The 90 Illini #50: Mario Sanders II

Mario Sanders has the unfortunate – or fortunate – responsibility of wearing the #1 immediately after Isaiah Williams. And since Williams was our first 1st Team All Big Ten receiver since 2011 this past season, there's a lot transferred onto the shoulders of the next guy who wears #1. Especially since Sanders is another 5'-10" wide receiver. Everyone is going to expect this #1 to play like the last #1.

But for whatever reason, when I see him on the field, I don't think Isaiah Williams. I think Reggie Love? I'm not suggesting that Sanders will be a running back. But his build is much closer to Love than it is to Williams. Sanders and Love are similar heights, similar weights, and even have similar hairstyles. Like, if there's a game this fall when Purdue has a bye week and Reggie Love wants to go visit his guys at Illinois, and say I'm sitting somewhere in the Smith Center when Love walks in wearing a cap and I can't see his face, I'm going to think it's Mario Sanders showing up for the game.

None of this matters to anyone, of course. I just thought I'd make the point that based on the uniform number, everyone is going to think that Mario Sanders is Isaiah Williams. But based on build and playing style, he actually reminds me of a different Trinity Catholic player. One who is now at Purdue.

That's the end of my story. Let's get to #50 on our countdown: