Juice Williams Still Can't Throw; Is There A QB Controversy?

There were a few positives that spilled out of Illinois' scrimmage Saturday in Chicago.

• Rashard Mendenhall ran well, averaging 7.6 yards on ten runs.
• Dere Hicks, a converted defensive back, was solid at receiver, catching four for 51 yards.
• Defensive back Tyler Rouse had seven tackles and an interception.
• Linebacker Antonio Steele had six tackles and a sack.
• Most importantly, perhaps, there were no initial reports of serious injuries.

However, there is a glaring negative, one that will probably continue to haunt the Illini coaching staff until we see signs of improvement.

Juice Williams still can't throw.

The sophomore quarterback was undoubtedly thrown into a very difficult situation as a true freshman last year. He was being asked to take over an offense that could run the ball, but was in desperate need of a triggerman. Williams was expected to struggle, but I don't think anyone honestly expected that Williams would hit less than 40 percent of his passes on the season. Well, he did.

Despite Williams' accuracy issues (39.5 percent is pretty terrible, right?), the Illini still ran for 188 yards per game a year ago, and there is no question that there were reasons for hope, even though the team struggled to win games.
Well, any expectation that Williams would improve as a passer took a hit Saturday, when he hit just five of 16 passes in the scrimmage, including the game's only interception. You can't take much out of a spring scrimmage, but I can't imagine anyone is happy with the poor play of Williams. He was clearly outplayed Saturday by backup Eddie McGee, who said afterwards that he's not worrying about getting a chance at the job.

Illinois coach Ron Zook attributed Williams' problems to nerves, as Williams played his high school football in Chicago, so it was a bit of a homecoming for him. Personally, I'd be more apt to give Zook and Williams the benefit of the doubt if Williams hadn't been so awful last year. Zook gave no indication Saturday that McGee, a redshirt freshman, has any shot at the starting job. However, we've already pointed out the improvements that Illinois made defensively last year, and there is no doubt that they can run the ball.

(It was the improvement on defense, after all, that kept Illinois in most of the games they were close in last year, including the losses to Wisconsin and Ohio State.)

Can Illinois really afford to leave Juice Williams in at quarterback if he continues to struggle with his accuracy? The summer in Champaign will surely be interesting.