Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#1,476      
OskieWowWow
SemperFiIllini said:
I'll go further and say I dont think any TE is 'must have' for a program. Bama has had a ton of success especially under Saban. However, that position had little to do with it. Not hating on either kid at all, but I'm not getting concerned over getting or not getting a TE.
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Lunney was a really good TE coach and knows how to use them in the passing game. The right TE in our system would do a LOT in our offense
 
#1,477      
BashCtIllini
FantaIllini said:
Lol that feels kinda condescending to just assume he won’t have success at bama and will have to transfer
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It's 2025, everyone transfers these days.

Also, when you go to Alabama, you're going to have to compete against the top recruits at your position in 4 classes, plus all the guys that transfer in. Not the easiest thing in the world.
 
#1,478      
illinoistradition
I watched him in a game against Mahomet-Seymour last year, and if I hadn’t known specifically that he was a recruit Illinois was after, he wouldn’t have stood out at all except for his height. I don’t mean to sound like sour grapes, but that has been my impression for months now.

I get Luke Ford vibes with both of these guys. Good/great players who will have to give their all to compete with the guys being brought into those programs. They will certainly get recruited over, and then they will have a decision to make. There is an incredibly high chance that one, if not both, ends up at different schools before their career is done.
 
#1,482      
Aillini32
OskieWowWow said:
Lunney was a really good TE coach and knows how to use them in the passing game. The right TE in our system would do a LOT in our offense
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Absolutely. The SEC schools probably have more funds and can point to school success in the past, but from an on-field perspective the decisions make little sense.
 
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#1,483      
jamie13197
Congrats to Mr. Sutter and his family. We wish him the best. You'll always have a home in Illinois.
 
#1,484      
pruman91
POWURR said:
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recruiting is fluid...........
 
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#1,486      
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr?
Fly Illini Fly! said:
We knew Sutter would be a battle with Bama throughout. The Anderson one is much moreso the killer. When's the last time a prospect has visited a program that many times without committing (Kai Prtichard?). Also have to include the final visit a week ago.

Doesn't even make sense at this point outside of maybe an absurd $$ offer at the last second.
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It has to be the $$$. Makes no sense to sit here and say "oh the relationships weren't quite to be" after he's visited that many times. And if that is the case i'd have very real, prominent questions.

(and this is not to say our collective is insufficient; its just compared to what the other school is offering in this recruitment)
 
#1,491      
joeybcrazy13
In all seriousness thank everyone on this board! Know that I do appreciate you putting up with my meltdowns... I just want us to be good!! Good luck to kids we've lost and I'm completely stocked for the young men that have made a commitment to the University of Illinois!!! ILL
 
#1,494      
TX Illiniwek
All the talk early on was that Sutter was going elsewhere anyway. IIRC, Alabama was the anticipated landing spot for him all along. Some optimism sprang up when he visited Illinois with thoughts we could get both him and JC. So for Illini fans, he then started trending our way...or so we thought. So...bottom line...I don't think Sutter selecting Alabama is any big surprise. JC, on the other hand, has been anticipated to pick Illinois for quite some time. If we end up losing him that one will be disappointing, for sure, and sting a bit. But, does that destroy our 2026 class nor mute the optimism for the future......no way!!! As several others have said, we still have an outstanding class for 2026. The big...HUGE...thing is that we need to put together another very solid season here in 2025 and continue to sustain at least 9-10 win seasons with respectable bowl participation and performance. We can't have a misstep and revert back to 6-6 or, worse yet, 5-7. One season does not turn the perception all the way. Sustained success on the field and continuing to put kids in the NFL will cause kids like Sutter, JC, Braeden Jones, Messiah Tilson, etc., to want to stay home and be a part of that. We are in great shape and just need to continue to build the Illinois football program into what it is really capable of.
 
#1,495      
altgeld88
I know virtually nothing about recruiting and so am simply an interested spectator here. However, it seems to me that if we're seriously disappointed about losing a recruit to Alabama (or Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia, Texas, et. al.) and rank among the final two or three programs he's considering, then our program is in a much more favorable position than we have perhaps ever been. I'm pleased with that, as I'm delighted with BB.
 
#1,496      
the juiceman cometh
Fly Illini Fly! said:
We knew Sutter would be a battle with Bama throughout. The Anderson one is much moreso the killer. When's the last time a prospect has visited a program that many times without committing (Kai Prtichard?). Also have to include the final visit a week ago.

Doesn't even make sense at this point outside of maybe an absurd $$ offer at the last second.
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College campuses are fun, and I'm sure even moreso if you're a big time football recruit. Our campus was close to where he lived. Maybe he just made it over so often because it was fun, and there was no way he was going to be able to fly out to Ole Miss or Auburn or any other SEC school 15 times.

I'm just really curious what they talked about when they visited together. Were they talking about how they were not going to come to Illinois? Was one of them on the fence and the other was like "Naw, I'm going to ___________," and the other felt like "well if he's going to the SEC, maybe that's the right move for me too?" I'm sure we'll never know, but it has been bizarre ride, all to end up at a predictable result.
 
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#1,497      
PortalGiant
Sadly I think it will be hard to land top targets at the TE position before this season plays out. If I played TE I wouldn't commit here as of right now. Haven't seen success at the TE position but it TEs this season play a more pivotal role in the offense then you can start seeing them interested in coming.
 
#1,498      
Illinivek23
PortalGiant said:
Sadly I think it will be hard to land top targets at the TE position before this season plays out. If I played TE I wouldn't commit here as of right now. Haven't seen success at the TE position but it TEs this season play a more pivotal role in the offense then you can start seeing them interested in coming.
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Bama has had 2 TEs drafted in the last 10 years to just Tip for the Illini. That was under the Saban regime vs DeBoer. Underwhelming, actually, for them. And with the QBs they have had over the same time.
 
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