Cory Patterson is in his 4th season as the running backs coach at Illinois. He was asked about how the depth chart will stack, and how the newer members of the running back core have looked so far in a recent interview.

Patterson was first asked about the team’s leading rusher Chase Brown, and what Brown and the whole RB group needs to get better at as a whole. Brown had 1,005 yards rushing in 2021. Here’s what he had to say on that:

“Just continuing to clean up the small things,” said Patterson. “That’s gonna be a big thing for us. Cleaning up the details, and that we learn that we’re working on a new offense, and doing things the right way all the time.”

Next up, Patterson was asked about Chase Hayden. Hayden had the 2nd fewest carries last season for the Fighting Illini.

“Chase Hayden has been phenomenal,” said Patterson. “He has his mind right. He’s running good. He’s making great cuts, he’s all locked in. I’m really excited for the rest of the spring.”

Two of the newer faces of Illinois football are freshmen running backs Aidan Laughery and Jordan Anderson. The pair of in-state running backs were both 3-star recruits per the 247Sports Composite. Patterson shared his thoughts on those 2:

“Laughery, how can I put it,” said Patterson. “Splash in the pan? Now you see him, now you don’t. Anderson is a big, powerful guy. He’s surprisingly slippery.”

We’ll see how this new RB group does under Patterson next season. Here is the full clip of the interview with Patterson: