Like the rest of the sports world, college football is stopped dead in the water due to the coronavirus epidemic. That meant no spring football, and while its a grind for the athletes, coaches rely heavily on the spring to evaluate their team and develop the players.

The position battles that we expected this spring now carry over to training camp, where there are fewer opportunities for younger players and backups to get reps in. Ideas for expanding camp have been kicked around, but nothing is locked in yet and no one really knows if it will start on time.

Orange and Blue News breaks down each position on the defensive sid of the ball and how we think they would have shaken out this spring.

The Illini defense was improved in 2019, but is still a big question mark headed into the upcoming season. They finished 11th in the Big Ten in total defense, and lose some key seniors to graduation.