Ready or not, here come the feels.

Illinois was hosting its awards banquet on Thursday evening and senior offensive guard Nick Allegretti was invited to give a prepared speech following an outstanding career with the Fighting Illini:

No, those aren’t your allergies acting up.

Allegretti, a two-time team captain and All-Big Ten Second Team in 2018, made 36 straight starts to end his career and was rated as the No. 3 guard in the nation (per Pro Football Focus). He allowed only one quarterback hit and no sacks in 394 dropbacks this season.

The Illini missed out on the postseason with a 4-8 (2-7 B1G) record, but finished 13th among FBS teams in rushing offense (243.0).