Walters recaps first game against Illinois as Illini eye defensive improvement

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (WCIA) — The Illinois-Purdue rivalry will continue to be a much anticipated game, as former Illini defensive coordinator Ryan Walters enters year two in West Lafayette.

Despite a 4-8 showing in his first season as a head coach, Walters lead the Boilermakers to a 44-19 win over his former team last season.

Walters was in attendance for the first day of Big Ten Media Days, and said the storylines that matchup brings gives the rivalry some extra juice.

“It makes it that much more heightened and all of the backstories that surrounded the game,” Walters said.

“I enjoy competing against people that you know and it just makes it that much more personal and can lead to some interesting conversations when you get a chance to step away from football.”

His former team will look to make improvements on the defensive side of the ball this season. The Illini went from the top team in points allowed in 2022, to a bottom-five unit in that stat in 2023.

Illinois Head Coach Bret Bielema is confident the defense can make improvement due to the progress made by returners and key additions in the transfer portal

“Everybody learns from mistakes in the past, and there’s no one more prideful than our defensive coaches, Aaron (Henry) included,” Bielema said.

“I think everyone wanted to take a moment in January and February to review what we did well and what we didn’t do well. There’s some guys in that building that I think took note of last year and hopefully that’s a motivating factor this year.”

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