Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#1,176      

pruman91

pruman91
Paducah, Ky
pruman91
zentrails said:
People were excited for sure, but there was plenty of people saying "Zook can recruit but he can't coach" that tempered the expectations a little.

You don't hear anyone saying "BB can't coach" so I'd say that's even better. I'd cheer for them no matter what, but it's so much better to cheer for a well-coached team that doesn't shoot itself in the foot all the time.
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Zooker was a great recruiter , but made such bonehead coaching decisions during games.........I shudder to remember the PAT scheme of the moving LOS..........yuck

BB has us moving in a direction that we haven't been in for a long long time and I'm enjoying every single day of it .....feels good to be anticipating FB coming back to the TV screen and win a lot of recruiting battles that we had no chance on before BB got here......

JMHO
 
#1,177      

Mr. Tibbs

Mr. Tibbs
southeast DuPage
Mr. Tibbs
TheChief4Life said:
I just am honest-to-God flabbergasted at the recognition Illinois has gotten with recruits this year. I know we arent landing 5 star guys, but we’re in conversations, LEGIT conversations, with high end 4-stars and so many highly recognized recruits.

Winning talks, I get that, and our defense last year was historic. But this recruiting cycle is all on the coaches. They’ve done about everything right you’d want your coaches to do.

This is a fun time to be an Illinois fan.

Now… if we land Lightfoot…. Oh Lordy!
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it’s a process

it takes 3-5 years
 
#1,178      

mhuml32

mhuml32
Cincinnati, OH
mhuml32
warhog6g said:
Following the Arrelious Benn and Martez Wilson recruitments was something special.
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Benn was such a "holy crap, what is happening moment". He wasn't from Illinois, had no connection to the program. He was ranked below 25th on Scout, maybe even low teens. He had offers from EVERYONE. His highlight video was bananas. To give an example, here is a Feagin senior season highlight video:

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12788038/636a7fd619a53f0f947eeb3b

You can watch the first play in Feagin's video and realize he must play for a small, rural school because he's so much bigger, faster, stronger than everyone else. That was same takeaway from Benn's video, but he was playing on a really good Dunbar team. You could make an argument they were the best team in DC during that era. That's what made you realize how special he was, he was sooooo much better than everyone else and you knew there were multiple future college football players on the field. His size was staggering, he looked bigger and stronger than all of the WRs on Illinois' roster when he was a HS senior. His top end speed was arguably the best in his WR class. So not only did he look more developed than any current WR on the roster, but it was likely he would be one of the fastest, if not the fastest, guy on the team. He was ready to contribute immediately. Ronald Johnson was the only guy viewed more highly than Benn, but both USC was loaded then and it was assumed he would need development time. That is what made it the extra, over-the-top hype about his commitment. Lastly, Illinois was so bad leading into 2006 that absolutely no one took Benn seriously when he said Illinois was his leader. Folks took it as Benn doing Locks a favor by mentioning Illinois while later committing to Florida State or Notre Dame. It wasn't until his decision (on ESPN News?) that people realized what was happening.

Martez was slightly different because (a) it was after the Benn commitment, so fans realized that Zook could pull top talent, (b) getting Benn had to be an influence for Martez. He didn't have to feel like the only top prospect going to Illinois, and (c) this was an in-state kid at a school that was within Illinois' football blueprint. Lightfoot and Martez have similar stories in that way, Chicago kid + edge player + similar offer profile + Illinois showing substantial improvement going into his senior year. Martez was higher ranked than Lightfoot is now. I remember USC being the top competition there, with lots of folks thinking it was a toss-up.
 
#1,179      

BretMyBeachHouse

B
BretMyBeachHouse
zentrails said:
People were excited for sure, but there was plenty of people saying "Zook can recruit but he can't coach" that tempered the expectations a little.

You don't hear anyone saying "BB can't coach" so I'd say that's even better. I'd cheer for them no matter what, but it's so much better to cheer for a well-coached team that doesn't shoot itself in the foot all the time.
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So we'll put.

Good coaching is the way to sustaining good recruiting.

We're Illinois. I just can't help worrying that we're going to lose momentum with a 5 win season. With a bowl game I just think this train just keeps moving.
 
#1,180      

mhuml32

mhuml32
Cincinnati, OH
mhuml32
zentrails said:
People were excited for sure, but there was plenty of people saying "Zook can recruit but he can't coach" that tempered the expectations a little.

You don't hear anyone saying "BB can't coach" so I'd say that's even better. I'd cheer for them no matter what, but it's so much better to cheer for a well-coached team that doesn't shoot itself in the foot all the time.
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Illinois went 1-15 in B1G games before Turner was fired and it was openly known the team would be awful in '05. Expectations couldn't be tempered further. The excitement was palpable because Turner was not known as a recruiter and lots of Florida fans were visiting the Scout boards talking about how Zook wasn't a good coach but the best recruiter in the country (still remember the story about him wanting a phone that works in the shower). Thought at the time was we soured on Turner's coaching, so we were just getting another ho-hum game coach but Zook would substantially raise the team's talent.

I do wonder the sliding doors moment if 2008 Illinois lives up to expectation, goes 9-3, makes a solid bowl - does Zook's recruiting take another step forward and become less volatile. The Locksley hire was a master stroke, he not only was a great offensive mind but was the best recruiter in the conference (comparative to what he was selling as a brand). Zook would have needed to find a good replacement to keep things humming. Alas....
 
