Illinois has had legendary pass catchers in that time, though. They had players who excelled on the football field despite the defense knowing that is who the quarterback is going to throw to.
Players like Arrelious Benn consistently put up great numbers with not much in the way of help behind him. He moved on and then AJ Jenkins took over as the dominant wide receiver on the team. He put up tremendous numbers his final year in Champaign.
But, throughout history, the depth at wide receiver has really killed this team. Granted, the quarterback situation has seemed shaky at best since the years of Kurt Kittner.