Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#1,426      

Centennial Illini

C
Centennial Illini
I know more about ESL than 99.9 of the people on this board. Though I lived my whole life 20 minutes away, I got a job in the stockyards in 1961 when I was in HS and had a processing company in ESL for many years. Almost all my employees were from ESL.

There are a lot of really good people in ESL.
There are a lot of really bad people in ESL and they are the ones with BMWs and pinky rings.

What there isn't enough of is the Bob Shannons and Darren Sunketts of the world. There are so few people in ESL that a kid can watch and see how he handles himself, controls his emotion, navigates tricky situations, etc. Two years of Bob and Darren isn't enough to offset 15 early years in an unstable community.

JT handled this matter poorly but I doubt that there was anyone that he could talk to that really had HIS interests in mind. I wish him well and we should all move on.

Thanks to the staff for all the time and effort they had to put into this with nothing to show.

Also, fanbase, what we just saw here happens all the time in really poor communities and it is difficult for coaches to adapt to an ever changing situation.
 
#1,427      

GForce

GForce
GForce
Poe's Law said:
Wow, that's a Lane Kiffin type move.
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Right, that's your head coach? That's something Lovie would reprimand a player for. I guess Manny wants to bring back the culture of the U's salad days, an ethos of amorality. And now I'm pretty sure he did and said whatever bs he could think of to keep Thomas in Miami.
 
#1,428      

Deleted member 645583

D
Guest
Deleted member 645583
The last line from "Bang the Drum Slowly" is "From here on in, I rag nobody."

No one really is ragging on, or should rag on, Jeff Thomas. Do what you have to do, Jeff. But you're a pawn, just like so many of us. Good luck, Jeff!
 
#1,429      

Chukwuwumba

Chukwuwumba
Chukwuwumba
thunderwear said:
This. And we have lost very few of these over the last few years. It is good for us to remember what it is like to lose close recruiting battles.
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Recruits has switched commitments between Mich and OSU, that is crazier to me. Could have been worse and transferred to Mizz.
 
#1,430      

GForce

GForce
GForce
I have a feeling we may not have heard the last of it. JT wasn't exactly happy there, and now he's getting off to a weird start with the new staff.
 
#1,432      

PtownIllini8

P
PtownIllini8
Greensboro said:
Don't take it personal. Once he had things sorted out with Miami, it becomes the low risk option for Jeff with the pending waiver needed to play at Illinois next year & the quicker/surer path to the NFL next year, add in last year's record for last year, and Illinois is still rebuilding...it is honestly what he should do if the team/coach issues are taken care of. It would have been a great opportunity & I would have loved to have him...plus who knows, he could start the whole process over after Miami and him have problems in spring practice. :)
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I agree. It would be one thing if it wee certain that he'd be immediately eligible, but it's not even close to that. It's at best a roll of the dice. Good luck to Jeff Thomas. I hope things go well for you. Tell your homies in ESL what a good staff Illinois has and what a great [place to play it is.
 
#1,433      

South Farms

S
near Ogden & Rt 83
South Farms
about the only way you get the waiver is with the support and "blessing" of the school you are leaving. Once that is no longer a sure thing, or even far far from it, it seems as if you have little to no chance. He was not going to get the waiver if he came here, and that's most likely what they told him - in order to play in 2019, he really had no choice, and why it was hard for him to tell Lovie and Rod.

people need to let it go and give the guy the benefit of the doubt. To a 19-20 year old, those decisions can be tough to make.
 
#1,434      

bert1991

B
bert1991
Dude said:
I am not going to give anymore of my time toward that player. So I am not going to read the last 5 pages, since it would take me 30 min. Can someone give me an update if there was any non JT post in the last 12 hours? Thanks in advance

FYI I loved Lovie's response on twitter. Simple, soft yet powerful...basically mirror's Lovie's Smith
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I'm sorry....who's this JT you are referring to? :)
 
#1,435      

Deleted member 746094

D
Guest
Deleted member 746094
GForce said:
I have a feeling we may not have heard the last of it. JT wasn't exactly happy there, and now he's getting off to a weird start with the new staff.
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For clarification, you mean the last of JT drama with Miami correct? If you are implying JT and UofI? I would almost assure you that ship has sailed. Lovie, above anything else, is a man of pride and integrity. He won’t be made to look like a fool.
 
#1,436      

mhuml32

mhuml32
Cincinnati, OH
mhuml32
Looking at the 2020 class, currently have 14 seniors on roster. Assuming one more grad transfer puts total at 15. Projecting just shy of 20 after end-of-year transfers?
 
#1,437      

Ryan1224

R
Ryan1224
So there are how many open scholarships at the moment? as many as 3? How likely are we to use them up and soon or after spring practices there may be more transfers in or out?
 
#1,438      

FT35

FT35
Naperville
FT35
mhuml32 said:
Looking at the 2020 class, currently have 14 seniors on roster. Assuming one more grad transfer puts total at 15. Projecting just shy of 20 after end-of-year transfers?
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Robert at Illiniboard seems to think we could have a full class for 2020.

There are still some 2016 guys who have never played a meaningful snap (Gavin, B. Jones, Trainer, Palmer, McCourt). If McCourt loses the kicking battle to Griffin then I don't know why we'd keep him around? We haven't really seen the staff push out RS Juniors or the two walk-ons they gave scholarships two (yet). They may like these guys and want them around for leadership reasons. I really don't know.

