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Illinois suffered a major blow to the 2015 season five months before it even began when top receiver Mike Dudek sustained a torn ACL during spring practice. With Dudek out until at least October, the onus is now on Geronimo Allison to emerge as the top receiving target for quarterback Wes Lunt.
Allison, though largely unknown outside Illinois, will be a particularly important cog in the Illinois offense early in the season when the Illini are without Dudek. In 2014, his first season with the team, he had a relatively strong season himself, finishing with 41 receptions and 598 receiving yards – good for second on the team. He added five touchdown catches as well to complement those numbers. Allison quietly put together a strong 2014 campaign, so as he becomes more of a focal point in the offense those totals will clearly improve.
Part of what gives Allison the ability to excel in what should be a passing heavy attack with a healthy Lunt are his physical attributes. Allison is listed at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, giving him the ideal body type as a downfield threat as well as a threat in the red zone.
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of Allison’s potential emergence as a top receiver for the Illini is his ability to give team a dangerous duo at the receiver position. Assuming Dudek continues on his current rehab schedule, Illinois may possibly have an elite combo of wide receivers for Lunt by the time October arrives.
The combination of Allison’s size and Dudek’s speed gives Lunt an enviable duo of wideouts who will allow the offense under coordinator Bill Cubit a certain sense of versatility and potency. With one of the conference’s more underrated running backs in Josh Ferguson returning for his senior season, the offense has all the potential to emerge as one of the top units in the Big 10 as a whole.
Though Allison is for the most part an unknown commodity around the conference, he has experienced past success prior to arriving at Illinois in 2014. At Iowa Western Community College, Allison was one of the top junior college wide receivers in the country. In 2013, he had 69 receptions for 872 receiving yards and nine touchdown catches. In 2012, he played an important part in leading Iowa Western to a junior college national championship.
The emergence of Allison as a premier downfield threat – especially paired with Dudek and Ferguson – will make Illinois one of the more underrated offensive attacks in the Big 10. It may ultimately be the difference in allowing Illinois to improve on their win total for the third consecutive season.
Dan is a Big 10 Football Beat Writer for www.RantSports.com. You can follow him on Twitter @danescalona77.
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