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Behind the Mic

The Switch is Made

Posted by: Brian Barnhart

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 3:36 PM

It was a game against Iowa at Memorial Stadium in 2006 when Juice Williams became the starting quarterback at the University of Illinois.

He had come on in relief of Tim Brasic in three prior games that season against Eastern Illinois, Rutgers and Syracuse. In the game against the Orangemen... he was particularly effective late in the game when he threw for 227 yards and 2 touchdown passes. He was announced as the starter the following week by Ron Zook.... and with some ups and downs over the years... was the starting quarterback every week that freshman season... and every season since then. The number of consecutive starts at Illinois hit 38 straight last week against Penn State.

That streak is scheduled to end this weekend when the Illini battle Michigan State as Eddie McGee will take over at quarterback.

It is somewhat ironic that the last time the Illini and the Spartans met was in 2006. That meeting was in East Lansing and the Illini were underdogs and were led by a freshman quarterback named Juice Williams... who was making his 2nd career start. As we all remember...the Illini pulled out a dramatic win at Spartan Stadium that day (thanks to a game winning FG by Jason Reda). Ron Zook had his first Big Ten coaching win at Illinois....and Juice Williams his first win as a starting quarterback.

Fast forward three years later and the freshman quarterback is now a senior and has just become the all-time career yardage leader in the history of Illinois football. More career yards than my broadcast partner Kurt Kittner. More yards than Rose Bowl quarterback Jack Trudeau. More yardage than Jason Verduzco and Tony Eason. It really has been a remarkable achievement for the young man from Chicago Vocational.

But as is often the case in sports....when a team is really struggling to score points...a change has to come somewhere... and usually that change starts with the highest-profile position on the team. Thus Eddie McGee steps into the spotlight. He has been a great teammate and a close friend of Juice Williams over the years( they came to Illinois in the same recruiting class). He has always prepared himself well for when the opportunity might arise. Remember...depending on how things play out the rest of this season...McGee is in position to be the starting quarterback as a 5th year senior next year.

I can tell you that because of my play -by- play position...I get to know college football and basketball coaches very well on a personal level. I can tell you that when they make a big change like this one....it is NEVER a snap decision. Remember... this is not professional football... where the players are making lots of money whether they are playing or not. The NFL is a business and players understand that.

College coaches are dealing with kids anywhere from 18-22 years old and those kids become a part of a coach's family. They are a part of their daily lives from the recruiting process to graduation. In the heavily scrutinized world of big-time college athletics, a high-profile change, especially at quarterback (or in college basketball...the starting lineup)......has to be handled carefully.

In the Illini's case....Juice Williams is not the only reason the Illini are 1-3 heading into Saturday's tilt with the Spartans. When you win...you win as a team.The same axiom holds true for losing. You have to look for a spark somewhere... from someone.

Eddie McGee from DC gets his chance at 11 am Saturday.