Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#976      
Any chance it has to do with waiver status? Do they give out any preliminary indicators? Maybe he’s been told he most likely won’t get a waiver?
 
#977      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
Not gonna pretend to know nuthin' 'bout nuthin', but it's pretty clear that Miami is trying their darnedest to hang on to Thomas. And why wouldn't they? Their old regime is gone. At the end of the day, I think proximity to his daughter prevails. We'll see.
 
#981      
Because we can't have good things, there are rumors and speculation swirling around on Twitter about Jeff Thomas. He apparently hasn't enrolled at U of I yet and is still in Miami.


Also, he has removed "University of Illinois" from his twitter bio and has apparently deleted the tweet about transferring to Illinois. I really hope this is all pure speculation... :cautious:

Probably has to do with Rey Estes
 
#984      

Deleted member 633632

D
Guest
Dominic Moore says he is signing in February and is deciding between New Mexico and Illinois:

https://edgytim.rivals.com/news/moore-will-sign-in-february

It will be interesting to see if he ends up taking an OV here. I thought he took an OV to New Mexcio before the December signing period?

Probably a lot going on here with Moore's academic situation and/or our lack of scholarships? Sounds like it could be down to Moore and Woods for one of the last two scholarships with the last one remaining open for Tate.

I also noticed that Simeon QB Alante Brown picked up a Florida offer. Is he not signing with Michigan State? I thought he was originally from East Lansing which is why he was heading there.

It will be interesting to see if he visits during that timeline of Jan. 25-27th when Quez will be visiting!?
 
#985      

Deleted member 633632

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Guest
So ar we 100% sure Jeff Thomas is coming? I know he signed, but there is rumblings on twitter he didnt enroll and is still in Miami?

Lovie doesn't mess around. CP is on top of this whole thing but anyone that is familiar with the situation knows that this is nothing new when it comes JT. Just ride it out and we'll see what comes of it.

Also, negative recruiting is nothing new in these parts. Georgia used the same tactics and the new coaching staff is trying to ensure they stay around for some years so their trying to make a splash and A.D. and Luke coming tells them there's less balls to go around at Illinois.

Don't be moved by this! It comes with the territory. If and when we takes hits... We'll pick ourselves up and keep on moving foward!! 🔸🔹
 
#989      
I am to this page but for jeff thomas to transfer back to Miami he has to enter the portal and sit a year something we all know he doesn't want to do and he might also have to play for school because miami might be out of scholarships
 
#990      
I am to this page but for jeff thomas to transfer back to Miami he has to enter the portal and sit a year something we all know he doesn't want to do and he might also have to play for school because miami might be out of scholarships

It is most likely he is waiting for the waiver and if he doesn't get it, he will go the juco route. Could be why he didn't enroll? Also, he could have decided to spend time at home during this semester. Deleting the Illini stuff is curious, though.
 
#991      

NBB1979

UIUCFAN1
Springfield, IL
It is most likely he is waiting for the waiver and if he doesn't get it, he will go the juco route. Could be why he didn't enroll? Also, he could have decided to spend time at home during this semester. Deleting the Illini stuff is curious, though.

Not enrolling in this semester also means no spring ball, right - he’s have to sit till summer/fall
 
#992      
Could be that Jeff Thomas is toning it down a bit out of respect for his former team / teammates who will surely miss him...
 
#993      

FT35

Naperville
Not enrolling in this semester also means no spring ball, right - he’s have to sit till summer/fall

We're in uncharted territory here. I don't know if anyone knows the answers to these questions because it's such a bizarre situation. I get it since I want clarification on what's going on as well but we'll just have to wait and see how this plays out.

I would guess that backing out of the transfer and staying at Miami would allow him to keep his eligibility. He did sign financial aid papers but those aren't as legally binding as LOIs and it wouldn't be a good look for Illinois to go after Jeff if he really wants to stay at Miami.
 
#994      
One more thing Miami can't have contact with jeff thomas because he is not in the portal and He signed his big ten tender so officially he is a part of the Illinois football program and so for miami to have contact with jeff thomas he has to be in the portal
 
#995      
One more thing Miami can't have contact with jeff thomas because he is not in the portal and He signed his big ten tender so officially he is a part of the Illinois football program and so for miami to have contact with jeff thomas he has to be in the portal
Did he ever leave the school though? Obviously he never officially started school here. Did he officially unenroll at Miami? If he was still technically a student there, wouldn’t the team be allowed to talk to him?
 
#996      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
One more thing Miami can't have contact with jeff thomas because he is not in the portal and He signed his big ten tender so officially he is a part of the Illinois football program and so for miami to have contact with jeff thomas he has to be in the portal

Great info, thanks.

Total aside, but every time I read portal, I think stargate.
 
#997      

FT35

Naperville
Did he ever leave the school though? Obviously he never officially started school here. Did he officially unenroll at Miami? If he was still technically a student there, wouldn’t the team be allowed to talk to him?

This is my interpretation of the situation as well.

Ultimately if Jeff wants to stay at Miami then Illinois is better off just letting this one go. Even if we have the legal right to force Jeff to stay, it would not be a great idea to enforce it since it would not end well for us. There was never a guarantee that he was ever going to play a snap for us because that decision is ultimately up to the NCAA.

Georgia could play games with Luke Ford because they don't care if they destroy recruiting relationships in Southern Illinois. That's an area of the country that they will probably never recruit again. Justin Fields, on the other hand, comes from an area where they will always need to recruit players so they are going to handle that situation differently. A situation like this is not worth destroying any goodwill we have with ESL at the moment.

I never even heard of this portal until a month ago.

I never heard of blueshirts until last year.
 
#998      
Did he ever leave the school though? Obviously he never officially started school here. Did he officially unenroll at Miami? If he was still technically a student there, wouldn’t the team be allowed to talk to him?
I mean he is apart of the Illinois football program because he was talked about by coach lovie and rod smith if he wasn't Illinois would be breaking a big rule. It was just like when lovie was talking on nsd With the big ten network and they ask about cumby but lovie didn't talk about cumby because he LOI wasn' thought fax machine yet so i mean jeff is apart of the illini football team so and that means he not apart of the Miami football team right now
 
#999      

Deleted member 645583

D
Guest
Personally, I don't think anything the NCAA does is binding. It's all based on whim and is meretricious (no obfuscation intended). Looks like Illini futbol is improving slowly with or without Thomas.

Sorry, Dan. Got to say that old fud memories back to 63-64 should include JFK assassination 11/63 and the arrival of four guys from Liverpool 2/64 on "Ed Sullivan Show". Thanks.
 
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