Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#1,101      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
I have a feeling this is just speculation - I'm not sure it's not as easy as - it didn't work out with Mark here and if the only thing stopping him from playing this season was the approval from Illinois - that we didn't want to get in his way.

According to the NCAA, a transfer must meet four criteria to be approved for a waiver:
— The transfer is due to documented, mitigating circumstances outside the athlete’s control and directly impacting his or her health, safety or well-being.
— The transfer must have been eligible athletically and academically and “in good standing” on the prior team.
— The student-athlete meets progress toward a degree at the new school.
— The previous school’s athletic department does not oppose the request.

http://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa...coaches-its-a-farce/306x12duyq9w1km8k5mcy1xdq

If you read the link, it seems to be more a question of opposing the underlying factual basis of the claims made in the waiver rather than supporting or opposing the waiver itself. That seems pretty clearly to be the mystery black box in all of this, IMO. Basically every single one of these waivers are pretextual, just writing some stuff down on paper to justify a player preferring to play at another school. Some schools will call a spade a spade on that, others won't, or may find themselves not in a position to. We were in the latter position on Mark Smith. Miami and Georgia have no reason to do the same for Thomas and Ford.
 
#1,103      
I don’t think it’s hard to see what’s going on with Thomas. He needed to transfer because he was no long allowed back with the Canes. Still a year away from draft eligibility, he needed to find a place where he could get a waiver, hence Illinois (or Mizzou). With The coaching change at Miami, it seems clear that he’d prefer to return, and the new staff wants him back. Bigger stage and no waiver required. Now it all comes down to if Miami will allow him back. I think the staff clearly wants him, but they want to make sure the players are In agreement. A new coach doesn’t want to cause a rift in the locker room.

I’m assuming the canes will welcome him back. If for some reason they don’t, I wonder how this would affect his waiver status. It’s clear a “hardship” is not driving his transfer.
 
#1,105      
He isn't a FSU commit, just has an offer from them. If they get a commitment from Ira Henry, we might be Claiborne's best option.

My apologies, one article I read said he committed. 247 has him as uncommitted, with the FSU crystal ball at 100%.

Still would be a big sway. We need another lineman.
 
#1,106      

NBB1979

UIUCFAN1
Springfield, IL
http://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa...coaches-its-a-farce/306x12duyq9w1km8k5mcy1xdq

If you read the link, it seems to be more a question of opposing the underlying factual basis of the claims made in the waiver rather than supporting or opposing the waiver itself. That seems pretty clearly to be the mystery black box in all of this, IMO. Basically every single one of these waivers are pretextual, just writing some stuff down on paper to justify a player preferring to play at another school. Some schools will call a spade a spade on that, others won't, or may find themselves not in a position to. We were in the latter position on Mark Smith. Miami and Georgia have no reason to do the same for Thomas and Ford.

My issue is your speculation of what Mark Smiths waiver indicated as if there was a Beckman like situation in the basketball program. Maybe re-read your original quote.
 
#1,107      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
My issue is your speculation of what Mark Smiths waiver indicated as if there was a Beckman like situation in the basketball program. Maybe re-read your original quote.

If a coach is losing and unpopular, a healthily-exaggerated rundown of the 5 worst things the coach has done recently would get every single coach in America fired.

That's just reality. What Beckman was up to was bad, but not THAT bad. It was just way too bad to be 4-20 in the Big Ten and survive. That report was designed to achieve its end result.

Let's be absolutely honest here. We've all seen Brad Underwood during timeouts. We all know the positively-framed stories about how demanding he is in practice.

Suppose, hypothetically, that Underwood has been secretly recorded throughout his two years here. If the two-minute highlight package is released next week, he's gonna get fired.

That's just college sports. To quote Hyman Roth, this is the business we've chosen.
 
#1,108      

mattcoldagelli

The Transfer Portal
I'm as contemptuous of the NCAA as anybody, but I think there's *slightly* more method to this specific madness than we're allowing in this conversation.

The Mark Smith thing scrambled everybody's circuits in terms of what was allowed here.

Didn't Charlie Moore get a waiver to play in Kansas because of a sick family member in Chicago?
 
