Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#202      

logjam

logjam
logjam
Joel Goodson said:
He's from Jersey and his brother plays for Rutgers.
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don't captain america GIF
 
#206      

mhuml32

mhuml32
Cincinnati, OH
mhuml32
IllinoisOKC said:
How many 4 or 5 star recruits at qb did bb get at wisconsin? Russell Wilson transferred from nc st, outside him im not recalling anyone highly touted. He did put a ton of rbs and lineman in the nfl tho. Just a thought
Click to expand...

This is a compelling rabbit hole and I wanted to dive in and provide some thoughts.

Getting a four or five star QB recruit is really hard. There is ranking inflation now compared to yesteryear but the star threshold on 247 is fairly constant compared to previous years, therefore looking at Bielema's performance at Wisconsin is a decent barometer. I wanted to look at the QB recruits from a specific year he was there, even giving him a couple years to get established. I settled on 2009. There were only 16 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ or greater QBs in that class. For an example, Kaden Feagin is currently the 17th best RB in the '23 class, so we are talking about someone of his pedigree (or varying levels better). So there's step one, which is obvious (getting a top-ranked QB is hard!) but I still wanted to go through this exercise - getting a top 16 QB in a class is really hard, especially with top programs like Georgia and Ohio State having no problem convincing a top QB recruit to commit to their program every year, further limiting the pool.

Now, let's dive into Bielema's QB commit history at Wisconsin (also fun to review these names because of good or bad memories). If there were multiple QB commits in a class, I only mention their top recruit
2006: Scott Tolzien (3-star from Illinois, 49th best QB)
2007: James Stallons (3-star, 33rd QB)
2008: Curt Phillips (4-star, 14th best QB)*
2009: Jon Budmayr (3-star from Illinois, 18th QB)*
2010: Joseph Brennan (3-star, 38th QB)
2011: None (Russell Wilson year)
2012: Bart Houston (4-star, 6th QB)*

In Bielema's tenure at Wisconsin, he brought in two 4-star QB recruits and another right on the cusp of a fourth-star out of six total QB recruits (discounting the Russell Wilson commitment). That's a great haul for a program that was known for their running game but sputtering along in passing. Replicating a similar process at Illinois would be great. There is some warning signs with this group regarding their lack of development (Budmayr had serious injuries that ended his career early) but we'll chalk it up to lessons learned by Bielema moving forward. For those saying who cares about the rankings, you can hang your hat on Tolzien being the best of the bunch (besides Wilson, who undoubtedly would have been the highest ranked). I'd argue this was a very small sample and Tolzien had some advantages (that no longer exist) of being the first QB recruit into system and getting a head start on the rest of the folks. Also shows that you only need one QB to hit to to build a good string of seasons (Bielema inherited a returning senior starter, then Tolzien took the reigns, followed by one year of a QB revolving door, leading to Wilson breaking a ton of records in 2011, then Bielema brought in the top ranked QB prep in program history before heading to Wisconsin).

I spent all of this time putting this together and still think the transfer portal is going to be the answer for Illinois into the foreseeable future at QB. It's tough to even see these string of Bielema QB recruits and remember that finding a transfer QB when your returning options were bleak wasn't really an option (until Wilson). Getting a top-16 QB is only going to get more difficult in the future because those recruits would rather try their hand at Georgia, A&M, Ohio State, USC, etc. and see if they can be a star in a blue blood program first, with the understanding they can transfer any time and find a less-heralded program and try to become the starter there if their first stop didn't work out. Why try Illinois first when you can commit to LSU first and still keep Illinois as an option later on? That said, I actually like this option compared to preps. Bringing in someone experienced avoids the early-year QB struggles (Stokowski at Rutgers being a famous example) that has plagued Illinois for 20+ years. Properly identifying solid second options at elite programs can raise the floor considerably for offensive success. Just have to find the right transfer QB and beat out other eager programs for their services.
 
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#207      

GILL-INOIS

G
GILL-INOIS
mhuml32 said:
This is a compelling rabbit hole and I wanted to dive in and provide some thoughts.

Getting a four or five star QB recruit is really hard. There is ranking inflation now compared to yesteryear but the star threshold on 247 is fairly constant compared to previous years, therefore looking at Bielema's performance at Wisconsin is a decent barometer. I wanted to look at the QB recruits from a specific year he was there, even giving him a couple years to get established. I settled on 2009. There were only 16 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ or greater QBs in that class. For an example, Kaden Feagin is currently the 17th best RB in the '23 class, so we are talking about someone of his pedigree (or varying levels better). So there's step one, which is obvious (getting a top-ranked QB is hard!) but I still wanted to go through this exercise - getting a top 16 QB in a class is really hard, especially with top programs like Georgia and Ohio State having no problem convincing a top QB recruit to commit to their program every year, further limiting the pool.

