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CHAMPAIGN – There's no way to sugar-coat this one.

Illini coach Ron Zook absorbed a low blow to the solar plexus with the medical decision that junior Martez Wilson must undergo surgery for a herniated disk in the neck area. Such is life in a collision sport. It came just days after the Chicago Bears learned that their prize middle backer, Brian Urlacher, was lost due to a dislocated wrist.

With the Big Ten's top teams, Ohio State and Penn State, looming on the horizon, Zook is obliged to promote a little-known Washington, D.C., redshirt, Evan Frierson, to the critical middle linebacker position. For a mystery team approaching the fork in the road, the route to disappointment is lighted and as mesmerizing as the mythical sirens of Virgil. From any viewpoint, a season that hit the rocky shores in St. Louis (a 37-9 loss to Missouri), faces even bumpier waters without Wilson.

"This is our first major adversity," said Zook, placing the loss of sub cornerback Miami Thomas (knee surgery) in a lesser category. "We found out this morning that surgery is best for Martez, so we'll get him fixed and bring him back next season. He was bothered in the Missouri game, and we held him out against Illinois State. We thought he would be fine. The surgery will be fairly soon, based on his academic situation and the classes he'll have to miss. He could be out (of football) from three to seven months."

Strong tackler

This is not to say the Chicago Simeon star has met the expectations of a five-star prep All-American deemed the No. 1 player in the Midwest by the Detroit Free Press. But he was good enough as a sophomore to rank No. 14 in Big Ten tackles and had a high of 13 against Minnesota. Moving from the outside slot to the middle this year, he was projected as a fourth-team All-American by Phil Steele's magazine. Though he hadn't displayed J Leman-like instincts, he always has been a physical presence with uncommon speed for a 250-pounder.

Wilson trailed only Big Ten leader Brit Miller (132) and first-round NFL draft choice Vontae Davis (78) with 73 tackles last season, even though he was replaced as a starter by senior Sam Carson in November and was suspended prior to the final game at Northwestern. Wilson was in on nine tackles in the 2009 opener against Missouri.

"During the Missouri game, I felt it was a little more than a stinger because I felt some aftershocks," Wilson said. "It was different because I felt pain down my arm. I told the trainers after the game, and the following day I was advised to get an MRI (exam).

"This is a setback and it hurts because I was confident I could help the team as a leader on defense. I put in a lot of hard work. I definitely wasn't expecting to get this news. I thought I'd be playing against Ohio State. I felt fine on the field Wednesday (withheld from contact).

"I'll be a junior again next year (due to the medical redshirt) and, this way, I'll be able to get my degree."

Though this will be Wilson's first football-related operation, he also underwent surgery in December after being stabbed front and back during a melee outside a campus bar.

Solid replacement

Don't discount Frierson. A former teammate of Illini Tavon Wilson and Eddie McGee at Woodson High, he matriculated to the UI after breaking an oral commitment to North Carolina. He was withheld last season due to NCAA Clearinghouse difficulties.

Frierson is a compact, 225-pounder with "a nose for the football" like that of the UI's early-season tackle leader, Ian Thomas. Frierson was the leading tackler for some of the spring scrimmages and had an interception in the spring game.

"We lose a leader and a big physical guy who was as fast as any linebacker in the Big Ten," Zook said, "but anytime you lose a starter, it gives someone else a chance to step up. This was Evan's first camp (at Rantoul), and he has gotten better every day."

Just last November, when Wilson was supplanted as a starter, Carson replaced him and was a pleasant surprise. He garnered six tackles in a 27-24 defeat of Iowa and had eight more stops in a 30-20 loss to Ohio State.

"When we use three-linebacker sets against Ohio State," Zook said, "we'll move Frierson in and keep Thomas where he is. Frierson is a natural and, as he learns the position, he'll get better and better."

The Illini have used a nickel formation, which usually calls for two linebackers, extensively in the first two games. The nature of Ohio State's game may require more use of a basic approach next weekend in Columbus against the steamrolling Buckeyes and mobile quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

Loren Tate writes for The News-Gazette. He can be reached at ltate@news-gazette.com.