“Malik is no longer with us,” said head coach Bret Bielema.
After Illinois’ (4-1, 1-1) win on Saturday, Bielema announced to the media that junior receiver Malik Elzy was no longer with the team. The wideout chose to sit out the rest of the season and take a redshirt year.
“He’s a guy that wanted a redshirt,” Bielema said. “If someone doesn’t want to be a part of that and wants a redshirt, then I can’t keep them.”
A homegrown talent, Elzy has played in 23 games for the Illini. He has over 200 yards in his career. This season, Elzy caught seven passes for 84 yards.
Before the season, the wide receiver group was a question mark with no real leader. Five games in, and it has flipped into a strength. Senior receiver Hank Beatty has shown himself to be a star. Juniors Hudson Clement and Justin Bowick have both started the season strong.
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While losing Elzy isn’t a positive, there is plenty of depth in the receiver room to fill his shoes. Bielema also said there were no hard feelings between him and Elzy. The head coach wants to help the receiver in any way he can.
“We had a very, very detailed conversation over a couple days,” Bielema said. “I’m actually leaving that conversation pissed because I couldn’t get him to be successful the way he wanted.”
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