Oct 20, 2006 3 min read

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – How typical: quarterbacks hogging the spotlight. At Penn State, it’s because the top two quarterbacks are recovering from concussions suffered last week against Michigan.

Usual starter Anthony Morelli and backup Daryll Clark were cleared to play Thursday, though it’s still unclear who will get the start on Saturday against Illinois.

No such worries for the Illini. Isiah Williams now runs the offense, and he’s just a freshman.

Williams has thrown for 925 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions this season, completing 43 percent of his passes.

But he might be more dangerous because of his legs: Williams has rushed for 419 yards on 78 carries.

The 6-foot-2 Williams even has the flashy nickname of “Juice.”

“He is a very, very fine runner and a strong, big kid,” Penn State coach Joe Paterno said.

Still, Williams is just a first-year player making just his fifth start of his career at a tough road venue against a Penn State squad eager for a win following the loss last week to the Wolverines. Plus, Penn State has an athletic group of linebackers who might be able to control Williams.

It could be a tall order for the freshman, who is still learning to use his offensive line.

“There’s times he doesn’t have to escape. A lot of times, if he’s going too deep, there’s no offensive line in the country that’s going to protect him,” Illinois coach Ron Zook said. “Sometimes if he sits there and lets it open up, he’ll be in good shape.”

That’s not quite the case for Penn State heading into Saturday’s homecoming weekend contest.

Morelli, the strong-armed junior, has shown signs of improvement over the last two weeks after an inconsistent start, though how much he plays – if at all – remains in question.

Morelli, along with Clark were limited in practice for much of the week as doctors monitored their recoveries.

Third-stringer Paul Cianciolo would take over if Morelli or Clark are limited.

Paterno wasn’t sure earlier this week how much of the playbook would be scaled back because of the quarterback questions.

Either way, linebacker Dan Connor said the defense wasn’t feeling any extra pressure to contain Illinois to give the offense some breathing room.

“There’s always pressure on the defense to get a shutout and play a great game,” Connor said. “The defense is really going to have to hold on and not give up many points.”

Defense wasn’t a problem last year for Penn State after routing the Illini 63-10 in Champaign.

The Lions led that game 56-3 by halftime.

Hanging on in close games has been a problem this year for Illinois. The Illini have lost their last two games, to Indiana and Ohio at home, on field goals with 5 seconds or less on the clock.

That might be something that comes with more experience, with Williams and 15 other true freshmen having already played this season for Illinois, including five who have made starts.

Only Temple has played more true freshmen (20).

“We haven’t lost vision of where we’re at, where we’re going, or how we’ve got to get there,” Zook said.

“We have to finish. Right now we’re going through some growing pains.”