They're the earliest guys in the room. They're prepared. They answer questions. They hold the younger guys to the letter to make sure they're up on their installs and their knowledge of what we're prepping for every day. They'll hold meetings for just their specific group to make sure that everybody's on the same page for what we're doing day to day."

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Illinois started training camp with a pair of tight ends, Tanner Hollinger and Grant Smith, already ruled out for the season because of undisclosed injury issues. A Jones fracture for BJ Thurman in training camp that will also likely cost him the entire 2026 season because of the necessary foot surgery winnowed the Illini's tight end depth even further.

A stop-gap for this fall was moving freshman offensive lineman Landen Von Seggern to tight end.

"I'm not saying he's going to run a Y seam or be a vertical threat in the passing game, but really like what he brings to the line of scrimmage," Illinois coach Bret Bielema said about the 6-foot-4, 280-pound freshman out of Omaha, Neb.

Von Seggern will slot into the "people mover" portion of Illinois' tight end room led by Christian Abney, converted running back Kaden Feagin and Davin Stoffel. Freshman Will Vala III has also impressed in training camp.

"The tight end position, we kind of talk about it a lot, it's kind of the land of misfit toys. You have different guys with different strengths, weaknesses, different skill sets (and) different body types. Landen, being a young player, I think has a really high upside. He's smart, and he's tough. He has the right makeup that you're looking for.

"He was kind of a natural fit of a guy, 'Hey, he can give us some depth,' or he can provide a heavy slugger, on-the-ball type of guy. It's been fun having him, and he's brought a new dynamic to the room. It's been fun learning the position through a different lens."

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Jack Gray's arrival in Champaign has made punter a true position battle in training camp. Lars Rau started the 2024 season at Texas State and backed up Keelan Crimmins last season for the Illini, but his Australian counterpart is pushing to claim the primary role.

"He's had his times out there he's been able to showcase his leg and his ability," Illinois special teams coordinator Chris Hurd said of Gray. "It's a big learning curve for him because he's never played the game of football. We've spent a lot of time teaching him situations, teaching him about the game — the little things you take for granted by growing up watching the game or playing the game that he hasn't had. His Australian Rules Football is just a little bit different. It's not rugby. He'll let you know that. It's getting him caught up to speed with all the little nuances."

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The Illinois quarterbacks room features four players on opposite ends of the experience spectrum.

East Carolina transfer Katin Houser is at one end. The Anaheim, Calif., native is in his fifth season of college football after spending two seasons at Michigan State and then two with the Pirates.

The other end features sophomore Carson Boyd, the lone returning quarterback from Illinois' 2025 roster, and freshmen Michael Clayton II and Dane Eisenmenger. While Boyd was in the room a year ago, he didn't get any snaps as the third-string quarterback behind Luke Altmyer and Ethan Hampton.

"I sit on most of the quarterback meetings," said passing game coordinator Mike Neu, who works with quarterbacks coach Art Sitkowski and offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr.. "I've been in quarterback rooms before where it's not healthy. It's healthy. Those guys are all pulling for each other. They want to see each other be successful, do well on the practice field. They'll share thoughts, ideas.

"I think it's great that Katin does a great job of passing along some of the things he learned along the way to those young players, and they soak it up. It's one thing to hear the information. It's another thing to soak that up and use it to your advantage. That's what I see. Those three young quarterbacks are benefitting from being around a guy like Katin Houser every day."

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