Matthew Bailey
Illinois Fighting Illini
82
Good

Matthew Bailey

Illinois Fighting IlliniAverage
SSDefenseGood
Projected Starter

Is Matthew Bailey starting?

Matthew Bailey is the projected starter at SS for Illinois Fighting Illini.

Redshirt senior · #7 · 6'2", 225 lbs

See full Illinois Fighting Illini depth chart ›
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Depth at SS · Illinois Fighting Illini

  1. 1782Matthew BaileyStarter
  2. 22157Ben Clawson
  3. 31357Xanai Scott

Illinois Starting Lineup

Full Illinois depth chart ›

Top defensive backs in the Big Ten

Zach LutmerIowa · FSEarl Little Jr.Ohio State · SSJamari SharpeIndiana · LCB

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 82 overall (Good tier).

Recruit3★ · #1,774 Natl3-Yr Total175 tacklesTeam Share8%Percentile86th
Moline, IL
Jersey
#7
Class
RS SR
Height
6'2"
Weight
225 lbs

Career Stats

SeasonTklINTPD
20257602
20249415
2023500

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 75-rated defense; 86th-percentile production (×0.92 for competition level) put them +7 vs unit starters → 82.

Team defense (SP+)
75
Rating basis
On-field stats
On-field production
Outperforms 86% of peers
Recruiting pedigree
Top 50% recruit
Strength of schedule
Faces easier competition — rating adjusted down (×0.92)
Depth-chart adjustment
+7 for role

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

Oct 10WMSUTKL 4
TKL
4
SOLO
2
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final W 38-37 OT

Oct 3LPURTKL 9
TKL
9
SOLO
7
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final L 24-17

Sep 26LOSUTKL 14
TKL
14
SOLO
7
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final L 42-19

Sep 19WSIUTKL 2
TKL
2
SOLO
1
SACK
0
INT
1
PD
0

Final W 48-10

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

Matthew Bailey's 2026 game-by-game stat log.

The People's Ratings

Is our 82 OVR fair?
82
Good
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Team Role

Tackling Machine
76 tkl · 2 PD · 0 INT
Usage / Involvement100%
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Overall ratings blend team strength (SP+), on-field production, and recruiting. Higher = more impactful.