Illini Football 2019

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#26      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
I’m not convinced of this. I think the first could be a squeaker just with a new qb and trouble gelling

There might be a squeaker mixed in there, but if we're at a competitive Big Ten level we'll be outclassing that non-conference schedule as a whole.

It's year 4 under this head coach, with both coordinators from the end of last year returning running the same schemes with a mature, experienced team that has returning production on both sides of the ball in the upper tier of the country. Our opponents should be having more trouble gelling than we do.

Life is full of mystery, and far stranger things have happened than a college football team being poor through three games then improving, but if we're limping our way to 3-0, or god forbid lose any of these games, the evidence would be very strong that we're in for a long season.
 
#27      
There might be a squeaker mixed in there, but if we're at a competitive Big Ten level we'll be outclassing that non-conference schedule as a whole.

It's year 4 under this head coach, with both coordinators from the end of last year returning running the same schemes with a mature, experienced team that has returning production on both sides of the ball in the upper tier of the country. Our opponents should be having more trouble gelling than we do.

Life is full of mystery, and far stranger things have happened than a college football team being poor through three games then improving, but if we're limping our way to 3-0, or god forbid lose any of these games, the evidence would be very strong that we're in for a long season.

That is undeniable. Lose one of the first three and bowling gets increasingly difficult. Plus, the offense is more likely to struggle. Hey nfortunately that means the defense is on the field for larger stretches. Not ideal for a long healthy season.
 
#29      

Deleted member 631370

D
Guest
Good article with Nate Hobbs interview. Rondale moore nugget was interesting
https://247sports.com/college/illin...big-jump-after-hitting-rock-bottom-133780182/


Moore was a 4* WR with offers from Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, etc. Not sure how many of those offers were "commitable" or if he was a priority for any of them, but he was clearly a talent coming out of HS.

Whatever coach said that he was too short and not worth pursuing is, frankly, a moron.

(not that we would likely have gotten Moore anyway, unless there's some other connection to Illinois that I'm not aware of)
 
#36      
I have found Lou Hernandez’s return to be pretty impactful thus far. It is nice to see that our team, which was so young, is starting to develop physically and might be able to bully people this year instead of the other way around. Lou’s page is definitely something positive to check out if you have an Instagram or Twitter. I grew up watching Zook’s teams and Hernandez always had his guys pretty yolked up. It just gives me hope that this physical maturation will have an effect on our win total this year.
 
#37      
I have found Lou Hernandez’s return to be pretty impactful thus far. It is nice to see that our team, which was so young, is starting to develop physically and might be able to bully people this year instead of the other way around. Lou’s page is definitely something positive to check out if you have an Instagram or Twitter. I grew up watching Zook’s teams and Hernandez always had his guys pretty yolked up. It just gives me hope that this physical maturation will have an effect on our win total this year.

It is cool to see t on his Instagram and Twitter. However the counterpoint is that moving into junior year for most of these guys, this is the time that physical progress should really be showing anyway.
 
#39      

Joel Goodson

respect my decision™
It is cool to see t on his Instagram and Twitter. However the counterpoint is that moving into junior year for most of these guys, this is the time that physical progress should really be showing anyway.

Yes. This isn't a knock on Boese (sp?). Hernandez may be an outstanding strength coach, but there's a huge difference between underclassmen and upperclassmen. There just is. Two years into a D1 strength program yields an enormous difference.
 
#40      
Yes. This isn't a knock on Boese (sp?). Hernandez may be an outstanding strength coach, but there's a huge difference between underclassmen and upperclassmen. There just is. Two years into a D1 strength program yields an enormous difference.


Absolutely. Part of the downside of starting from the ground up was that we’d be at a significant strength/playing experience disadvantage, so it is just encouraging to see how much stronger overall we are as a team compared to last year. How well it really affects our play obviously remains to be seen, but I believe that we will be a little better suited in the front 7 of the defense to handle teams like Wisconsin and Iowa where it’s a fist fight in the trenches and that strength really matters to shed blocks/attack pulling lineman etc. Not knocking Boese whatsoever, he moved on the the NFL, but the increased visibility into the daily grind is cool. Go Illini!
 
#45      
If our biggest surprise is a pleasant one from either Williams or Peters, we'll be in great shape this fall.
 
#47      

Deleted member 654622

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For those interested in the impact of Lou as the strength coach, you should listen to the Jeremy Werner podcast from yesterday. Bobby Walker was on and had a lot of very interesting things to say about it. Encouraging things for sure. It kind of brought some insight that maybe Joey B's style is geared more toward professional men than college kids maturing?
 
#48      
I was doing whatever when out of nowhere the clip of Lovie saying "...but we're carrying a much bigger stick, now." flashed in my head. And I smiled.
 
#49      

DrewD007

Woodridge, IL
I was doing whatever when out of nowhere the clip of Lovie saying "...but we're carrying a much bigger stick, now." flashed in my head. And I smiled.

It was such a good line. Hopefully it's a true statement.
 
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