Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
- Status
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Given how powerful and unbreakable the Online Illini savior-to-scapegoat cycle is for coaches, Beckman is truly extraordinary in his ability to never get himself cast as the savior in the first place.
Altmyer would clearly be a good get - as others have said - he'd be the best QB prospect in terms of rankings that we've had in a decade+ and he has all the tools to effectively run our offense, he just doesn't have much game experience yet, so there is a lot of unknown- how well he reads his progressions, makes a quick decision, handles pressure etc. But I think everyone would be excited to get him particularly with 3 years of eligibility as someone who can grow in our system
That doesn't mean we can't be disappointed in losing Card - he's clearly a top prospect with more game experience than Altmyer - and the fact that we lost him to Purdue stings. It doesn't mean we lose faith in BB - the program is headed in the right direction for the first time in a long time, you get a sense we can be competitive in the big ten every year, maybe the most sustainable since the Mackovic era, . The future is bright, but we need a QB in the worst way right now
That doesn't mean we can't be disappointed in losing Card - he's clearly a top prospect with more game experience than Altmyer - and the fact that we lost him to Purdue stings. It doesn't mean we lose faith in BB - the program is headed in the right direction for the first time in a long time, you get a sense we can be competitive in the big ten every year, maybe the most sustainable since the Mackovic era, . The future is bright, but we need a QB in the worst way right now
Yeah, the Beckman hire was just an incredibly poor decision, probably the worst hire we've ever made on paper - a .500 MAC coach who everyone knew the real superstar was the OC - the only way it made sense is if he was brining Matt Campbell with him, when he didn't, the jig was up before it started. Should have hired Matt Campbell as the HC from the get-go on that one
Yet amazingly, in his 3 years he made it to a bowl game and put Cubit in position to go to a bowl game the following year. We have had coaches with much better pedigrees who did much worse (Lovie Smith anyone?).
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Beckman did not however suspend the Online Illini "hindsight is truth" cycle, alas.
Beckman looked great on paper and Campbell was 31 years old and it was a genuine surprise Toledo took such a risk in hiring such an unproven coach (remember, this was 2011, the pre-Lincoln Riley and Sean McVay era).
We even more or less laughed off the Lasagna thing (anybody remember "steaks and cakes"?), and defended his Bay of Pigs-esque raid on Happy Valley vociferously at the time.
But once the games started we showed a level of unpreparedness (getting plays called accurately and in time was a major problem on both sides of the ball in 2012, the only time I've ever seen that) that crystallized the notion that Beckman didn't ACT dumb, Beckman WAS dumb, and his reputation never recovered even though his job performance sneakily, persistently, somewhat annoyingly kinda did.
While there was a decent part of the fanbase who supported him, this part I don't remember and would have to see again. I recall the majority of fans were extremely upset by the visuals of this along with Beckman seemingly having no idea what NCAA regulations even were during his tenure. I remember a couple people defending his behavior but the vast majority ripping it.
This could be my anti-Beckman bias coming in, but I just do not remember that whatsoever. Dude was a clown. I still don't know how we survived his tenure without getting an SMU level death penalty
Complete opposite, as I recall.
I think the forum vastly supported him. I remember…Dick Vitale I think?…calling us vultures and people ripped him big time on here.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Again you've gotta remember the discourse of that moment, in which it was assumed that Penn State's entire roster was going to leave. People thought what Beckman did would work.
(I think the NCAA thought that's what was going to happen too, but I digress)
You could make an argument that Tim Beckman saved Penn State football.
Penn State playing 4D chess to recover from the sanctions. We were just a lowly pawn in their scheme.
Losing Card to Purdue sucks hard by the way. My guess would be that hiring on the legendary Drew Brees who just so happens to be an Austin kid just like Card sealed the deal more than say even Walters or Harrell. It's not hard to imagine the local kid turned likely Hall of Famer in Brees could be looked as an idol or living legend to Card. Quite frankly it was a smart hire by Purdue.
