Zook mum on naming quarterback

Illinois' Juice Willams (7) is sacked during the game against Penn State at Memorial Stadium in Champaign on October 3, 2009.
Dean Santarinala The Daily Illini

It’s not a stretch to say that Illini quarterbacks have struggled this season.

Juice Williams and Eddie McGee have combined for a 53.7 completion percentage and have thrown just three touchdowns and seven interceptions this season, their first without former quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, who left to coach at New Mexico.

Kurt Beathard shifted over from outside receivers coach to fill the void as quarterbacks coach, a decision head coach Ron Zook doesn’t regret, even with the recent struggles.

“The reason we made the decision that we made was because Kurt knows them,” Zook said. “He knows the quarterbacks and has been around them for two years. Him and Locksley spent an awful lot of time together, particularly because Kurt was coaching the receivers, and he knew what the quarterbacks could do.”

With that said, Zook admitted that having a new coach has brought change to the position, but he is unapologetic.

“I’m a firm believer that you have to coach your personality, and Kurt’s personality is obviously different than Locksley’s,” he said.

“That doesn’t make anything right, wrong or different. On the same token, for whatever reason there has been a disconnect. I don’t believe it’s (offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Mike) Schultz. He is very involved in everything we do. One of things about coaching the tight ends is that it has you involved with the running game and the passing game.”

Indiana Hoosier Wildcat

Zook fully expects to see the suddenly fashionable Wildcat formation Saturday, with Indiana receiver Mitchell Evans lining up at quarterback.

Evans, a former high school quarterback, runs the set out of the pistol formation, which is a shorter form of the shotgun formation.

“He does a nice job,” Zook said of Evans. “He can run and throw it. Everybody wants to talk about the Wildcat formation, and they do it and do it well.”

Quarterback delay

On Oct. 4, a day after a 35-17 loss to Penn State, Zook called Williams into his office to notify him that he wouldn’t be starting the upcoming game against Michigan State.

Zook wanted to make it clear to Williams, McGee and the media that McGee would be his starting quarterback against the Spartans.

But this week, Zook hasn’t given a timetable for when he’d name the starter.

Each quarterback is taking half of the first-team snaps in practice this week.

“It’s not a big deal,” Zook said. “In the open date when Juice had a sore thigh, Eddie took all the reps, and you don’t even notice it. People don’t even notice it. It’s not a thing where things have changed or what we do changes or anything like that. I think if you asked the players, I don’t think they’d say anything.”

Williams said he expected to have some idea of who the starter will be before the game on Saturday, but it didn’t seem to change his preparation.

“First or second, I’ll always be prepared and ready to go,” Williams said. “Me and Eddie, we make it our business to be prepared. Last Saturday was definitely new for both of us, myself being the starter for 38 consecutive games, but that role last week allowed me to be prepared for this week.”

Defense improving

After shutting out Michigan State’s offense in the second half of last week’s 24-14 loss, the Illini defense will be looking to carry over any kind of momentum it can.

“We had a lot of guys buying into what we do,” senior safety Donsay Hardeman said. “We had a lot of guys making big plays and putting in second effort.”

The second-half shutout came after the defense struggled early in the game, when the Illini allowed Michigan State to rack up 141 yards and two touchdowns on its first two drives.

“We played very well in the second half, but we got off slow,” Hardeman said. “We just have to take that into the next game and play like that from the beginning of the game and play all the way through.”

Illinois’ defense ranks second to last in the Big Ten in scoring defense and last in rushing defense.

Injury report

The team expects all of its injured players to be ready to go for Saturday’s game.

Senior tight end Michael Hoomanawanui, who missed last week’s game against Michigan State with a sprained ankle, practiced this week and is expected to play.

“It was kind of a game-time thing last week,” Zook said. “He was out running around at practice, so he should be ready to go.”

Junior safety Garrett Edwards was also limited last week after re-injuring a strained neck in the first quarter against Michigan State.

Zook said he injured his neck while nearly intercepting a pass.

“He was bobbling the ball, and as he was looking back, a guy came and hit him in exactly the same spot on his neck,” Zook said.

Zook said the team took precautionary X-rays and an MRI but said that Edwards was just “sore.”

Zook added that junior receiver Jarred Fayson, who has a sore knee, is also expected to play.