McGee to start at QB against Spartans

Junior to replace Juice Williams in lineup

Alex Iniguez   Assistant sports editor
October 5th, 2009 - 7:45 AM
October 5th, 2009 - 10:09 PM
Eddie McGee, Illinois, Juice Williams, Ron Zook, Football
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Illinois' Eddie McGee (10) rushes the ball during the game against Illinois State on Sept. 12. Monday, Ron Zook announced on his radio show that McGee will start at quarterback against Michigan State this weekend.
Ned Mulka The Daily Illini

Illinois football head coach Ron Zook announced Monday morning on his radio show, "First Word with Ron Zook," that Eddie McGee will replace senior Juice Williams at quarterback in the starting lineup this weekend against Michigan State (2-3, 1-1 Big Ten).

The redshirt junior will crack the starting rotation on the heels of the Illini's 35-17 loss to Penn State. In that game, Williams was 20-for-36 for 263 yards through the air, throwing his first touchdown pass of the season in Illinois' fourth game of the year. With the loss, the Illini fell to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten.

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Penn State Aftermath: Juice Out, McGee In 

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Against the Nittany Lions, Williams became Illinois' all-time leader for career yardage with 9,126.

McGee, a Washington, D.C., native, has appeared in three of Illinois' games, completing 19 of 30 passes with two interceptions and a touchdown. Two weeks ago against Ohio State, he threw an interception on his first offensive play, after replacing Williams in the fourth quarter.

He will face a Michigan State defense that allows an average of 340.4 yards per game, good for fifth in the conference. The Spartan offense is ranked first in the conference with an average of 434.2 yards per game.

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Yay for Eddie!

I was so happy to hear that Zook was going to replace Juice with Eddie! With Eddie as the qb, we won a game...with Juice, not so much. I feel like Juice makes the same mistakes over and over again, but because he is "Juice," he can get away with it. Maybe now that he's lost his starting spot, he'll actually make an effort to work hard if he gets in the game. I hope Eddie has learned from Juice's mistakes and can get us on the winning road!

EddieFan (not verified)    10/5/2009 - 4:56 PM

Keep in mind Eddie played

Keep in mind Eddie played against ISU not much competition. And he did come in the 4th quarter of the Ohio State game but wait he through an interception. Eddie is no improvement.

Anonymous2676 (not verified)    10/5/2009 - 6:21 PM

Lousy Play Calling

If you take away the desperation end of first half possession, and the end of game getting creamed possessions, the Illini seldom threw the ball unless it was 3rd and long. Do you think they knew we would throw on 3rd and long? Whatever happened to play action on 1st or 2nd down? Why don't we throw to set up the run.

T Brown (not verified)    10/5/2009 - 2:44 PM

The offense is going to

The offense is going to produce even less now without Juice. How about Zook takes a look at his new offensive coordinator, Mike Schultz. Schultz is the reason why the Illinois offense has been playing so bad. His play calling has continuously put the Illini in the worst possible situations.

Anonymous2676 (not verified)    10/5/2009 - 9:48 AM

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