t7nich
- Central IL
Totally agree.
Penn State 63, Illinois 24 POSTGAME
Totally agree.
So this is just me spitballing, but is it possible they are playing MJ now because they are more willing to burn his redshirt over the other freshman if they need to? We know that Rod Smith tends to prefer running QBs, and from what I've heard, MJ is not the best running QB of the group.
Obviously, it's probably more likely that MJ is playing because they think he is more ready now than the others, but it's just a possibility.
0% chance. He’s playing because he’s the best qb available.
I would say second or first year for most of the players on the field. Stanley green, Kenyan Jackson, Oliver, and that’s it for 3rd years? Plus injuries, suspensions have seen more freshman play than expected, who are still learning the defense. Compared to last year you would think switching it up is possible, but more freshmen playing than expected. First three games an excuse was not to show anything before big ten season....showed for penn st? I don’t know. Save for winnable games (even though this doesn’t make much sense since it was winnable until 4th)? Hopefully fortify base and add wrinkles in bye week.
Dele Harding, Jake Hansen, Cam Watkins, Del'Shawn Phillips is only his 2nd year at UI but he's a senior.
The D is more experienced than the O.
The only freshman starters would be Sydney Brown and Jartavious Martin. Everyone else is in their 2nd or 3rd year in the system. Not to completely take a tangent but the whole inexperience argument is really self-inflicted. Lovie and staff pushed out experienced starting-caliber upperclassmen at DT, S, and LB.
the national
- the Front Range
Pushed out? do we actually know this?
When you don't do everything you can to keep experienced, starting-quality players, that’s what I’m gonna call it. Whether the staff wanted them to leave or the players didn’t want to play another year here, that’s up to interpretation. But either way, it doesn’t exactly speak well of the culture of the program.
Isn't it just as likely that those guys just werent B1G caliber players? A few went to other P5 schools sure, but similar to the exodus on the basketball side, they just weren't up to snuff.
Football's a different animal so I wont harp on that comparison, but considering there wasn't a noticeable dropoff in talent when the older guys were bench, I think getting young guys pt can only help your team in the future.
I’m not talking about on the whole. I’m talking specifically of Odenigbo, Watson, and Nelson. All very good players that are clearly B1G caliber.
Watson is the reining B10 defensive player of the week
There are a few posters here who are 100% negative-energy. It reflects the poster, not the subject they're commenting on.
We shouldn't add complexity until we cut down the bad reads and missed assignments. Oddly there's a silver lining here; we're not getting out-executed as much as in the past, indicating our players have the size, speed and talent to compete, once they start playing with discipline. The DL is still overmatched, but that's a direct result of 1-2 years in the Strength and Conditioning program vs the 3-4 years that most teams are relying on. Nevertheless, by November these kids are going to be showing us a lot to be excited about for next year.
I knew i missed some players. I think we can agree def is young and still learning.
Watson is having a great year so far but it was clear from what I heard that he didn't want to be here and that sentiment went both ways with the staff. Great talent just didn't buy in.