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Barry Lunney Jr. discusses impact of Chase Brown, balancing workload entering Week 4
By Eric Woods
Published:
Illinois is coming off an extended break in preparation for a Thursday night matchup with Chattanooga after defeating ACC foe Virginia 24-3 in Week 2.
Perhaps the player who most needed that break was star running back Chase Brown, who has already amassed 75 carries in through 3 games, which is the third most in the country. Offensive Coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. discussed his workload in Monday’s press conference.
“That’s something we’re trying to pay attention to is the workload and trying to make sure he doesn’t get overworked,” Lunney Jr. said, via 247Sports. “We did a better job of that last week against Virginia and obviously with the lead we were able to maybe not use him as much in the whole game, which was great for him.”
Brown, however, has not dipped in production so far as he leads the nation with 496 rushing yards, so it is certainly hard for Lunney Jr. to keep him off the field.
“Just a really gifted runner that when we block people and we target people the right way and cover them up, he’s bound to make something happen,” Lunney Jr. said. “It’s good to have him on our team. We’ve got to continue. That’s through three weeks. We’re certainly not going to rest on that. We’ve got to continue to get better in the running game and he knows that. We’re excited that he’s off to a good start.”
The Fighting Illini should look to keep Brown fresh moving forward so he can produce throughout the long season. Through 3 games the next closest rusher is Reggie Love II with 17, so Illinois needs to get creative to save the legs of its star.