The Illinois Fighting Illini football statistical leaders are individual statistical leaders of the Illinois Fighting Illini football program in various categories,[1] including passing , rushing , receiving , total offense , defensive stats, and kicking . Within those areas, the lists identify single-game, single-season, and career leaders. The Fighting Illini represent the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the NCAA 's Big Ten Conference .
Although Illinois began competing in intercollegiate football in 1890,[1] the school's official record book generally does not include statistics from before the 1950s, as records from before this year are often incomplete and inconsistent. An exception to this is Red Grange , who appears several times on these lists despite playing in the 1920s.
These lists are dominated by more recent players for several reasons:
Since the 1950s, seasons have increased from 10 games to 11 and then 12 games in length. The NCAA didn't allow freshmen to play varsity football until 1972 (with the exception of the World War II years), allowing players to have four-year careers. Bowl games only began counting toward single-season and career statistics in 2002.[2] The Fighting Illini have played in 4 bowl games since then, all since 2008, giving recent players an extra game to accumulate statistics. These lists are updated through the end of the 2016 season .
Career Rank Player Yards Years 1 Jack Trudeau 8,725 1981 1983 1984 1985 2 Kurt Kittner 8,722 1998 1999 2000 2001 3 Nathan Scheelhaase 8,568 2010 2011 2012 2013 4 Juice Williams 8,037 2006 2007 2008 2009 5 Jason Verduzco 7,532 1989 1990 1991 1992 6 Tony Eason 7,031 1981 1982 7 Wes Lunt 5,900[3] 2014 2015 2016 8 Johnny Johnson 5,293 1992 1993 1994 1995 9 Jon Beutjer 5,190 2002 2003 2004 10 Jeff George 5,189 1988 1989
Single season Rank Player Yards Year 1 Tony Eason 3,671 1982 2 Tony Eason 3,360 1981 3 Jack Trudeau 3,339 1985 4 Nathan Scheelhaase 3,272 2013 5 Kurt Kittner 3,256 2001 6 Juice Williams 3,173 2008 7 Dave Wilson 3,154 1980 8 Jason Verduzco 3,014 1991 9 Wes Lunt 2,761 2015 10 Jeff George 2,738 1989
Career Rank Player Yards Years 1 Robert Holcombe 4,105 1994 1995 1996 1997 2 Chase Brown 3,206[10] 2019 2020 2021 2022 3 Antoineo Harris 2,985 1999 2000 2001 2002 4 Thomas Rooks 2,887 1982 1983 1984 1985 5 Jim Grabowski 2,878 1963 1964 1965 6 Rocky Harvey 2,711 1998 1999 2000 2001 7 Josh Ferguson 2,586 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 8 Juice Williams 2,557 2006 2007 2008 2009 Mikel Leshoure 2,557 2008 2009 2010 10 Pierre Thomas 2,545 2003 2004 2005 2006
Single season Rank Player Yards Year 1 Mikel Leshoure 1,697 2010 2 Rashard Mendenhall 1,681 2007 3 Chase Brown 1,643[10] 2022 4 Antoineo Harris 1,330 2002 5 Robert Holcombe 1,281 1996 6 Jim Grabowski 1,258 1965 7 J.C. Caroline 1,256 1953 8 Robert Holcombe 1,253 1997 9 Keith Jones 1,196 1988 10 Howard Griffith 1,115 1990
Career Rank Player Yards Years 1 David Williams 3,392 1983 1984 1985 2 Brandon Lloyd 2,583 1999 2000 2001 2002 3 A. J. Jenkins 2,432 2008 2009 2010 2011 4 Walter Young 2,382 1999 2000 2001 2002 5 Isaiah Williams 2,304[16] 2019 2021 2022 2023 6 Mike Martin 2,300 1979 1980 1981 1982 7 John Wright 2,284 1965 1966 1967 8 Arrelious Benn 2,221 2007 2008 2009 9 Jason Dulick 2,004 1993 1994 1995 1996 10 Shawn Wax 1,614 1987 1988 1989 1990
Receiving touchdowns [ edit ] Total offense is the sum of passing and rushing statistics. It does not include receiving or returns.[25]
Total offense yards [ edit ] Career Rank Player Yards Years 1 Nathan Scheelhaase 10,634 2010 2011 2012 2013 2 Juice Williams 10,594 2006 2007 2008 2009 3 Kurt Kittner 8,880 1998 1999 2000 2001 4 Jack Trudeau 8,640 1981 1983 1984 1985 5 Jason Verduzco 7,256 1989 1990 1991 1992 6 Tony Eason 7,002 1981 1982 7 Wes Lunt 5,602 [3] 2014 2015 2016 8 Johnny Johnson 5,358 1992 1993 1994 1995 9 Jon Beutjer 5,158 2002 2003 2004 10 Jeff George 4,767 1988 1989
