Local product Hank Beatty breaks records in Illinois’ rout
Illinois football fans saw a true breakout performance Friday night as Hank Beatty delivered a record-setting night in the Illini’s 52–3 win over Western Illinois. Beatty spoke with the media in the post game.
Illinois’ 52–3 blowout of Western Illinois featured plenty of highlights, but no player made a bigger impact than Hank Beatty. After closing last season strong with 90 receiving yards in the Citrus Bowl win over South Carolina, the Illini wideout entered 2025 primed for a bigger role. The Rochester native drew buzz all offseason from the coaching staff, and while he had shown flashes in prior years, he had never truly taken over a game—until he dominated the Leathernecks on Saturday night.
Beatty piled up 241 all-purpose yards, including 133 on punt returns, and broke a single-game school record that Red Grange set in 1923. He added 108 receiving yards, highlighted by a 59-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter, before delivering the play of the night in the third.
Fielding a punt at his own 31, Beatty slipped past a tackler, cut back inside near the 10, and raced in for a 69-yard touchdown. He scored Illinois’ first punt-return touchdown since 2013 and pushed the lead to 38–0. By the end of the night, Pro Football Focus graded his performance at 90.4—an elite mark.
Afterward, Beatty deflected credit and focused on the bigger picture.
“It feels great. It took a lot to get here. A lot of people helped me get here in the first place,” he said. “Hopefully, we can keep building this program up. If we keep taking it one step at a time, we can do something special.”
Beatty’s breakout wasn’t just about stats—it showed Illinois’ player development and rewarded his patience to stick with the process. Along with fellow in-state products Aidan Laughery and Kaden Feagin, he embodied the foundation of Bret Bielema’s early recruiting pitch to build the Illini with homegrown talent. That vision appeared in a big way Saturday.
“You know, it’s special,” Laughery said. “Obviously, we all came here for the same reason, to be homegrown, to stay home and change the program, to keep building it. Just to go out there week one and have success is awesome, and we’re looking to carry it forward.”
Beating an FCS opponent doesn’t say everything, but Beatty’s performance mattered. For Illinois, it gave a glimpse of a passing attack that could evolve into a true strength. And if Beatty keeps stacking games like this, he may emerge as the Illini’s go-to playmaker as the season rolls on.