#1,112      
Are we really that short of OLs? Seems like we have several young OLs already. We need another sure handed WR IMHO.
 
#1,113      
Are we really that short of OLs? Seems like we have several young OLs already. We need another sure handed WR IMHO.

OL is always an area you need to stockpile, always and while we did lose a couple via graduation and transfer the big concern is how many juniors we have. In 2 years (Assuming none of those guys transfer out) the cupboard will look pretty darn bare. Beings as we’ve only added one scholarship player this cycle, we’re definitely 1-2 guys short.

I know Richie Petitbon is a high profile target but I don’t how likely that is. 0440 would have a better idea than I.
 
#1,114      
Being that short of WR, means we will see IW at the slot to be the recipient of short throws from RPO reads.
 
#1,115      
Oh. Didn’t know they wanted 2 OL. You seem very plugged in. Does the lack of quality depth at WR concern you at all? As of now we have the same guys with Miller replacing Mays. Not exactly huge upgrades. Guessing the staff is very high on Casey Washington?
OL is always a position of need. I also think Miller is a pretty good upgrade for Mays. They like Casey they also have option there as well. I think you will see IW, Marquez, and Kyron out there as well. They also really like Ricky and think he will have a bounce back season the kid is super talented.
 
#1,116      

FT35

Naperville
Are we really that short of OLs? Seems like we have several young OLs already. We need another sure handed WR IMHO.

Recruiting is always about the future. As a result, OLs are always needed. We only added two HS OL in the last class now that Unije is gone so we need guys on the roster to develop so we can have guys ready to add depth and possibly start by 2021 and 2022. This is something that can not be ignored and if it is then we'll see a repeat of the disaster that was 2017 where we had 4 Freshmen starting at times.
 
#1,117      
OL is always an area you need to stockpile, always and while we did lose a couple via graduation and transfer the big concern is how many juniors we have. In 2 years (Assuming none of those guys transfer out) the cupboard will look pretty darn bare. Beings as we’ve only added one scholarship player this cycle, we’re definitely 1-2 guys short.

I know Richie Petitbon is a high profile target but I don’t how likely that is. 0440 would have a better idea than I.
There is another grad transfer OL from another SEC school we are looking at as well.
 
#1,118      

FT35

Naperville
Being that short of WR, means we will see IW at the slot to be the recipient of short throws from RPO reads.

If we're not adding another WR if Thomas decides to go back to Miami then I would look at moving guys like Norwood to WR. He'll never have the size to be an every down back but he is one of the fastest guys on the roster.

Other than him, we may want to look at moving a couple of the guys in the Secondary who are getting buried on the depth chart like Degroot. Guys like Joseph, Wyatt and K. Smith should also be looked at.

I'm not as down on Stampley as others here appear to be. I know he had some issues with drops last year but he's shown he can create separation and is a decent downfield blocker. He just needs to get in rhythm with whoever ends up being the QB. Also, Carlos Sandy needs to step up and get in the rotation. He was recruited here to be a slot WR.

I wouldn't think IW is the answer as he needs to stay at QB in order to develop. He could be an option in limited packages but he should not be counted on as a slot WR. Marquez also shouldn't be an option since we are counting on him to be a potential starting CB this fall.
 
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#1,121      

Deleted member 654622

D
Guest
And it’s now obvious he’s strongly considering one of his non-waiver options to be staying at Miami.
Not arguing that. The conversation was about Jeff's priorities as a father in comparison to others on this board. I, amongst others, would rather be closer to our children. Playing in Miami isn't the only option to get into the NFL. He has shown what he can do, and he can play at Illinois or even a lower level that doesn't require him to sit. He gets to be close to his daughter and get drafted, barring injury.
 
#1,123      

Dren1

Glenview, IL
Right school wrong name....Darion DeBrossard originally a D lineman
I find it sort of interesting that even though Vandy was a (marginal) bowl team, they are losing a fair amount of OL depth between DeBrossard, Pfeifer, and Jared Southers. Something to consider while thinking about Zeke Martin and Adam Solomon transferring from Illinois.
https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/v...hers-announces-graduate-transfer-destination/
https://247sports.com/Player/Jared-Southers-51691/
 
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