There are seven practices in the books for Illinois Football, but still no answer as to who will be the starter for the Illini's season opener.

The current leaders to be "QB1" are senior Tommy DeVito and junior Artur Sitkowski, who both transferred from east coast schools over the last two seasons. The two QBs also are both from New Jersey and have known each other since middle school.

The entire quarterback room continues to battle, and DeVito and Sitkowski's history does not have any impact on the competition for the starting gig.

"Me and Tommy, we've known each other for a long time," Sitkowski said. "We just want to win, and these coaches are gonna put the best guy out there to be the best quarterback for Illinois, and we just want to win. That's all that matters here."

Six quarterbacks have been vying for that spot during the last four practices: DeVito, Sitkowski, senior Ryan Johnson, and freshmen Donovan Leary, Kirkland Michaux, and Jameson Sheehan.

With competition heating up heading into the second full week of practice, head coach Bret Bielema says the ultimate decision is still a couple weeks away. The biggest determinant will be the quarterback's ability to lead the team rather than just being the best passer, according to the Illini head coach.

"The quarterback, it's not just necessarily who's the best passer," Bielema said. "I think it's a guy that manages the team and brings the best out of the 10 players on the field with him. I really do. I think quarterback is a unique position because he speaks, makes decisions. He handles adjustments. He's really the voice to the play caller. 

I think the other big thing is how the players react to them. I know in my career, I've had situations where I thought a guy was the guy, but there just wasn't great mojo between the guy and the players, and that usually never works."