5 Illinois State players to watch against Iowa football

IOWA CITY — Iowa has not lost to an FCS foe since 2016. That streak is unlikely to change this week as the Hawkeyes kick off the 2024 season against Illinois State.

The Hawkeyes are a 22.5-point favorite — a remarkable spread considering they only averaged 15.4 points per game last season.

Wins over FCS opponents are not to be entirely taken for granted, though, as evidenced by Iowa’s nail-biting, 7-3, win over South Dakota State two years ago.

Here are five Illinois State players to watch:

QB Jake Rubley

Illinois State made a bit of a splash in the transfer portal with the addition of former Kansas State quarterback Jake Rubley.

Rubley was a three-star prospect out of high school and had offers from Tennessee, Wisconsin, LSU, South Carolina and Iowa, among other power-conference schools. He barely saw playing time in his three years at Kansas State, though.

After not seeing any game action as a true freshman, he had five passing attempts in four games in 2022 and one passing attempt in two games in 2023.

Saturday’s game will be somewhat of a homecoming for Rubley, who played his senior year of high school at West Des Moines Valley.

RB Mason King

Mason King has a new name, but will bring a familiar playmaking ability to Illinois State’s offense in 2024.

King changed his name from Mason Blakemore to honor his mother, according to The (Bloomington-Normal, Ill.) Pantagraph.

This will be King’s second year at Illinois State after playing his first two seasons at Northern Illinois. King led the Redbirds last year with 983 rushing yards while averaging 6.6 yards per carry. He was named the MVFC’s newcomer of the year and earned first-team all-MVFC honors.

In his two years at Northern Illinois, he appeared in 13 games and rushed for 155 yards on 40 carries.

WR Daniel Sobkowicz

Daniel Sobkowicz could be one of the top receivers in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this season.

The Arlington Heights, Ill., native led the Redbirds in 2023 with 68 receptions for 933 yards and 10 touchdowns. His 6.2 receptions were second-best in the MVFC behind Missouri State’s Raylen Sharpe, who since transferred to Fresno State.

He caught 61.8 percent of the passes targeted for him in 2023, according to PFF, and averaged 4.9 yards after the catch per reception.

Sobkowicz was a second-team all-MVFC honoree last year. Phil Steele named Sobkowicz a FCS preseason All-American.

LB Amir Abdullah

Amir Abdullah is back for his senior year after making quite the impact on the Redbirds’ defense last year.

The linebacker from Chicago had a team-high 14 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks in 2023. (His 14 tackles for loss were the best in the MVFC, and his 9.5 sacks were tied for the conference lead.) He also had a 30-yard interception return against Murray State.

Abdullah is on the preseason watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the best defensive player across the country at the FCS level.

DL Jalan Gaines

Jalan Gaines is no stranger to the state of Iowa.

Before transferring to Illinois State as a sophomore, he played his first season of college football with Division III-level University of Dubuque. He led the Spartans as a true freshman with four sacks and seven quarterback hurries.

He then spent the last two seasons as a linebacker at Illinois State. After appearing in only three games in 2022, he saw a larger role in 2023. The Chicago native had 10 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks in 10 games.

Gaines is officially listed at defensive line — the position he played at Dubuque — on Illinois State’s online roster ahead of the 2024 season. The 6-foot-4 senior was named a preseason all-MVFC honorable mention earlier this summer.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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