Mizzou runs better than OSUIf there was any doubt after the past two BCS Championships and Rose Bowls, the Big Ten is now officially a slow conference.
At least according to Illini linebacker Martez Wilson. The Tribune caught up with the sophomore linebacker at spring camp and he dropped the following bomb on his conference mates:
"I chose not to redshirt. I told them I'd work hard and get as much playing time as possible. I got a starting spot on special teams as a gunner, and it helped me a lot to adjust to the speed. Some teams were very fast."
Such as the first and last teams the Illini played last season, he said.
"The fastest games I played were Missouri and USC," he said.
Now, I'd prefer a guy with more than 2 tackles against the Buckeyes be the one to evaluate their team speed, but the Illini have scoreboard on us, so what is there to say.
Then again, how fast does a guy need to be when he can stiff-arm you two feet into the turf?
(Via the FanHouse)
Comments
I think everyone might have misunderstood his quote.
"The fastest games I played were Missouri and USC"
To me he is saying he was fast in those games, meaning the competition was not.
You'd be correct if what he said right before mentioning Missouri and USC wasn't "Some teams were very fast."
I'm pretty sure he's talking about game-speed.
I meant to put a sarcasm tag on my first comment, it was my afternoon attempt of trying to be funny.
Mizzou looked pretty fast against OU, USC looked fast against Stanford...I don't really know what either of those statements mean, but the Buckeyes are gonna drop the hammer on the Illini.
"Revenge is a dish best served cold"
I agree with Travis.
I guess Wilson's comments indicate that Illinois doesn't teach optics anymore. Everything looks fast when you're running twenty yards behind it.
Did anyone see the Missouri/Illinois game? Illinois had no reason to lose that game, save that it's a young program without an ingrained tradition of consistent winning. USC was faster than Illinois (especially as you worked your way down the bench), but I didn't see any appreciable difference between Illinois and Mizzou. Illinois was simply outplayed and outcoached.
I think we drop a game or two next year, with Illinois and Wisconsin being the big potholes, but I hope Poe is right, and Ohio State plasters them in Champaign. I never much liked Illinois.
[...] surprises, though we did think Martez Wilson deserved the other spot over Anthony Heygood. Even if he thinks the conference is slow, he is freakishly large and [...]