But while it sucks, the goal really is to keep forward momentum going strong. Getting a kid like Altmyer would be huge for us. And if that fails, theoretically, how much NIL money would it take to kidnap Peyton Manning, brainwash him to be our QB coach and convince Arch to come ummmm home, to Illinois? Joking obviously. I think.
But while it sucks, the goal really is to keep forward momentum going strong. Getting a kid like Altmyer would be huge for us. And if that fails, theoretically, how much NIL money would it take to kidnap Peyton Manning, brainwash him to be our QB coach and convince Arch to come ummmm home, to Illinois? Joking obviously. I think.
I don’t think it’s hindsight- his hiring was widely panned on here as well as Mike Thomas’s inability to hire the first 5 coaches on his list. It wasn’t tough to see though. From his opening press conference I think it was obvious what we were dealing with
To your point - his record was not abysmal Lovie-esque - his off the field begavior and abuse accusations from the players was far worse
Man, I must've blacked out that period from my mind for obvious reasons. I know I was vastly against it but I could've sworn I was far far far from the only one on that. Maybe I'm remembering another board from back then.
Oh there were plenty of people against him, you weren’t the only one.
Much of the fan base turned on him quickly.
But as I recall, the whole vulture event happened just before the floor dropped out from under him and everyone turned on him.
So I do recall the morbid curiosity with regards to people on here being excited about the possibility of getting PSU kids to transfer here. But then when we found out Beckman was doing it by literally setting up a booth in Happy Valley in the most obscenely distasteful way people were like, oh hell no, that was not what we meant at all. That said, the whole Beckman tenure is a giant void for me for the most part. My brain blotted those years out of existence as I think it realized that having that much rage in life was unhealthy. I realize people did not like Lovie Smith much on here (for obvious reasons), but the man shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as Beckman. Lovie reminded me of Ron Turner in his later years, a good enough guy who clearly didn't actually enjoy the grind of college coaching. Beckman reminded me of incoming NCAA sanctions that might mean we no longer have a football program.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
In was July 2012, before any games had been played.
People were (correctly!) enthusiastic about the quality of staff Beckman had hired and were (correctly!) optimistic about what they could accomplish with the last remainders of the good Zook classes.
I don’t recall that. People were upset because Matt Campbell wasn’t following him. Beckman even said in his initial press conference that he needed to bring Campbell along or something.
Plus Frank Frankie posted when Zook was fired that his prediction for the new coach was Tim Beckman. We we all were like “Wut?” We definitely wanted better.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
I agree with your thoughts but want to add a caveat to the time frame you laid out in BB's past ....................I think the 3 years he spent in the NFL was like a time out from the college ranks that allowed him greater knowledge of what the pro's are looking for and how they run a program......A refreshers course or higher learning experience has helped BB understand what it will take to make the Illini FB program relevant again and for a continuing basis........
maybe I'm over thinking this but he came to Illinois and has been building from the ground up , laying a foundation for this continuation of an annual ceiling of above .500 record and a bowl bid...........Also , being a father to 2 small daughters might have grounded him even more........The loss of his mother and father-in-law in a small space of time would be difficult for anyone and I applaud him for his composure and leading the program even faced with those personal losses.....
I hope BB stays here for a long time as his leadership and sense of humor has been appreciated by me with the long and dark history of Illinois FB for the last few decades..............................jmho...................
Pru, you bet your sweet bippy on all of this. Could not agree more. BB has placed himself in the right place at the right time of his life.
@illini0440 @LvilleILL @Indy Illini Fan Any insight into the conversations we had with Devin Leary and if so what made him choose Kentucky over us or other suitors? I have some ideas or suspicions on why he choose Kentucky but just validating them and interested in getting your take on it.
Last edited:
Exactly. I remember coach B saying he learned a lot about the college game as an nfl coach. Got to see many schools facilities and the different ways top programs run from the top down. Much better coach now than before IMO.
NIL money SEC schools can throw at QBs isn’t anywhere near what we can.
That’s exactly what I thought it was. Woof, part of the business though of competing with SEC schools for those types of players.
Agreed- Kevin Sumlin was the rumor and even flew to Champaign as I recall, Beckman was several names down the list after MT got turned down by everyone else
- Status