‘A little bit of a gunslinger’: Clayton steps up as Houser goes down

Saturday should have been a glorious return to East Lansing for Katin Houser. Instead, he left the game with a broken hand.

For Houser – who spent his first two years of college at Michigan State – the homecoming should’ve felt incredible. However, he spent the latter part of the game on the sidelines, watching the true freshman quarterback he had mentored lead the Illini to victory.

That true freshman was none other than Michael Clayton, a guy we should expect to see a lot more of this season.

With Houser now projected to miss four to six weeks, Clayton is presumably the starting QB for the rest of the season.

Clayton emerges as the new QB1

With Houser sidelined in the third quarter of Saturday’s contest, it was presumably Carson Boyd who was going to be replacing him.

Considering that Boyd had been getting almost all of the backup reps behind Houser this year. However, it was Clayton who ended up trotting on the field.

It seems, though, that the Illini coaching staff had little doubt in the freshman from Florida.

“One of the most dynamic arms just purely as a quarterback that I’ve recruited and been around,” Bielema said of Clayton.

Bielema explained that offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. wasn’t afraid to remain aggressive with the young quarterback taking snaps.

“I knew Barry wasn’t going to hold back because he knows he got a thrower, a little bit of a gunslinger,” Bielema said.

That confidence carried into overtime, when Illinois executed a touchdown play that helped put the pressure back on Michigan State.

Bielema credited both the play call and Clayton’s execution in the crucial moment.

With so much negativity surrounding this year’s Illinois team, and a less-than-impressive 3-3 record, Clayton is giving Illini fans something to hope for.

For fans who may have tuned out of the season and are just looking forward to basketball, Clayton will definitely be worth watching in the coming weeks.

Houser and Clayton’s connection

Although Clayton’s opportunity came unexpectedly, Illinois had spent months preparing for a situation just like Saturday’s.

Bielema said the coaching staff discussed different quarterback scenarios throughout the season, deciding whether Clayton or Carson Boyd would be the better option depending on the circumstances.

“At one point it was Carson, then it went to Michael,” Bielema said.

Bielema also credited Houser for helping Clayton develop. The two quarterbacks lived together for about a month after arriving on campus, giving Clayton a chance to learn from his more experienced teammate.

“He’s [Houser] also, in my opinion, kind of really kind of monitored and built up Michael,” Bielema said.

With all of Houser’s experience, Clayton couldn’t ask for a better mentor.

“This guy’s been through a lot. He’s played a lot of football,” Bielema said of Houser.

With the Illini entering their bye week, the quarterback situation will remain one of the team’s biggest storylines.

However, as disappointing as Houser’s injury is, Clayton’s breakout against Michigan State breathes some new life into a team that has taken some big punches lately.

Clayton’s opportunity over the next several weeks is also rare.

Not only do true freshman QBs rarely get a chance to start in the Big Ten, but Bielema has essentially no history of playing quarterbacks he’s recruited out of high school at Illinois.

Clayton on Saturday became the first Bielema high school QB recruit at Illinois to win a game – and keep in mind, Bielema has been in Champaign since 2021.

Regardless of the pressure on Clayton, he already got over his biggest hump against Michigan State – simply winning a football game.

Now, with a full two weeks off from Michigan State to Oregon, the orange and blue finally have a chance to take a deep breath, and their new quarterback may be just what the doctor ordered.