College Football Betting Odds

Illinois Loses Starting DT - August 14th, 2008

By Jordan Walters
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook

The injury bug in college football has hit another preseason top-20 team, as Illinois has lost projected starting defensive tackle Sirod Williams for the season.

Williams, a 6-foot, 292-pounder considered the strongest player on the team, had earned the right to replace the graduated Chris Norwell in the lineup.

But he injured his knee Saturday and learned he had a torn ACL after undergoing an MRI on Monday. Williams, a senior who will redshirt, was a backup last season and finished with 15 tackles.

"I feel bad for him because he's such a great kid," coach Ron Zook said. "He's been here for the whole time with us and was in our first recruiting class. A lot of them weren't ready to play as freshmen, but we had to play then and thank God we did because now we're going to have him back for another year."

Sophomore Josh Brent is the leading candidate to move into a starting role, and he started in an Illinois scrimmage this week.

"We basically considered all three of us as starters, with more than likely Sirod and Dave Lindquist the starters," Brent said. "Now with Sirod down, I’m starting.”

 

Redshirt freshman Daryle Ballew and true freshmen Corey Liuget (one of the nation’s top recruits) and Reggie Ellis will also get a shot.

“The defensive line is the strength of our team,' coach Ron Zook said.”We're working a lot of guys in multiple positions.

Senior Will Davis, a preseason all-Big Ten pick at defensive end, also played several snaps at tackle during the scrimmage.

"I've been doing that since the beginning of spring," Davis said. "They told me after spring that they wanted me to try out at the "3 technique" tackle."

Illinois opens the season Aug. 30 in a top-20 neutral site battle against Missouri in St Louis, and the Illini are 8-point underdogs on WagerWeb.com.