Is Matthew Bailey starting?
Matthew Bailey is the projected starter at SS for Illinois Fighting Illini.
Matthew Bailey is the projected starting SS on a Solid Illinois — 86 OVR.
See full Illinois Fighting Illini depth chart ›Depth at SS · Illinois Fighting Illini
- 1786Matthew BaileyStarter
- 21371Xanai Scott
- 3858Jacob Eberhart
What's Next
The Story
The Tackling Machine
A 3-star recruit out of Moline, ranked #1,774 nationally coming out of high school. In 2025: 76 tackles, 0 INT, 2 PBU. That's 8% of the team's production at his spot and 86th-percentile production nationally — good for a 86 overall (Great tier).
- Jersey
- #7
- Class
- RS SR
- Height
- 6'2"
- Weight
- 225 lbs
Career Stats
| Season | Tkl | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 76 | 0 | 2 |
| 2024 | 94 | 1 | 5 |
Regular-season totals from public sources. Derived splits (completion %, yards per carry, catch rate) aren't available in our current dataset.
Recruiting Profile
- Stars
- ★★★☆☆3-star
- Composite
- 0.8304
- National Rank
- #1774
- High School
- Moline
- Hometown
- Moline, IL
Why this rating?
On a 79-rated defense; 86th-percentile production (×0.92 for competition level) put them +7 vs unit starters → 86.
2026 projection — based on SP+ (a respected team-efficiency metric; 2026 not published yet, using 2025), 2025 production, recruiting, and the 2026 transfer portal; capped to depth-chart order.
2026 Game Log
Sep 12LDUKETKL 4
- TKL
- 4
- SOLO
- 1
- SACK
- 0
- INT
- 0
- PD
- 0
Final L 31-27
Sep 4WUABTKL 8
- TKL
- 8
- SOLO
- 7
- SACK
- 0
- INT
- 0
- PD
- 1
Final W 42-23
| OPP | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | LDUKE | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 4 | WUAB | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Matthew Bailey's 2026 game-by-game stat log.
The People's Ratings
Team Role
Overall ratings blend team strength (SP+), on-field production, and recruiting. Higher = more impactful.