About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oct. 24—Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. provides perspective from his side of the ball with the Illini now coming off their lone open week of the 2026 season and hosting Oregon, from beat writer Scott Richey:
"We've been pretty transparent with everybody. There was room for both (Clayton and Carson Boyd). There was an argument for both guys. To be honest with you, once the game situation unfolded the way it did, there was a moment of discussion and thought process of exactly who was going to go in there and jump into the game. Regardless, I felt pretty confident that no matter what we did that both of them would play. That's what happened. Now, Carson didn't play as much as I maybe thought he would in that moment, but the situation kind of flipped real quickly from what it was to what it ended up being at the end of the game.
"It was just a long process of spring ball and fall camp and through the weeks of practice. Just felt like at that moment Michael would give us the best chance in those moments, but Carson could supplement and help us move the football, as well. Those are never easy decisions. Certainly for the individual guys, one guy it works out better for than the other, but I was pleased with what Carson did to help us in that regard, and I've been very impressed with his attitude and his response the last week, as well."
"That's somewhat to be determined, but nothing has drastically changed from our vantage point a few weeks ago. Despite Michael getting the bulk of the opportunity and taking advantage of that, we feel like we have another guy on campus in that room that can help us win. We're very confident in that."
"I thought those guys worked well together during the Michigan State game and responded from a physicality standpoint. We're also experimenting with what moves or what might be best for us based on matchups given every week is a little bit different about who you're seeing, what you're playing against and what we're trying to accomplish offensively. I do think they handled the move well, and I thought it was a solid move for us overall."
"Understanding of the offense from A-Z the best you can. That's my job, our job, to get him to a point he's comfortable and put him in there only with what he's comfortable with. We're not oblivious to the fact that a young player may not have the playbook mastered as well as a guy like Jordan Anderson or Aidan Laughery would being in the system for an extended period of time. We want to see growth and consistency and attention to detail and intentionality in everything he does in practice.
"We came out on the field Sunday night, and I thought he had his best practice. There were some hiccups and mistakes — there's going to be that — but I think he's getting a lot closer. I think the benefit of the open date was advantageous for him, as well, because I think he's made some steps in the right direction. We're looking forward to him impacting us in a stronger way than he has."
"It's the talent. It's the advanced scheme. It's the confidence they play with. It's a very impressive unit. We just watch the tape and know these guys are, across the board up front in particular, are a very heralded group for good reason. It will be a tremendous challenge for us the way that they play on defense, which you would expect in the Big Ten from an elite defensive unit. That's what we're seeing this week. We're going to have to play really well, plan really well, and I'm excited about the opportunity."
Source: Sports
0 Comments