Before the Rutgers game on Saturday, the Big Ten Network announced Illinois starting running back Mike Epstein will miss the entire 2017 season with a lower-body injury. He was then pictured by the field goal post on crutches.
The news of any player for the Illini being injured for any game is rough because the lack of depth but Epstein being out hits particularly hard. He is a true freshman that needs more experience but in the short time he was on the field, he was arguably the best player Illinois had.
Epstein came into the Illinois football program as a highly rated three-star recruit who had recruiting attention from a multitude of programs around the country.