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‘We got to get it right’: New Illinois OC talks about QB recruiting
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It’s been a while since Illinois has fielded a reliable, consistent quarterback. Injuries, transfers and inconsistency have plagued the passing attack in Champaign, something Bret Bielema is trying to correct for the future.
New offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. understands just how important it is to recruit that position well. After all, it is the most important in all of sports.
But Lunney’s approach to recruiting a quarterback isn’t to just hand out offers left and right. Instead, he’s more methodical in his approach in bringing a QB to Champaign.
He knows there’s a lot riding on it.
“I’m not in any hurry there. We got to get it right,” Lunney said, per Illini Inquirer. “I think you can through the course of in-person evals, I think it helps certainly get that right for you. So that’s going to be critical for us.”
Illinois enters the 2022 season with Art Sitkowski and Syracuse transfer Tommy DeVito expected to compete for the starting job. Sitkowski is coming off multiple surgeries this offseason for separate injuries but is expected to be full-go by fall camp.
Illinois finished with the B1G’s worst passing attack in 2021, averaging 156.2 yards per game through the air. The Illini also had 13 touchdown passes with 6 interceptions.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB