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.

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.