As we wrap up Stock & Shop, the trends we’ve seen throughout are punctuated in the secondary. High-end young talent appears early in the depth chart while questions and recruiting hangovers appear deeper down. What we can highlight for this edition, though, are the evaluations that have been made to find the gems of last year and the incoming freshmen for this 2018 season.
Stock
Early in last year’s training camp, those fortunate enough to live in the Champaign area began praising the ability of Bennett Williams. Because Illini Nation is traditionally treated to “Bigger, Faster, Stronger” every offseason, there was reason to be skeptical, but then Williams blossomed into a freshman All-American and the secondary foundation started to take shape.