#1,181      

skyIdub

skyIdub
Winged Warrior
skyIdub
The difference is, if Lightfoot doesn't land we are still talking about recruiting as good as it has been in two decades.
With a pretty reasonable argument that it is as good as it has ever been going forward.

This is different. Even different than Zook, IMHO. The state is responding, and it has only been a couple of years. Imagining BB doing something like he did at UW in the early aughts doesn't seem so crazy now.
 
#1,182      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
skyIdub said:
The difference is, if Lightfoot doesn't land we are still talking about recruiting as good as it has been in two decades.
With a pretty reasonable argument that it is as good as it has ever been going forward.

This is different. Even different than Zook, IMHO. The state is responding, and it has only been a couple of years. Imagining BB doing something like he did at UW in the early aughts doesn't seem so crazy now.
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Bret inherited a pretty darn good program from Alvarez. If he gets Illinois on par (or close) to BB Bucky, Josh should commission a giant statue of Bielema. Division-less and the LA schools, mean tougher sledding.
 
#1,183      

Chukwuwumba

Chukwuwumba
Chukwuwumba
Point-Illinois said:
Not holding my breath but sure would be cool!

Local/social media has been hyping up Charlie and ML just came off his OV where he had some time with Charlie to talk candidly.

If anything, we’ve put ourselves in a position to get him. Sometimes beating out Goliath is just too difficult, though.
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Lightfoot made 4 visits this month
OSU, usc, ILL, Miami
3 Crystal balls 100% OSU
 
#1,187      

AutoPoster 3000

AutoPoster 3000
AutoPoster 3000
skyIdub said:
The difference is, if Lightfoot doesn't land we are still talking about recruiting as good as it has been in two decades.
With a pretty reasonable argument that it is as good as it has ever been going forward.

This is different. Even different than Zook, IMHO. The state is responding, and it has only been a couple of years. Imagining BB doing something like he did at UW in the early aughts doesn't seem so crazy now.
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I’m about as far as could be from a gen Z football recruit. So my opinion doesn’t much count. But personally I can’t imagine any scenario where I’d spend my five years of eligibility being coached by Tim Beckman. Lovie, maybe, but I’d need a lot of persuading. But Bielema I’d play for in a heartbeat. He’s everything I’d want in my coach. Perhaps it’s not any more complicated than that. He’s just flat out the best person we’ve had leading this program in my lifetime.
 
#1,188      

Illiniam1984

I
Illiniam1984
mhuml32 said:
Unless the crystal balls on Lightfoot switch, especially Wiltfong, my stance is the coaching staff tried their best and made an impression, but couldn't match the firepower.
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Even if we lose out on him this time, they will still fight and try to get him again if there is a second time….not worried. Just ecstatic that we are even being considered amongst the other schools on his list. That’s a win for us! 😎
 
#1,191      

Thaillini22

Thaillini22
Thaillini22
AutoPoster 3000 said:
I’m about as far as could be from a gen Z football recruit. So my opinion doesn’t much count. But personally I can’t imagine any scenario where I’d spend my five years of eligibility being coached by Tim Beckman. Lovie, maybe, but I’d need a lot of persuading. But Bielema I’d play for in a heartbeat. He’s everything I’d want in my coach. Perhaps it’s not any more complicated than that. He’s just flat out the best person we’ve had leading this program in my lifetime.
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+1

I think having BB at the helm puts paid to the ole, "of course that bad thing happened, we're Illinois." A defeatist worldview (of which I definitely partook) that was totally legitimate on the basis that we had relative buffoons in charge.

Buffoons may be too strong of a word, but we no longer have a Tim Beckman pulling the levers and either directly or indirectly impelling "we're Illinois" sentiments when things went wrong.

Instead, I think the script has flipped, and going forward "we're Illinois" will be an indication of things going right!

ALionEye might have to ditch the "we can't be trusted" narrative soon.
 
#1,194      

RoundBalcs

RoundBalcs
RoundBalcs
Thaillini22 said:
+1

I think having BB at the helm puts paid to the ole, "of course that bad thing happened, we're Illinois." A defeatist worldview (of which I definitely partook) that was totally legitimate on the basis that we had relative buffoons in charge.

Buffoons may be too strong of a word, but we no longer have a Tim Beckman pulling the levers and either directly or indirectly impelling "we're Illinois" sentiments when things went wrong.

Instead, I think the script has flipped, and going forward "we're Illinois" will be an indication of things going right!

ALionEye might have to ditch the "we can't be trusted" narrative soon.
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For what it's worth - buffoon is the exact word I would use to describe Tim Beckman
 
#1,196      

Dadbod

D
Dadbod
Illiniam1984 said:
The difference between BB and Zook is BB can coach. BB can take an unranked kid or a 3 star and turn him into an NFL player.
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I agree, Bret also seems to be building a lot more depth than Zook. Zook did a good job of putting a starting lineup together… but every game we were gassed by the 4th quarter.
 
#1,199      

Illiniam1984

I
Illiniam1984
Indy Illini Fan said:
Pretty much … Lol …

It is very important for Lightfoot that his famILLy can come see him at his games … His final two choices both give him that option …
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Just being in his top 2 is huge with who we are competing against!!!!! Job isn’t finished but we have definitely come a long way from where we were.
 
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