Aaron Bailey's Father Says He's 'Excited' About The Wes Lunt Transfer

Ever since the idea first surfaced that Wes Lunt could transfer to Illinois plenty of fans have worried about what kind of effect it would have on Aaron Bailey, the prize of our 2013 recruiting class. Some wondered if Lunt's addition would eventually lead to the departure of one of the Chicago area's top recruits in the future, and the possible damage that could do to Illinois' future recruiting efforts in the Chicago area.

Well, according to Aaron Bailey's dad, we don't have much to worry about. Bailey's dad, "O" Carter, told WCIA's Aaron Bennett that his son is "excited" about the addition of Lunt.

"Anything that will make the team better, Aaron wants," Carter said. "Aaron won't shy away from competition. He knew he would have to compete anywhere he went."

Which is exactly how it should be, really. I know many of us are just assuming Lunt steps in and becomes the starter in 2014, but the truth is that won't be the case. Which is another reason why it's nice to have Lunt because having a competition amongst good quarterbacks like Bailey and Lunt, along with Reilly O'Toole, only serves to make your team better.

Of course, there's also been plenty of speculation that now that Lunt is on the roster, Aaron Bailey could always change positions. Given his ability as a runner, it's not exactly a crazy idea. However, Bailey's dad says that's not in his son's plans.

"He is not interested in playing another position. He was recruited as a quarterback. He has always played quarterback," Carter said. "But he is committed to Illinois regardless."

Now, this is where I become intrigued by the possibilities if Bailey does remain a quarterback with the Illini. I don't know how much playing time he'll see in 2013, if he sees any at all -- honestly a redshirt makes a lot of sense in 2013 now that Lunt is here because then Lunt is a sophomore and Bailey's still a freshman in 2014 -- but a part of me hopes that if he's not redshirted we see him used in special packages.

As for 2014, we've seen Northwestern have plenty of success using both Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian last year. Could we see something similar with the Illini offense in 2014 in which Lunt is the primary quarterback, but Bailey comes in for certain packages and situations to change things up?

It wouldn't be the first time Tim Beckman has been the coach of a team that did something like that. At Toledo Beckman's offense utilized both Austin Dantin and Terrance Owens at quarterback. Of course, that was a different offense being run by Matt Campbell than the one the Illini will use with Bill Cubit, but it's not as if Cubit couldn't implement some of that into his offense before 2014 gets here.

So, at the moment, we shouldn't worry about what Lunt's transfer means to Aaron Bailey as much as we should wonder about the possibilities of having both of them on the roster at the same time.

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