Illinois coach: 'This is Juice's team'
As the old saying goes in football, the next quarterback is the best quarterback.
"Everybody loves the No. 2,'' said Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley.
Backup quarterback Eddie McGee grabbed the fans' attention by coming off the bench to replace injured starter Juice Williams in the second quarter and completing more than half of his passes in the 40-34 loss to Missouri in the opener. But when Illinois hosts Western Illinois in the home opener at Memorial Stadium tonight, Illinois' starting quarterback is unquestionably Williams, who started nine games last fall as a freshman.
"As I told Juice (Monday), this is Juice's team,'' said Illinois coach Ron Zook.
Despite a debate reaching anywhere from the message boards to the watering holes, Zook and his staff said there is no battle between Williams and the understudy. Williams is the solid starter. A redshirt freshman from Washington, D.C., McGee only showed the coaches there is a capable backup.
"I meant what I said,'' Zook said. "There's not going to be a quarterback controversy. (The media) can't create it. The people aren't going to create it. It's not going to happen. Juice is our quarterback. God forbid if something happens to him, we know Eddie can play.
"Eddie did a great job. For us as a staff, we were concerned if we had a backup quarterback. There's no question (now) in our minds that we do.''
Recognized as a team leader who must improve his accuracy and reading defenses from a year ago, Williams became the future of the program when he committed to Illinois as a Chicago Vocational senior. The powerful Williams showed could run the ball last season but struggled in the passing game. He failed to complete 50 percent of his passes or better in nay game during a seven-game losing streak to end last season.
Williams completed 6-for-9 passing for 59 yards while logging 17 plays against Missouri before leaving with a bruise over his eye and blurred vision. Williams returned to practice Monday. A hasty move to McGee would be surprising, since it would harm Williams' confidence and force Zook's program to head in another direction.
McGee passed for 257 yards and a touchdown while completing 55 percent of his passes. McGee also rushed for another touchdown, and the athlete fits into the run-pass threat needed in Illinois' spread offense.
But McGee's four turnovers were catastrophic. He fumbled once at the goal line, a loose ball that was returned 102 yards for a TD. The last of two interceptions thrown by McGee came on first down at the Missouri 22-yard line with 58 seconds left, when he forced the ball into double coverage.
"It's not a (quarterback) battle,'' Locksley said. "Eddie did nice things on Saturday, but he also had four turnovers. The way we talked and preached about not turning the ball over . . . Had he had a turnover free game, we might be talking differently. He had costly turnovers in costly areas.''
Williams and McGee were off limits to the media this week.
Western Illinois won't likely need to prepare for it, but the Illini will likely put Williams and McGee on the field at once sometime this fall. Whether one is the quarterback and the other a running back or receiver, it would create a dilemma for a defense.
"That's the next step,'' Locksley said. "You have a lot of options with those two. Down the road, we might be able to come up with something.''
For now, just put Williams name in ink at quarterback.
John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com. For more Illini coverage, see Illini Talk blog at www.sj-r.com <http://www.sj-r.com> and www.pjstar.com <http://www.pjstar.com> .
Illinois (0-1) vs. Western Illinois (1-0)
When: 6 p.m. today
Where: Memorial Stadium (57,078), Champaign
Series record: First meeting
Rankings: Western Illinois is ranked No. 23 in I-AA
Radio: Illini Sports Network
TV: Big Ten Network
The line:
Coaches: Ron Zook, 4-20 in third season at Illinois, 27-34 in seventh year overall; Don Patterson, 56-37 in eighth season at Western Illinois and overall.
NCAA rankings: Illinois offense -- rushing 72nd, 119.0; passing 12th, 316.0; scoring 38th, 34; total 37th, 435.0. Illinois defense -- rushing 32nd, 70.0; passing 111th, 359.0; scoring 99th, 40.0; total 89th, 429.0. Western Illinois offense -- rushing 19th, 248.0; passing 74th, 128.0; scoring 35th, 29.0; total 46th, 376.0. Western Illinois defense -- rushing 51st, 144.0; passing 27th, 139.0; scoring 51st, 26.0; total 28th, 283.0.
(Note: Western Illinois rankings in I-AA).
Notable: Illinois is 6-0 in the modern era against Division I-AA teams. Western Illinois is 6-17 all-time against Division I-A opponents. All six wins came against Mid-American Conference teams. . . Illinois' 316 yards passing in the opener lead the Big Ten. . . . Illinois senior placekicker Jason Reda needs eight points to pass Red Grange for eighth on the school's all-time scoring list. Reda enters with 178 career points. . . Seven Illini caught passes last week, but Illinois didn't complete a pass play to a tight end. . . Matt Barr will become the freshman to start at quarterback for Western Illinois since 1990. . . Western Illinois sophomore cornerback Patrick Stoudamire earned Gateway Conference defensive player of the week after grabbing two interceptions in the opener.
Quotable: "We're going into the game to win the game. Whatever it takes to win the game, that's what we're going to do. If we need to play Eddie (McGee) or can play Eddie, that's great. Our No. 1 goal is to win the game.'' -- Illinois coach Ron Zook.
Prediction: Illinois 41, Western Illinois 13