There's also guys who contribute like Shogbonyo and Cerny who appear to be buried on the depth chart but could transfer out to a D1 program.

This, plus ordinary attrition is how we can get to 25 spots.

Speaking of the 2016 class, it speaks to the importance of getting more than warm bodies to fill out your class. Look at how little we have gotten out of the players in that class.

https://247sports.com/college/illinois/Season/2016-Football/Commits/

It's amazing that Purdue had a worse class than us.

This is/was my concern with the Class of 2020 as it could get really bad if kids see Lovie as being on the hot seat and are hesitant to commit. Kansas had just one commit when their coach was fired in November for this very reason.

However, while we have 0 commits for 2020, I can see a path where we can get to 10 or so commits by the Summer through established relationships that the staff currently. We've been recruiting some of these 2020 kids for quite some time.
 
#1,439      

FT35

FT35
Naperville
FT35
Ryan1224 said:
So there are how many open scholarships at the moment? as many as 3? How likely are we to use them up and soon or after spring practices there may be more transfers in or out?
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3 is the number right now. I'm guessing since we have an OL visiting this weekend the goal would be to get at least one more HS OL in this class. It may just be Cooper and one HS OL signing on February 6th.

The last two could be held open for one of Dominic Moore or Rajae Johnson. I don't believe either of these guys are signing in February.

Zero idea on if more scholarships will open up after Spring practice but that's what some people seem to be thinking.
 
#1,440      

DaChief4ever

D
Urbana
DaChief4ever
oleoleahy51 said:
The last line from "Bang the Drum Slowly" is "From here on in, I rag nobody."

No one really is ragging on, or should rag on, Jeff Thomas. Do what you have to do, Jeff. But you're a pawn, just like so many of us. Good luck, Jeff!
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BUT...." I am excited about joining the Illini"....huh?
 
#1,441      

mhuml32

mhuml32
Cincinnati, OH
mhuml32
FT35 said:
Robert at Illiniboard seems to think we could have a full class for 2020.

There are still some 2016 guys who have never played a meaningful snap (Gavin, B. Jones, Trainer, Palmer, McCourt). If McCourt loses the kicking battle to Griffin then I don't know why we'd keep him around? We haven't really seen the staff push out RS Juniors or the two walk-ons they gave scholarships two (yet). They may like these guys and want them around for leadership reasons. I really don't know.

There's also guys who contribute like Shogbonyo and Cerny who appear to be buried on the depth chart but could transfer out to a D1 program.

This, plus ordinary attrition is how we can get to 25 spots.

Speaking of the 2016 class, it speaks to the importance of getting more than warm bodies to fill out your class. Look at how little we have gotten out of the players in that class.

https://247sports.com/college/illinois/Season/2016-Football/Commits/

It's amazing that Purdue had a worse class than us.

This is/was my concern with the Class of 2020 as it could get really bad if kids see Lovie as being on the hot seat and are hesitant to commit. Kansas had just one commit when their coach was fired in November for this very reason.

However, while we have 0 commits for 2020, I can see a path where we can get to 10 or so commits by the Summer through established relationships that the staff currently. We've been recruiting some of these 2020 kids for quite some time.
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Great info. I was also looking at the (remnants) 2016 class and saw some players that will likely leave after spring ball or 2019 season. McCourt could be a little trickier because kicking scholarships are a little more uncommon. If it was me, I would stick around and make sure I max out my scholarship at UI.

Maybe it's me but 25 seems like a lot, even with all of the players you mentioned, that reaches 23. Maybe there are a couple people in Lovie's original 2017 class that want to seek out more playing time?
 
#1,442      

FT35

FT35
Naperville
FT35
mhuml32 said:
Great info. I was also looking at the (remnants) 2016 class and saw some players that will likely leave after spring ball or 2019 season. McCourt could be a little trickier because kicking scholarships are a little more uncommon. If it was me, I would stick around and make sure I max out my scholarship at UI.

Maybe it's me but 25 seems like a lot, even with all of the players you mentioned, that reaches 23. Maybe there are a couple people in Lovie's original 2017 class that want to seek out more playing time?
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I'm thinking guys like Mondesir, Degroot or K. Smith could maybe transfer out if they don't get much playing time. Mondesir appears buried at WDE and is getting recruited over. Degroot appears to be playing behind walk-ons right now. K. Smith has already been moved once from offense to defense and it doesn't appear like he's going to be a major contributor in the Secondary this fall. However, like you said about McCourt, maybe these guys are happy here with the roles that they have on ST and want to max out their scholarships? Maybe they are good kids who the staff likes for off the field reasons? These are things we (non-insiders) really don't know.

One of the QBs from the Class of 2018 could also transfer out if they feel they have a better chance to play elsewhere.

The above would just be a part of normal attrition that Robert is accounting for when he says we could get to a full class in 2020.
 
#1,447      

Sawicky

S
Chicago, IL
Sawicky
Hojo did that fake burglary thing and Lovie kicked him off immediately after it came out. I doubt he comes back
 
#1,448      

Butkus68

B
Butkus68
oleoleahy51 said:
The last line from "Bang the Drum Slowly" is "From here on in, I rag nobody."

No one really is ragging on, or should rag on, Jeff Thomas. Do what you have to do, Jeff. But you're a pawn, just like so many of us. Good luck, Jeff!
Click to expand...
Best baseball as life movie ever.
 
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