UAB · W 42-23
No catches.
Purdue · L 17-24
No catches.
Michigan State · W 38-37
No catches.
Maryland · W 20-17
No catches.
Abney has catches in 4 of Illinois’s 8 games: none in the other 4.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
Christian Abney
The four seasons span two programs and two head coaches: Mike Neu and Bret Bielema. On tape: 13 receiving yards and 2 receptions against Oregon, Week 8, 2026.
26 receiving yards · 5 catches · 1 receiving TD
Against Oregon on Oct. 24: 2 catches for 13 yards. In the 4 games drawn here: 5 catches for 26 yards. Illinois has thrown to him 6 times in 122 passes.
Each game is split into its four quarters, so the columns line up from game to game; inside a quarter, plays keep their order. Third and fourth downs are marked under the line, bold when he moved the chains.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Illinois | 5 | 26 | 5.2 | 1 | 9 |
| 2025 | Illinois | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2024 | Ball State | 5 | 50 | 10.0 | 1 | 22 |
| 2023 | Ball State | 3 | 16 | 5.3 | 0 | 10 |
| Career | 14 | 104 | 7.4 | 2 | 22 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 4 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | L 27-31vs Duke | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 48-10vs Southern Illinois | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 4 | L 19-42@ No. 7 Ohio State | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Wk 8 | W 21-10vs Oregon | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 1 | 9 | Season-high 13 yds |
| Total | 5 | 26 | 5.2 | 1 | 9 |
Week 8 · 2026
W 21-10
vs Oregon
2 rec · 13 yds · 1 TD
With L. Rau — 44.5 yards per punt · 8 punts · 3 inside the 20 · A. Laughery — 123 rush yds (13 car) · 1 TD
Ratings of the games shown run from -2 to +29 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 4 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 1.3 | 6.7 | 4.5 | 0.3 |
| Road1g | 1.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 1.0 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 2.0 | 13.0 | 6.5 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Pass share
49.5%
243 pass / 248 run
Plays / game
61.4
8 games
Team sack rate
3.7%
271 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer catches a game than most FBS tight ends who play every week.
The No. 2,379 recruit in the country is starting at tight end in the Big Ten as a senior.
2026 is in progress.
The snaps went the other way.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Mike Neu and Bret Bielema.
