Football
Illinois Football Injury Update: Will Josh Kreutz or Aidan Laughery Play vs Ohio State?
An update on the health status of Fighting Illini Starting Running back Aidan laughery and Center Josh Kreutz.
As Illinois Football prepares to take on No. 1 Ohio State, head coach Bret Bielema met with the media Thursday afternoon to provide health updates on a pair of offensive starters whose availability had been in question entering the week. If Illinois has any hopes of toppling the nation’s best, it’ll take every weapon they have at their disposal at full strength.
The reigning national champion Buckeyes are no joke—entering this highly anticipated matchup 5–0 with notable wins over Texas, Washington, and, most recently, over Minnesota. With Heisman hopeful quarterback Julian Sayin leading the charge, this team is dangerous and undoubtedly presents Illinois with its toughest challenge of the season. Ryan Day’s squad is loaded with NFL-caliber talent and possesses the ability to make a run at a repeat in 2025, if all falls into place.
That said, there’s a real opportunity looming for Illinois to make a loud and clear statement. If the 17th-ranked Fighting Illini want any chance at shocking the nation and pulling off their biggest upset in nearly two decades, Luke Altmyer and the Illini offense will need to be firing at full throttle. Fortunately, Bielema had encouraging news on Thursday, regarding key starters (RB) Aidan Laughery and (C) Josh Kreutz, who were sidelined in last week’s victory at Purdue.
Will the Illini face the Buckeyes at strength? The current outlook is certainly promising.
Illinois Football. Fighting Illini. Aidan Laughery. Photo Credit: Aidan Lauhgery on Instagram. (@aidanlaughery).
Illinois Football Injury Report: Updates from Bret Bielema
Despite unexpectedly missing Week 6, Bielema expressed confidence that junior running back Aidan Laughery will be ready to return, giving Illinois’ ground game a much-needed boost against one of the nation’s most dominant defenses.
“A lot of guys got some good, valuable reps this week. Aidan Laughery has been with us all week,” said Bielema.
Laughery’s return is certainly welcome news, as establishing a rhythm on the ground will be critical if the Illini hope to combat a ferocious Buckeye front led by defensive end Caden Curry, who leads the Big Ten in sacks with 5. However, that effort starts up front with Bart Miller’s offensive line, and the return of veteran center Josh Kreutz could prove massive for Illinois.
Luckily, Bielema said he expects the senior center to be available when the Illini kick off on Saturday.
“Josh Kreutz actually practiced today. We’ll see where that goes to Saturday,” Bielema said. “He was adamant about practicing today…. even a week ago. So today I was very impressed with what I saw. Super resilient. Incredibly tough. Again, he’s been a three-year starter. There’ve been times during my career here, I would say over the last two or three years, guys who have started multiple years—they really don’t need a lot of reps. Josh has been locked in—headset communication all the way during last week’s preparation, this week’s preparation. Super excited about the opportunity.”
With both Laughery and Kreutz trending toward availability, Illinois could be as close to full strength as they’ve been all season. Just in time for their biggest home test of the Bret Bielema era thus far.
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