Nittany Lions must bottle up Illini's 'Juice'

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Illinois coach Ron Zook hopes to shake "Juice'' loose Saturday at Beaver Stadium. But Penn State would like to put the squeeze on the Illinois quarterback, whose given name is Isiah Williams.The junior three-year starter has proved to be both electrifying and erratic this season. He threw for a career-high 451 yards and five touchdowns in a season-opening loss to Missouri, then ran all over Eastern Illinois the following week, netting 174 yards rushing, a 10.9 average per carry, and two touchdowns.Two weeks ago, Williams threw for only 147 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a three-point win against Louisiana-Lafayette.Juice's passing totals aren't that great. He has tossed seven touchdowns against five interceptions.Still, Penn State coach Joe Paterno, whose 12th-ranked Nittany Lions (4-0) will face the 22nd-ranked Illini (2-1) in their Big Ten opener Saturday night, believes Williams is one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the conference."I think Juice Williams played very, very well against us last year," Paterno said earlier this week. "Obviously, he's better this year. He's been a little bit more consistent. I think they've depended on him a little bit more this year than they did last year."I think he's doing a really good job for them. He's a big kid. He runs well. I think he's made good progress."Williams is a great scrambler -- he already holds the school record for career rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,550 -- but still needs to improve his passing accuracy."Everything has to get better," he said. "I have to be a better passer, better leader, better runner. An average game is not going to get it done."Williams completed 11-of-24 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown in last year's 27-20 victory against Penn State in Champaign before being replaced in the fourth quarter by Eddie McGee.Arrelious Benn, the Big Ten freshman of the year, had a 90-yard kickoff return and a 29-yard touchdown catch from Williams against the Nittany Lions.Illinois, which finished 9-4 last season and ended a six-year postseason drought by going to the Rose Bowl, is a 14-1/2-point underdog against Penn State, which is 1-7 in its past eight Big Ten openers.Penn State, which has 14 sacks through four games, will aim to contain Williams."He's a heck of a football player," defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said. "He's got great wheels. He certainly changes how you think on the perimeter. We have not seen anyone like that yet."It's going to be a real challenge for us to try and defend their offense."There could be some help on the way.Defensive end Maurice Evans and defensive tackle Abe Koroma, two former starters, have returned from their three-game suspensions."They practiced (Monday), but I'm not so sure what I'm going to do the rest of the week," Paterno said.Evans and Koroma were charged last week with possession of a small amount of marijuana in their campus apartment, and their preliminary hearings for the misdemeanor charges have been set for Oct. 22.Evans and Koroma are expected to dress for the game against Illinois, but neither is expected to start."They could have practiced last week if I would have let them," Paterno said.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)