Deleted member 654622
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I do think the ceiling is higher, but I don't actually think we'll ever sniff that ceiling. Not that I think Fleck would have us winning 9-10 games with any regularity, either, but he seems built for college football -- which I'm not the least bit convinced Lovie is.
With James Franklin getting PSU back to the upper echelon of CFB.....with Scott Frost entering the B1G West......with Michigan State apparently becoming a routine contender......to go along with the usual Ohio State/Michigan/Wisconsin success......it's going to be awfully hard for Illinois, no matter who is coaching, to become anything more than a 7-win team with regularity. I think Fleck would have gotten us to that point, though I still have my doubts with this current staff. But I do agree that the potential is definitely there if they can leverage that NFL reputation in recruiting and bring in blue-chippers.
But I digress. I know Fleck's class is something like #19 in the country right now, but he only has one kid in the top-700. He does seem to be pulling in a lot of quality 3-star kids, though. Definitely not the talent to compete with Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan.
Could not agree more. However, we currently are on the right track to get there. It is VERY EARLY in the process so it can go all over at this point. But if we were writing a story about the glorious rise of the fighting Illini, the first few chapters would read just like this.