Illinois coach Ron Turner received an encouraging report on quarterback Jon Beutjer’s back and sternum injury Monday.
“He feels a lot better,” Turner said. “We’ll have to see how he does [Tuesday]. That’s going to be the key. He’s got to practice to play [against Western Michigan]. He can’t go out there without practicing. We want him to be 100 percent healthy. If he’s ready to go, we’ll play him.” . . .
Turner said films of Western Michigan’s 63-0 loss to Virginia Tech indicated that the injury that knocked Broncos quarterback Blayne Baggett out of the game in the first quarter “was a very similar type hit to the one Jon took–he released the ball and got hit.” . . .
Last year Illinois wide receiver Mark Kornfeld caught 44 passes and 31 produced first downs. He caught passes of 21 and 5 yards in the loss to UCLA, and both were for first downs.
– Next: Saturday vs. Western Michigan, 1 p.m.
