Milo Eifler announced on Twitter Tuesday that he has declared for the NFL Draft. Eifler is the second Illinois linebacker to declare for the NFL joining Jake Hansen who declared on Dec., 28.
“From the moment I arrived at Illinois, I was overwhelmed by the number of individuals who committed themselves to my development, both as a football player and a man,” Eifler’s message on Twitter said. “It has been an absolute honor to wear the orange and blue at Memorial Stadium in front of the best fans in the country.”
Two of Illinois’ top-three linebackers declaring for the draft creates an opportunity for Khalan Tolson, Shammond Cooper and Tarique Barnes to become the next core group of Illini linebackers. The problem is that Tolson, Cooper and Barnes are all coming off of season-ending injuries.
Entering 2020, Illinois felt good about their starting linebackers, but Illinois’ linebacker group struggled at times and the lack of depth – Illinois had just six scholarship linebackers – really started to show at the end of the season when Hansen and Eifler were the only two healthy scholarship linebackers.
“This season we didn’t get a chance to prove everything I wanted to do, but I feel like we left our mark for sure,” Eifler said of the linebackers. “Even some teams that we should have beat, they knew that the linebackers knew how to play football.”
Illinois defensive struggles didn’t take long to arise. By halftime of Illinois’ Week One game against Wisconsin Illinois had surrendered 28 points, which included two touchdown receptions for Badgers tight end, Jake Ferguson.
Lovie Smith’s Tampa-2 defense often allowed opponents to attack the middle of the field with tight ends and fast slot receivers, who were matched up against a slower linebacker in pass coverage.
New Illinois Head Coach Bret Bielema plans to run a 3-4 defense, which will allow Illinois to defend against spread offenses more effectively. Cooper and Barnes both project well as good outside linebackers in a 3-4 scheme, due to their length and athleticism and Tolson’s combination of strength and speed sets him up well as an inside linebacker.
“They have all played, so that’s the good part. Experience plays a big role, especially at linebacker, seeing a guard pull before, seeing an iso, seeing power being able to translate that to the field and watch it in film,” Eifler said on the younger players. “With those guys in the room, they are the new leaders of the defense and the sky is the limit for them.”
With the injuries and little linebacker depth, Bielema could look to the transfer portal to find additional help for a linebacker core that will need to take a step next season for Illinois to compete against Big Ten West opponents.
Illinois is still awaiting a decision on another season in Champaign from EDGE Isaiah Gay. Gay, a senior in 2020, could take advantage of the NCAA’s free year of eligibility and return to Illinois. Should Gay return his speed and technique project well as an outside linebacker in Bielema’s scheme as a pass rusher.
“I feel like Isaiah is that perfect guy to be in that two-point, he can still set the edge, still can get back there to the quarterback,” Eifler said. “With his speed and hand placement, his spin-move is pretty ridiculous. … With his arsenal, Isaiah Gay could see his stock rise tremendously next season.”
Bielema takes over a program that has won just 17 games in the last five seasons and hasn’t had a winning conference record since 2007. Getting Illinois to a consistent level of competitiveness is the first step for Bielema, and he is committed to the process of getting there the right way.
“Not talking about success five years from now, I’m talking about success as fast as we can, but we aren’t going to skip a step to get to where we need to be,” Bielema said in his introductory press conference.
Determining a way to improve the play of his linebackers and increase the depth is one of Bielema’s top priorities as he attempts to build Illinois football into a consistent winner for the first time since the late 1980s and early 1990s.
