Illinois State backs, young receivers headline 2026 FCS preview

Victor Dawson’s No. 5 ranking among returning FCS running backs, plus Dylan Lord at No. 12 and Luke Mailander at No. 17 among returning wideouts, says plenty about Illinois State’s 2026 ceiling: the Redbirds are not being treated like a one-year surprise. They are being sized up as a team with enough proven skill talent to stay in the national conversation, even after losing quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse and star receiver Daniel Sobkowicz.

That matters because Illinois State did more than reach the 2025 FCS national championship game. The Redbirds finished 12-5, got there as an unseeded team and became the first program in subdivision history to win four straight road playoff games, beating Southeastern Louisiana, North Dakota State, UC Davis and Villanova away from Normal, Illinois. That kind of run changes the standard around the program. Under Brock Spack, who enters his 18th season, the question is no longer whether Illinois State belongs in the playoff field. It is whether this roster can move from dangerous underdog to true MVFC title threat.

Dawson gives that case real weight. After transferring from Cincinnati before the 2025 season, he rushed for 1,377 yards and five touchdowns, then turned the postseason into his most convincing argument yet. In five playoff games, he logged 72, 137, 148, 155 and 126 rushing yards, a sustained surge that suggests the Redbirds can lean on him no matter how the quarterback battle settles. If Illinois State wants to shorten games, travel well and survive the grind of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Dawson is the sort of back that keeps a season from unraveling.

The receivers make the ceiling even more interesting. Mailander, the MVFC Freshman of the Year, caught 44 passes for 671 yards and four touchdowns. Lord was even more productive with 74 receptions, 734 yards and five touchdowns, and Illinois State lists him as having played all 17 games, started eight and posted a career-high 161 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the title game against Montana State. Together, they give the Redbirds a young pass-catching base that can support a new quarterback, whether Beckham Pellant or USC transfer Gage Roy wins the job.

That is the real signal behind the rankings. Illinois State is not just bringing back good players. It is bringing back enough proven production at running back and receiver to believe another deep playoff run is possible, even with major questions still hanging over quarterback and cornerback.