Now, let's dive into Bielema's QB commit history at Wisconsin (also fun to review these names because of good or bad memories). If there were multiple QB commits in a class, I only mention their top recruit
2006: Scott Tolzien (3-star from Illinois, 49th best QB)
2007: James Stallons (3-star, 33rd QB)
2008: Curt Phillips (4-star, 14th best QB)*
2009: Jon Budmayr (3-star from Illinois, 18th QB)*
2010: Joseph Brennan (3-star, 38th QB)
2011: None (Russell Wilson year)
2012: Bart Houston (4-star, 6th QB)*

In Bielema's tenure at Wisconsin, he brought in two 4-star QB recruits and another right on the cusp of a fourth-star out of six total QB recruits (discounting the Russell Wilson commitment). That's a great haul for a program that was known for their running game but sputtering along in passing. Replicating a similar process at Illinois would be great. There is some warning signs with this group regarding their lack of development (Budmayr had serious injuries that ended his career early) but we'll chalk it up to lessons learned by Bielema moving forward. For those saying who cares about the rankings, you can hang your hat on Tolzien being the best of the bunch (besides Wilson, who undoubtedly would have been the highest ranked). I'd argue this was a very small sample and Tolzien had some advantages (that no longer exist) of being the first QB recruit into system and getting a head start on the rest of the folks. Also shows that you only need one QB to hit to to build a good string of seasons (Bielema inherited a returning senior starter, then Tolzien took the reigns, followed by one year of a QB revolving door, leading to Wilson breaking a ton of records in 2011, then Bielema brought in the top ranked QB prep in program history before heading to Wisconsin).

I spent all of this time putting this together and still think the transfer portal is going to be the answer for Illinois into the foreseeable future at QB. It's tough to even see these string of Bielema QB recruits and remember that finding a transfer QB when your returning options were bleak wasn't really an option (until Wilson). Getting a top-16 QB is only going to get more difficult in the future because those recruits would rather try their hand at Georgia, A&M, Ohio State, USC, etc. and see if they can be a star in a blue blood program first, with the understanding they can transfer any time and find a less-heralded program and try to become the starter there if their first stop didn't work out. Why try Illinois first when you can commit to LSU first and still keep Illinois as an option later on? That said, I actually like this option compared to preps. Bringing in someone experienced avoids the early-year QB struggles (Stokowski at Rutgers being a famous example) that has plagued Illinois for 20+ years. Properly identifying solid second options at elite programs can raise the floor considerably for offensive success. Just have to find the right transfer QB and beat out other eager programs for their services.
Click to expand...
I like this take!

Think many feel the same way in that we need to work the transfer portal with our QB situation. Illinois has been able to land 3 star QBs for years as recruits or through the portal. I don't think many care whether it is a no star to 5 star rating and recruit/transfer as long as we can get some consistent QB play.
 
#208      

Point-Illinois

P
Point-Illinois
mhuml32 said:
This is a compelling rabbit hole and I wanted to dive in and provide some thoughts.

Getting a four or five star QB recruit is really hard. There is ranking inflation now compared to yesteryear but the star threshold on 247 is fairly constant compared to previous years, therefore looking at Bielema's performance at Wisconsin is a decent barometer. I wanted to look at the QB recruits from a specific year he was there, even giving him a couple years to get established. I settled on 2009. There were only 16 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ or greater QBs in that class. For an example, Kaden Feagin is currently the 17th best RB in the '23 class, so we are talking about someone of his pedigree (or varying levels better). So there's step one, which is obvious (getting a top-ranked QB is hard!) but I still wanted to go through this exercise - getting a top 16 QB in a class is really hard, especially with top programs like Georgia and Ohio State having no problem convincing a top QB recruit to commit to their program every year, further limiting the pool.

Now, let's dive into Bielema's QB commit history at Wisconsin (also fun to review these names because of good or bad memories). If there were multiple QB commits in a class, I only mention their top recruit
2006: Scott Tolzien (3-star from Illinois, 49th best QB)
2007: James Stallons (3-star, 33rd QB)
2008: Curt Phillips (4-star, 14th best QB)*
2009: Jon Budmayr (3-star from Illinois, 18th QB)*
2010: Joseph Brennan (3-star, 38th QB)
2011: None (Russell Wilson year)
2012: Bart Houston (4-star, 6th QB)*

In Bielema's tenure at Wisconsin, he brought in two 4-star QB recruits and another right on the cusp of a fourth-star out of six total QB recruits (discounting the Russell Wilson commitment). That's a great haul for a program that was known for their running game but sputtering along in passing. Replicating a similar process at Illinois would be great. There is some warning signs with this group regarding their lack of development (Budmayr had serious injuries that ended his career early) but we'll chalk it up to lessons learned by Bielema moving forward. For those saying who cares about the rankings, you can hang your hat on Tolzien being the best of the bunch (besides Wilson, who undoubtedly would have been the highest ranked). I'd argue this was a very small sample and Tolzien had some advantages (that no longer exist) of being the first QB recruit into system and getting a head start on the rest of the folks. Also shows that you only need one QB to hit to to build a good string of seasons (Bielema inherited a returning senior starter, then Tolzien took the reigns, followed by one year of a QB revolving door, leading to Wilson breaking a ton of records in 2011, then Bielema brought in the top ranked QB prep in program history before heading to Wisconsin).

