Ryan Walters cleared the air about how he goes about setting his defensive rotation. It looks like he has a similar approach to Bret Bielema.

Walters is going into his 2nd year as DC in Champaign. In his 1st year at the helm, Illinois allowed 22.9 points, 366.3 yards, and 215 yards passing per game. 1 of the areas where the Fighting Illini struggled on defense was on rush defense. Illinois allowed 151.1 yards rushing per game in 2021 which was the 11th-most in the B1G.

Walters also mentioned a player that will play until he can’t per Jeremy Werner of 247Sports.

“The guys who are gonna play are gonna play,” said Walters. Sydney Brown is gonna play until Sydney Brown can’t play.”

The senior DB has appeared in 39 games for Illinois, and is getting some high praise from his DC.

It sounds like Walters knows what he’s doing in the other defensive aspects. However, if he wants to take Illinois to the next level, there needs to be a more of a balanced effort.