Illinois opened 2026 training camp Monday night at Gies Memorial Stadium with the lights on and the new scoreboard in place, and the first real storyline out of the gate was the race behind Katin Houser.
Bret Bielema made it clear before practice that Houser remains the Illini’s QB1 after locking down the job in spring ball. The attention now shifts to the backup spot, and Illinois is treating that battle with unusual seriousness. The staff has put cameras on the front of the quarterbacks’ helmets this fall so it can see what they see during practice and, just as important, hear what they say.
“Obviously everybody thinks because it’s a camera, you want to see, but it actually has a speaker on it, and we definitely want to hear what our quarterbacks say,” Bielema said. “I always say volume reflects confidence, and you can definitely hear the difference.
So when you hear Katin talk, and the last couple years when you hear Luke [Altmyer]. Then when quarterbacks haven't gotten a lot of reps, sometimes they don't speak with great volume, and people respect people at volume, especially in leadership positions.
So we're doing all we can.”
That backup competition stands out because it is, in Bielema’s tenure, something close to a first. Illinois has had a transfer as QB2 in four of the last five seasons - Art Sitkowski in 2021-22, John Paddock in 2023 and Ethan Hampton in 2025.
Donovan Leary was the only in-house backup during that stretch, in 2024. This year, the Illini are finally looking inward for the No. 2 job.
Bielema also addressed the media for about 10 minutes before practice and announced that Class of 2026 wide receiver Davon Grant will not play at Illinois for medical reasons.
The media then got a look at the first six periods of practice, roughly 40 minutes, as camp got underway under the glow of the nation’s largest scoreboard. One early note from the session: Schuster gave Illinois a boost to offensive line depth.
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