News & Notes
Cubit told the media that defensive tackle Joe Fotu and safety Caleb Day will sit out one more week due to their suspensions. We still don't know exactly why they've been held out of action to this point, and we'll probably never be given an explanation -- that's typically what happens after a violation of team rules.
Injury Updates
When asked about the status of Mikey Dudek, Cubit said he's, obviously, still out with an ACL injury, but he's looking 'really good' in non-contact drills. Here's his complete answer (h/t Illini Inquirer):
"They won't let him out there until he's 100 percent. We don't need him out there unless he's 100. But he has looked really good. If you were a person coming off the street and saw him running, you wouldn't think anything is wrong with him. There's no limp. He's doing some light cutting to get him back. Certain guys, they just get back a little bit faster than certain other guys."
Senior wideout Justin Hardee will miss a third game with a broken foot. The initial prognosis was that Hardee would be out about 3-4 weeks, so hopefully he returns in time for the conference opener against Nebraska.
Senior fullback Tim Clary is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury; he'll be reevaluated after undergoing surgery on Wednesday. While jogging back to the locker room, Clary appeared to be favoring his left arm.
Backup guard Zach Heath will miss a few weeks after suffering a knee sprain late in the game. He was really struggling on the sideline, so it's very good news that he wasn't more seriously injured.
Cubit also told reporters that STAR Eric Finney returned to practice on Monday; he missed Saturday's game with a knee injury.
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