I spent all of this time putting this together and still think the transfer portal is going to be the answer for Illinois into the foreseeable future at QB. It's tough to even see these string of Bielema QB recruits and remember that finding a transfer QB when your returning options were bleak wasn't really an option (until Wilson). Getting a top-16 QB is only going to get more difficult in the future because those recruits would rather try their hand at Georgia, A&M, Ohio State, USC, etc. and see if they can be a star in a blue blood program first, with the understanding they can transfer any time and find a less-heralded program and try to become the starter there if their first stop didn't work out. Why try Illinois first when you can commit to LSU first and still keep Illinois as an option later on? That said, I actually like this option compared to preps. Bringing in someone experienced avoids the early-year QB struggles (Stokowski at Rutgers being a famous example) that has plagued Illinois for 20+ years. Properly identifying solid second options at elite programs can raise the floor considerably for offensive success. Just have to find the right transfer QB and beat out other eager programs for their services.
Click to expand...

I didn’t realize it until a couple years later when Scott Tolzien became the starter and got more notoriety, but I went to school with his older brother Mike.

He was (is) a good dude. Looks like he recently was awarded (2018) the Distinguished Flying Cross doing an airdrop under heavy fire in Afghanistan. (2016)

Sounds like a family of good, hard working people that find a way to win.

Maybe that’s the recipe when you’re digging through the lower ranked recruits for a gem? Try to identify the guys that have “it”, whatever “it” may be.

Oh and the ability to read a college defense.
 
#209      

chiefini

chiefini
Rockford, Illinois
chiefini
Point-Illinois said:
I didn’t realize it until a couple years later when Scott Tolzien became the starter and got more notoriety, but I went to school with his older brother Mike.

He was (is) a good dude. Looks like he recently was awarded (2018) the Distinguished Flying Cross doing an airdrop under heavy fire in Afghanistan. (2016)

Sounds like a family of good, hard working people that find a way to win.

Maybe that’s the recipe when you’re digging through the lower ranked recruits for a gem? Try to identify the guys that have “it”, whatever “it” may be.

Oh and the ability to read a college defense.
Click to expand...
Scott Tolzein’s family is a GREAT hard working family. I, too, know them personally. Scott’s dad was in my husband’s fraternity (ATO) at Illinois and stood up in our wedding. All three sons have been very, very successful. We have cheered Scott on wherever he’s played, whether it was watching him in person at UW with his parents or when he was with the Packers. We also enjoyed watching him coach on the sidelines in Dallas with Mike McCarthy last season. Sometimes inherited talent and skill can be developed to pro levels when superior work ethic, character, and motivation are ingrained and utilized.
 
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#210      

IllinoisOKC

IllinoisOKC
IllinoisOKC
If Toure commits to Rutgers, think the staff will be rocking and rolling with just 1 wr this class?
 
#211      

EyeoftheIllini

EyeoftheIllini
EyeoftheIllini
IllinoisOKC said:
If Toure commits to Rutgers, think the staff will be rocking and rolling with just 1 wr this class?
Click to expand...
Doesn’t seem ideal, but at least it seems like there have been a fair amount of WRs in the portal each year. Hopefully with Lunney’s offense having a year of proof of concept at Illinois, we could start pulling some of the more talented WR transfers — and make some inroads with HS recruits going forward.
 
#212      

IllinoisOKC

IllinoisOKC
IllinoisOKC
EyeoftheIllini said:
Doesn’t seem ideal, but at least it seems like there have been a fair amount of WRs in the portal each year. Hopefully with Lunney’s offense having a year of proof of concept at Illinois, we could start pulling some of the more talented WR transfers — and make some inroads with HS recruits going forward.
Click to expand...
I agree, the portal seems to be the next stop for wr after missing out on moore and elzy, assuming toure stays in nj. Not saying our wrs are the best, but we have Isaiah. Washington is more than capable. Hightower if healthy could be an upgrade imo. Bryant showed abilities last year. I think miller is going to be a contributor day 1 and then we have pugh who was a big recruiting win last yr and beatty. So unless im a bigger homer than I realize I think we’re still ok.
 
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