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Illinois HC Bret Bielema Gets Honest About Michael Clayton II's Play
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- Illinois HC Bret Bielema Gets Honest About Michael Clayton II's Play
When senior University of Illinois starting quarterback Katin Houser broke his right hand in a 38-37 defeat against Michigan State on Oct. 7, the Fighting Illini's season appeared to be in serious jeopardy.
Houser kicked off his NCAA tenure with Mel Tucker's Michigan State Spartans in 2022, but had been with East Carolina over the past two years before transferring to Illinois.
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Houser went down in the third quarter while scrambling to tackle on an interception return. His backup, Michael Clayton II , came in and made an instant impact, tossing a 25-yard touchdown pass to Hudson Clement in overtime. Illinois held on to win after preventing a Michigan State two-point conversion attempt.
The 6-foot-4 freshman followed up that clutch win with another victory last week, a 21-10 home blowout of the Oregon Ducks. Clayton went 11-of-18 for 84 total passing yards, notched two touchdowns and was sacked twice.
His 38.3 quarterback rating through a game-and-change (he's active today against Maryland, in an ongoing matchup) leaves a lot to be desired, but head coach Bret Bielema loves what he sees so far.
Oct 24, 2026; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema reacts during the second half against the Oregon Ducks at Gies Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Clayton is Already Impressing His Head Coach
So just how good is Michael Clayton II?
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Illinois head coach Bret Bielema hopped onto Sirius XM's B1G Radio to explain Clayton's upside to hosts Matt Schick and Anthony Herron.
"He's a very, very dynamic arm. I think sometimes quarterbacks can throw the short-to-immediate, but maybe they struggle down the field, or they struggle with the touch game. This is my 18th year as a head coach, but [I've had] over 35-plus years of coaching," Bielema said. "He's probably got one of the most dynamic arms that I've been witness to."
At present, the Fighting Illini boast a 4-3 record (2-2 in the Big Ten).
While that's almost certainly not good enough for the program to make the College Football Playoff this year, qualifying for a Bowl game is at least still very much on the table.
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Houser vs. Clayton Showdown Impending?
The door has been left open for Houser to possibly return later this season. Adam Rittenberg of ESPN reports that the older signal caller went under the knife for surgery to that throwing hand two weeks ago. He was a game-time decision heading into today's ongoing clash with the Terrapins, so clearly a comeback is happening sooner rather than later.
Across his six healthy games for Illinois this year, Houser has logged 1,440 passing yards and 12 touchdowns (against four interceptions). He's connected on at least 68 percent of his throws in four of those games.
Clayton, meanwhile, is clearly talented if raw. Still, his rave reviews from Bielema suggest that there may be a serious battle for the No. 1 spot in the works – whenever Houser is actually able to suit up again this fall.
