Dele Harding proved to be the straw that stirred the drink for the 2019 Illinois Football team.
After waiting patiently for his turn after three years, Dele earned the starting middle linebacker job and ran with it. Finishing second in the nation with 153 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and so on, Harding was named First-Team All-Big Ten by the media.
More than that, after a rocky 2-4 start to the season, Harding along with the rest of the defense started to click, coinciding with a 4-2 end to the season and a bowl berth.