Illinois Football: No More Excuses for Quarterback Wes Lunt
Many Illinois football fans are waking up this morning and blaming Wes Lunt for the mishaps last night against North Carolina.
Well, I can’t argue against you Illinois Fighting Illini fan. Lunt had an absolutely terrible game despite what the box score shows on ESPN.
But, I did see somewhere that people want head coach Lovie Smith to put in Chayce Crouch because he is a more mobile quarterback. They said Lunt can’t move so that is why he was playing so bad.
That is not correct. That is 100-percent false on all ends.
The reason Lunt did so poorly last night was not because of his mobility. It was because he folded in the spotlight, plain and simple.
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When Lunt transferred into the Illinois football program three years ago I was excited because this kid was a decent quarterback.
Lunt was a solid 3-star recruit who was the No. 1 quarterback in the state of Illinois. He decided to pick the Oklahoma State Cowboys over the Illini, though.
Well, year one of the Lunt era was injury plagued so I gave him a pass on that season. He was even quasi-benched for Reilly O’Toole at the end of the season as well.
So then Lunt had a full season last year. He didn’t perform well in big situations and just had a below average season.
I chalked this up to a coaching change because that can be rough. It is hard to lose a head coach a week before the season and then be expected to perform well.
Heading into the 2016 season I had higher expectations for Lunt. This was his year to shine. He is a senior and if he plays well enough he could be drafted into the NFL.
The Illini are only two games into the season and I am already done with giving excuses to Lunt.
Last night’s performance was inexcusable and it showed me that I need to realize what Lunt really is as a quarterback.
Lunt had a 48-percent completion rate and was just plain bad. The biggest completions he had on the night seemed to be two or three-yard routes by the running backs that would end up getting five or six yards.
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When Lunt would throw downfield he was wildly inaccurate even on the ten-yard crossing routes.
I saw way too many balls thrown into the ground when the receiver was wide open. This was one of the most frustrating things I witnessed last night.
Now I know the wind was heavy, but these passes looked so bad and there is no excuse for them.
In addition to the inaccurate passes, North Carolina dropped a few interceptions as well. This game could have been uglier if the Tar Heels could hold onto the ball.
There were also multiple big plays that Lunt couldn’t handle the snap as well. One fumble was on the two-yard line on second down that made it into a third and eight.
So, to those people who are blaming Lunt for this loss, you aren’t in the wrong. He was really bad and, hopefully, he sees his mishaps and works on some things for the Western Michigan game.