In a move that wasn't a surprise, Lovie Smith named AJ Bush the Illinois starting quarterback on Monday afternoon.
The fifth-year transfer from Virginia Tech emerged this month during training camp as the clear-cut starter, and Smith confirmed the move on Monday during his weekly press conference.
The Illini, coming off a 2-10 season in 2017 that saw Chayce Crouch, Jeff George Jr. and Cam Thomas start at quarterback, open the 2018 season at 11 a.m. on Saturday against Kent State at Memorial Stadium.
Bush, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound native of Alpharetta, Ga., is a left-handed quarterback who started his college career at Nebraska before transferring to Iowa Western Community College and then Virginia Tech.