Seems more like a Pro-Style QB than the Dual (Williams, Taylor, Spann, Collier).
Illinois Football Recruiting Thread (February-April 2021)
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Welcome aboard to the OandB football team. You won't get a better education anywhere in the world.
Does this suggest a pro style attack?
Watched a little of his film. He looks a little taller than 6'3". But who is #1 on his team. Kid can run patterns and makes some nice catches. He seems like qb's that played for Wisc over the years.
illini80
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Had a Wisky offer according to Rivals.
Deleted member 380722
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No he didn’t
illini80
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You are correct. My mistake.
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mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
His film just says average to me. Feels more like a long-term recruit. The Illinois QB room is ripe for a shakeup anyways (Is Robinson going to stick around now that Rod is gone? Is Taylor willing to switch positions? Are Williams or Spann going to have a role with the team transitioning to a traditional pocket-passer?), making it difficult to discern how quickly he will need to be ready to start.
Mostly those sites aren't as updated as we are, also half the time they're only 70% correct
illini80
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From what I read, he had a really good soph season, but not so great Junior. I think it’s a good place to start and agree he will need a couple years. Will be interesting to see what happens after spring ball finishes. A pretty crowded QB room right now that I would think will see some changes.
Excellent pickup. Hopefully this season was just a hiccup.
Much, much, much better recruiting than the previous staff
Really like this kid. Shows the type of QB this staff will target. Controls the game...smart kid, good mechanics, won’t cost us the game. That being said if IW is the guy this year or next I have zero no doubt Petersen will be able to tailor the offense to him.
SactownIllini
- Coleman Hawkinsland
The One? Beason? Cooper? Love? BheBhe?
I mean, it was time for a change but the recruiting hasn't been better yet. I'm very excited about what this staff is doing.
I have to agree that I like Donovan's mechanics and footwork. A nice base to work with.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
C'mon. Recruiting was mediocre and trending down, which was the primary reason Lovie was relieved. Very early returns on Bielema, but there are pretty clear indicators that recruiting is going to get a nice bump. 2 kids, both in the top 1000, versus 1/14.
Deleted member 747671
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Nice to see the new staff hitting the ground running with recruiting. It looks like this was probably option 3 so far for qb, with the kid from Ohio going to Penn State and that kid from Georgia going to Mizzou as options 1 and 2. To take his verbal at this point means they really want him, which obviously is the most important factor. This looks like a kid who could be a very good college qb. He doesn't look like someone that will blow you away physically like Brandon Peters, but it looks like he can make pretty much all the throws, has decent athleticism, and good mechanics.
Deleted member 380722
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Just saw Joey Okla went from unranked to #670 overall. Credit to the staff on getting him early.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Okla was a great get. We're not followers, which is validation for our staff's ability to ID kids. He's from a powerhouse program. And he has a legit shot at playing early.
Despite Bielema seemingly doing all the right things so far, attracting high-quality recruits this year logically will be a big challenge. Compare this situation to the one in which Lovie was brought in. Lovie had the greater star power, but was taking over a program with a losing record, and with no Smith Center. Bielema takes over a program with an even longer losing record, with a downhill slide in recruiting, albeit with the Smith Center. Like Lovie, Bielema's pitch at this point is hope for the future, that it will be better than the past. He will have to overcome the imbedded disadvantages with hard work, quality assistant coaches and support staff, intelligent assessments and approaches, touting the facilities, updated technology and social media utilization, and genuineness and enthusiasm. If we can climb out of the BIG10 recruiting cellar by a few steps this year, then to me that is success.
Deleted member 747671
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I agree with all of this. I think we'll see what a competent, decent-to-good recruiting class looks like compared to a struggling/bad recruiting class. In terms of stars, it will probably look very similar just because there are so many "3 star" prospects nowadays, but the overall quality of the players and classes should go up.
Deleted member 380722
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Yep, my cousin was the D coordinator for Arrowhead for a couple years, now head coach at Oconomowoc. Arrowhead is known as Arrowhead University around southeastern Wisconsin. All of the their sports facilities are top notch and their football stadium has boxes.
I think the other side of this will be maybe not getting great prospects, but recruiting for scheme and development over making a "splash" with a FL, GA, or TX recruit.
Knowing how you are going to want to play offense and defense 5 years from now is huge, because you can get players that will develop and put them in a position to succeed. I think Lovie had a plan, but our development side of the coaching was severely lacking which led to little improvement over the years.
TwoElevenEastDaniel
- Cochrane's-Orchid-Tonic
I think Virginia's class of 2021 should be where the program is in terms of recruiting long-term. Virginia is an academically powerful public university in a conference with a bona fide elite national power. Based on 247:
33rd ranked nationally
2 4-star recruits, both in-state prospects
13 top-1000 recruits
This is a high-floor foundation I think the Illini can reach under HCBB and this staff.
33rd ranked nationally
2 4-star recruits, both in-state prospects
13 top-1000 recruits
This is a high-floor foundation I think the Illini can reach under HCBB and this staff.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Yeah, I think all but the delusional would be quite pleased with reaching that level. Of course, if we get there, the fanbase would want more, but that's another story. Bottom line: I think mirroring VA's recruiting results is a reasonable target.
That's one reason why his recruiting hasn't been as active as others. Local and nearby schools (Rutgers, Temple, and Maryland) offered him after his sophomore season but have since back off as they are looking for a dual-threat QB. His brother (NC State) is more of a dual-threat QB which is in high demand. Also, at some camps, he hasn't performed as well as he has during games. Some people contribute that to the fact he is playing with several D1 players who cover for him.
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