Wide receiver Ian Willis was a member of the Illinois State scout team last season and spent the off-season showcasing his skills with the Redbirds’ offense. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
Editor’s note: This is the third of a four-part series.
By Barry Bottino
The start of Ian Willis’ career involved learning about other offenses as an Illinois State scout team player. Spring football earlier this year changed that.
“I got a chance to run some of our concepts,” he said. “From the first day to the last day, I just got better every day.”
The off-season work – which included eight catches for 71 yards in the annual spring game – provided a glimpse into how the slot receiver could fit into the Redbirds’ offensive attack.
Willis, a graduate of the Illinois prep powerhouse Wheaton St. Francis program, is one of four Fresh Faces this season for ISU as chosen by Prairie State Pigskin. The Fresh Faces are new additions or young players that are stepping into key roles this season.
A key piece of transitioning to college football for Willis was leaving old habits behind.
“The most I’ve improved is running the routes the way they like them to be run,” Willis said. “In high school, you’ve got a lot of freedom with routes. You can cut depths short. When you get to college, it’s a lot of getting to the right depth, getting to where you need to go.
“On some plays, the ball is not meant to go to you,” he said. “But running that decoy route just as good as you’re running every other (is important).”
The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Willis said he has put on 15 pounds since he arrived at Illinois State and turned heads with his work at slot receiver behind starter Dylan Lord, who had 74 receptions a year ago.
In the national championship loss to Montana State in January, Lord grabbed 13 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns.
That performance was enlightening for Willis, who hopes to be a rotational player this fall.
“Seeing him do that let me know that if I keep on the right track, I can kill it like he has,” Willis said. “It was great for him, and it was also great for me to realize, ‘Hey, I can do that from the slot.’”
Here are three other Fresh Faces who will take on bigger roles for Illinois State this fall.
OFFENSE
Jaden Wedderburn, OL
At 6-4 and 330 pounds, Wedderburn fits the profile of a Missouri Valley Football Conference lineman.
A transfer portal arrival from Princeton, he played in 27 games over the past three seasons and was the team’s No. 2 left guard during the 2025 season.
Illinois State announced his addition to the roster in late March. Wedderburn, a New Jersey native, was part of the O-line rotation last season for Princeton, which finished 3-7.
The Redbirds must replace two senior starters who completed their eligibility last season – left tackle Jake Pope and right guard Micah Barnhart.
DEFENSE
Key Crowell, DB
In January, Crowell was casually watching Illinois State in the national title game.
“It just happened to be on my TV at that time,” he said.
A short time later, ISU reached out to recruit him from the transfer portal.
“I thought, ‘I’ve got to go check out this school,’” he said.
Crowell, who played the 2025 season at FBS East Carolina, will provide experience at cornerback for a secondary that started departed seniors Cam Wilson and Shadwel Nkuba II against Montana State.
“I’m a player who can adapt to the culture,” Crowell said. “I feel like I’m a good DB in this secondary. All our DBs are amazing.”
The junior began his career in 2024 at D-II University of Indianapolis. “We had a couple of seniors who went down (with injuries),” he said. “That led to me having to step up and play a big role.”
That role led to a season with a conference-best five interceptions and 51 tackles.
Solomon Oduma, LB
After redshirting in 2023 and missing 2024 with an injury, Oduma made the most of his third season in the program.
His 2025 campaign featured playing in all 17 games as a reserve linebacker and on special teams. He posted 46 tackles and 2.5 sacks. The Redbirds expect Oduma to have an expanded role on the defense this fall.
In ISU’s quarterfinal playoff victory against UC Davis, Oduma had a career-best seven tackles. He followed that up with six tackles in the national semifinals against Villanova.
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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