Illinois football had a legendary secondary in 2022, and one of the players who is flying under the radar in that secondary is Kendall Smith.
Smith started his Illini career as a wide receiver and someone who was mainly on special teams. He would switch over to the safety position in 2018, and his development from that point on was impressive. Smith wouldn’t really catch on in the defensive backfield until his senior year. In 2022, he would earn All-Big Ten honorable mention.
During the 2022 campaign, Smith would finish with 39.