Illinois offensive coordinator Garrick McGee thinks Mikey Dudek could return in 2016

"Nowadays, guys are coming back. I’ve had a couple guys who have had this same type of leg injury in spring ball and by the time you get to conference games, they’re back. I’ve had that happen before. I’m not completely ruling [Dudek] out for the season."

~ Garrick McGee via The News-Gazette

So there's that.

I'm not quite sure how many of Garrick McGee's past players are being referenced here, but there's a 100% chance that none of them had consecutive ACL injuries to the same knee. Mikey Dudek's work ethic isn't in question here (he was reportedly going through upper body workouts in the weight room before his procedure), but physical rehab on this scale is an entirely different animal. Everything could go flawlessly according to plan, and I'd still have doubts about him coming back before 2017 Spring ball.

Dudek's right knee was repaired during a successful surgery in Florida on Tuesday; there's no timetable for his return to the field.

Five University of Illinois athletic teams earned the NCAA Public Recognition Award based on their multi-year Academic Progress Rate.

~ Fighting Illini Athletics

Congratulations to Fighting Illini Men's Golf (1000 APR), Women's Golf (1000), Women's Tennis (1000), Volleyball (1000), and Baseball (1000)!

The NCAA recognized these five programs on Wednesday after they each placed in the top 10-percent of their respective sports nationally for APR over the past four years. All five teams were repeat winners of the award, having also been honored for their efforts during the 2014-15 school year.

The APR scores for all D-1 teams will be released by the NCAA on April 20. For those interested in how the Illini performed last year, you can click here to see the results for all 21 varsity sports.

Charlie Danielson named semi-finalist for the 2016 Ben Hogan Award

~ Fighting Illini Athletics

Illinois' Charlie Danielson was named one of ten semi-finalists for the Ben Hogan Award on Wednesday. The honor, which is given to the nation's top men's college golfer, will be handed out at a banquet on May 23.

Danielson is averaging 71.0 strokes per round this Spring, and he's earned six separate top-five finishes at events. According to Golfweek Magazine, the senior is the No. 1 golfer in the Big Ten, and the No. 7 player in the country.

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