Signing Day 2017

#251      
And please don't under estimate the upside potential for our coaching staff to coach these kids up and over their ceiling. Lovie pointed this out in his presser just now. The most experienced NFL-based staff.

Totally agree and there are alot of high ceiling guys here waiting to be coached up
 
#252      

Deleted member 10676

D
Guest
Michael O'Brien ‏@michaelsobrien 4m4 minutes ago
Michael O'Brien Retweeted Tenaé Robinson
Ricky Smalling and Evan Gilyard. I've heard a few things about what a great basketball player Smalling was

Tenaé Robinson ‏@TenaeRobinson

@michaelsobrien Congratulations @SuccessfulRicky I remember the basketball days...pure athleticism.

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#253      

riffraff

Peoria
Looking at 10 Illinois kids and 6 Florida kids, you'd think our coach had name recognition and respect in Chicago and Tampa somehow....
 
#254      
I visited just one site (247) this evening. Initial observations:

- MD kicked major butt today! Coaching or Under Armour $$$?
- ILL #10 out of 14 Big 10 teams, and just ahead of NW
- Even Rutgers out-performed us. Wow.
- Only Purd, Ind and Minn are left out of the Top 50
- Iowa, Wisc, Nebraska from the West are still ahead of us
- Of the top 50 teams, only ILL, Baylor and Mizzou got zero 4star/5star recruits

I was actually hoping for a little bit more.......but I guess it will take some time. Am I being too impatient?

Maybe Illini baseball will be good again this year. I need a winning team (other than the Cubs)!

http://usatodayhss.com/2017/latest-2017-college-football-recruiting-composite-team-rankings

Would the composite rankings make you feel any better? Has us tied with Wisconsin and just behind Iowa. I think, if I counted right, we would be 8th in the B1G. Not a huge jump but a little bit of one.
 
#255      
A very good first class especially considering they have been on the job less than a year. Middle of the pack recruiting is a step up for Illinois compared to recent years. Hopefully we look back in five years and see this as the beginning of a climb up.
 
#256      

FT35

Naperville
I really wish we had gotten another QB in this class with the question marks surrounding Lawson. As long as Crouch stays healthy I'm optimistic. If not....

Otherwise the staff did an amazing job addressing our needs. For the most part we got the guys we targeted. The closing rate for this staff was amazing. Only one decommit and that was for a player who was offered by the previous staff and committed without stepping foot on campus.

I'm so excited about what these guys can do in 2018 and beyond.
 
#258      

blmillini

Bloomington, IL
#259      
Looking at 10 Illinois kids and 6 Florida kids, you'd think our coach had name recognition and respect in Chicago and Tampa somehow....

I like the quality of this class, but the thing I'm happiest about I think is that I remember reading somewhere that Lovie's priorities were Illinois, St. Louis area, Florida, and Cincy. All but 3 of the 23 H.S. recruits were from those areas with the outliers being from Louisville, CA and AL. That along with the type of athletes Lovie brought in and the needs addressed show me he had a plan and stuck with it. Great Job.
 
#260      
I like the quality of this class, but the thing I'm happiest about I think is that I remember reading somewhere that Lovie's priorities were Illinois, St. Louis area, Florida, and Cincy. All but 3 of the 23 H.S. recruits were from those areas with the outliers being from Louisville, CA and AL. That along with the type of athletes Lovie brought in and the needs addressed show me he had a plan and stuck with it. Great Job.

Louisville = Cincy

I believe he wanted a recruiting triangle Chicago, StL, and Louisville
 
#261      
I visited just one site (247) this evening. Initial observations:

- MD kicked major butt today! Coaching or Under Armour $$$?
- ILL #10 out of 14 Big 10 teams, and just ahead of NW
- Even Rutgers out-performed us. Wow.
- Only Purd, Ind and Minn are left out of the Top 50
- Iowa, Wisc, Nebraska from the West are still ahead of us
- Of the top 50 teams, only ILL, Baylor and Mizzou got zero 4star/5star recruits

I was actually hoping for a little bit more.......but I guess it will take some time. Am I being too impatient?

Maybe Illini baseball will be good again this year. I need a winning team (other than the Cubs)!

I think you're being a bit impatient. Only two years removed from Mr. Steak and Cakes; one from Cubit filling in. Lovie pulled in a great class, given the short amount of time. We have in-roads to Florida and mending fences in-state. Give Lovie another two years to get his players in.
 
#263      
I visited just one site (247) this evening. Initial observations:

- MD kicked major butt today! Coaching or Under Armour $$$?
- ILL #10 out of 14 Big 10 teams, and just ahead of NW
- Even Rutgers out-performed us. Wow.
- Only Purd, Ind and Minn are left out of the Top 50
- Iowa, Wisc, Nebraska from the West are still ahead of us
- Of the top 50 teams, only ILL, Baylor and Mizzou got zero 4star/5star recruits

I was actually hoping for a little bit more.......but I guess it will take some time. Am I being too impatient?

Maybe Illini baseball will be good again this year. I need a winning team (other than the Cubs)!

7th in the BT on Scout, I believe. Ahead of Rutgers, Wisconsin, Iowa. Second in the west behind Nebraska.

We got 3 four stars on Rivals. Smalling, Green, and Carney.

Pick the recruiting site that makes you feel the best. lol
 
#269      
They didn't back off Awodiran at all. He was like Lovie's top priority. He just wanted to go Ivy League and there was nothing to be done.

That was not the way it was portrayed by Jeremy Werner. They made a pitch because they thought he could be a pied piper but switched after he didn't commit early
 
#271      

Dan

Admin
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#272      
Has the California Punter Stonehouse committed anywhere?
Do we still have a chance with him?
 
#275      

Illiini

In the land of the Nittany Lion
Oh, I like this. Not just that he looks good on paper, but that he's unranked and Lovie and Butkus picked him out. That tells me that they're not following the crowd, not that I expected them to. But this kid stood out from the others without being on the general radar tells me there's something special going on.

So good for Lovie, good for Butkus and good for Jake. :thumb:

And I loves a good line that can protect the quarterback, move the pile and open holes. The O-line is one of the most overlook aspect of football. But you knew that.