Tyler Strain emerging as early favorite for snaps at cornerback for Illinois

CHAMPAIGN — Tyler Strain hadn’t had much collegiate experience when Illinois entered the home stretch of the 2022 season, but a couple of injuries at cornerback meant he was thrust into play. Strain played almost exclusively on special teams in the Illini’s first eight games, then played some snaps on defense in four of the final five. He had a pass defended coming off the bench against Michigan State, while he was put in for extended time against Purdue once Taz Nicholson went down with what ended up being a season-ending wrist injury. Strain had a pick against the Boilermakers,…