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The Illinois Fighting Illini have a passing game that has continued to progress this offseason with Katin Houser at the controls of Barry Lunney, Jr.'s offense.

Coach Bret Bielema led the Fighting Illini to a 9-4 record last season and soon it will be time to make a push for a College Football Playoff spot with UAB headed to town for a 9 p.m. ET kickoff on Sept. 3 at Gies Memorial Stadium. 

Houser has a mountain of work ahead of him if he has any expectation of helping the Illini compete for the playoffs, but has made excellent process in many areas so far. 

On Monday, the comments of passing game coordinator Mike Neu were revealed on Houser's progress in one key area. 

Houser: A Quick Study

Houser has been tasked with embracing a new system this offseason and has made his time in Champaign count according to Neu. 

"I think more than anything just embracing really a new system, you know, coach Lunney's offensive system is a little bit different from what he was asked to execute at East Carolina, and for him to embrace that, and playing some under center he certainly looks comfortable whenever we want to be able to do that," Neu said according to reporter Courtney Layne Brewer of WCIA-3 Champaign. 

"You know, I think he can do it all, I really do and I'm very confident in what I've been able to see from him, both in the meeting room and on the practice field, I feel like he's one of those guys, whatever tweaks or adjustments that you wanna implement during the week of a gameplan, he can get any of that done, and he can do it at a high level," Neu added. 

Houser has increased his passing yards from over 1,100 in his freshman season to over 2,000 in his sophomore season to 3,300 last season with the Pirates. 

His processing speed has picked up, and soon it will be time for him to show it off against the Blazers. 

Supporting Cast Outlook

Houser's supporting cast is looking better by the day with receivers Hudson Clement, Jayshon Platt, and Collin Dixon garnering hype.

The Fighting Illini also showed recently that they're not afraid to make late additions to Houser's list of receiver targets as they added Peyton Smith to the roster. 

Smith is a tight end transfer from the University of San Diego Toreros who will add a much-needed depth piece to the mix, a small but valuable addition to Lunney, Jr. and Neu's offense. 

Houser was oft-maligned during his time at Michigan State, but the winds of change have been blowing. 

The new Illini signal caller could find himself as one of the Big Ten's better QBs by the end of the season, and Illinois could once again find itself with a strong record as Houser continues to grow into his considerable talents. 

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