Single season Rank Player Yards Year 1 Juice Williams 3,892 2008 2 Tony Eason 3,671 1982 3 Nathan Scheelhaase 3,543 2013 4 Tony Eason 3,331 1981 5 Jack Trudeau 3,321 1985 6 Kurt Kittner 3,242 2001 7 Jason Verduzco 2,983 1991 8 Dave Wilson 2,960 1980 9 Jack Trudeau 2,797 1984 10 Kurt Kittner 2,785 1999
Single game Rank Player Ints Year Opponent 1 Mike Gow 4 1974 Stanford 2 Mike Gow 3 1973 Minnesota Phil Knell 3 1966 Purdue Duane Lyle 3 1995 East Carolina Eugene Wilson 3 2001 Penn State
Single game Rank Player Sacks Year Opponent 1 Simeon Rice 5.0 1994 Washington State 2 Mike Poloskey 4.0 1991 East Carolina Will Davis 4.0 2007 Indiana Clay Nurse 4.0 2009 Minnesota 5 Jeff Weisse 3.5 1998 Middle Tennessee Oluwole Betiku Jr. 3.5 2019 UConn
Single game Rank Player FGs Year Opponent 1 Dan Beaver 5 1973 Purdue Mike Bass 5 1982 Wisconsin Chris White 5 1984 Wisconsin Doug Higgins 5 1990 Michigan State
Field goal percentage [ edit ] ^ a b "2015 Illinois Fighting Illini Media Guide" . FightingIllini.com . Retrieved July 9, 2016 . ^ "NCAA changes policy on football stats" . ESPN.com . AP. August 28, 2002. Retrieved September 11, 2014 . ^ a b c d "West Lunt" . ESPN.com . Retrieved November 30, 2016 . ^ a b c "Defense key as Minnesota takes down Illinois" . ESPN.com . October 11, 2008. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014. ^ a b "Illini come back to knock off W. Kentucky, 42-34" . ESPN.com . September 6, 2014. ^ a b c "Missouri 52, Illinois 42" . ESPN.com . August 30, 2008. ^ a b c "Indiana defeats Illinois 52-35" . ESPN.com . November 9, 2013. ^ "Reilly O'Toole throws for 5 TDs as Illinois blanks Charleston Southern" . ESPN.com . September 15, 2012. ^ "Illinois blows by Miami (OH), 50-14" . ESPN.com . September 28, 2013. ^ a b c "Chase Brown" . ^ "Mikel Leshoure runs rampant as Illinois stomps Northwestern at Wrigley" . ESPN.com . November 20, 2010. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. ^ "Charlotte vs. Illinois Box Score" . ESPN.com . October 2, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2021 . ^ "Illinois vs. Penn State Box Score" . ESPN.com . October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021 . ^ "Illini trample Hoosiers to end losing streak in Big Ten openers" . ESPN.com . September 15, 2007.[dead link ] ^ a b Associated Press (September 23, 1990). "Griffith Gets 8 Touchdowns in Illini Win" . Los Angeles Times . ^ a b c d e f "Isaiah Williams" . ESPN.com . ^ "Northwestern closes with 37-34 win over Illinois" . ESPN.com . November 30, 2013. ^ "Illinois vs. Minnesota Box Score" . ESPN.com . November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023 . ^ a b c "Illinois completes comeback in final minute to defeat rival Northwestern" . ESPN.com . October 1, 2011. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. ^ a b "Northwestern vs. Illinois Box Score" . ESPN.com . November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023 . ^ "Purdue runs past Illinois 38-27" . ESPN.com . October 4, 2014. ^ "No. 19 Illinois improves to 6-0 after cruising past Indiana" . ESPN.com . October 8, 2011. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. ^ a b "Josh Imatorbhebhe" . ESPN.com . ^ "Pat Bryant" . ESPN.com . ^ "Official 2007 NCAA Division I Football Record Book" (PDF) . National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2007. Retrieved January 3, 2008 . ^ "Illinois QB Williams sets Michigan Stadium record with 431 yards of total offense" . ESPN.com . October 4, 2008. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. ^ "Tommy DeVito" . ESPN.com . ^ a b "Sydney Brown" . ESPN.com . ^ "Jer'Zhan Newton" . ESPN.com . ^ "Owen Carney Jr" . ESPN.com . ^ "Oluwole Betiku Jr" . ESPN.com . ^ a b c d "James McCourt" . ESPN.com . ^ "Caleb Griffin" . ESPN.com .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold