TentakilRex
- Land O Insects between Quincy-Macomb-Jacksonville
Yep we got two of the participants of that insane 3A title game.
Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
There it is
I just assumed he was headed to a G5 school. This kid is a good player, I'm shocked he was only headed to a D2 school. This is a nice add. He may never play a down, but never know what he can turn into once he is only focusing on football in college. Maybe end up at another position as well.
his folks can leave the house at 10:30 for an 11:00 game
I hope the lad is more than just an arm to throw to receivers at practice
with this add, I assume the Smith lad and the Newton lad are both being tried at other spots on the field
and, he makes my all name team
Big athlete who played 3 sports in hs. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him at te
Smith was at TE all spring. Newton on the other hand, I'm guessing may be moving to another spot. No word there yet.
Joel Goodson
- it's all ball bearings, nowadays
2028. 6'4-251lbs 3
️ TE/DE Prairie Ridge HS (IL) Academic All State.Crystal Lake
With the lack of depth at qb newton needs to stay at qb for now. I definitely can see him playing lb or rb
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
My alma mater! #WeArePR
2028. 6'4-251lbs 3
Crystal Lake
Smith is at TE
He’s also had season ending injuries 2 years in a row
Now that Dane is on the board you think we poach any of recruits. I know of a couple we’ve made contact with
The local smith kid is at TE. I’m guessing he may leave.
I think that other post about smith at TE was in regards to champ smiths older brother who practiced there this spring and played some QB last season at his last school.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
With Bret considering hundreds of high school FB players each year, I tap into this thread only occasionally. And I always couple it with a quick peek into the 247 Big Ten Recruiting Rankings. Here's my 2-minute take:
2026: We're at #6 in the Big Ten and we have 37 signed recruits (five 4-stars); USC, Oregon, OSU and Michigan are the top 4; we're ranked #24 nationally
2027: We sit last at #18 in the conference, with just 8 recruits (and only one 4-star); Oregon, Michigan and USC lead the way. MINN is ranked #10 and already has 27 recruits
After losing a lot of guys this past season, I realize we'll probably have a very young team on the field in 2026 and we should see some of these 37 youngsters playing key minutes. But with a semi-manageable schedule this fall and Bret's coaching track record, we're all hoping for at least 7 wins.
QUESTION: Are we deeply concerned about 2027?
2026: We're at #6 in the Big Ten and we have 37 signed recruits (five 4-stars); USC, Oregon, OSU and Michigan are the top 4; we're ranked #24 nationally
2027: We sit last at #18 in the conference, with just 8 recruits (and only one 4-star); Oregon, Michigan and USC lead the way. MINN is ranked #10 and already has 27 recruits
After losing a lot of guys this past season, I realize we'll probably have a very young team on the field in 2026 and we should see some of these 37 youngsters playing key minutes. But with a semi-manageable schedule this fall and Bret's coaching track record, we're all hoping for at least 7 wins.
QUESTION: Are we deeply concerned about 2027?
Joel Goodson
- it's all ball bearings, nowadays
Konkey elevated to a 4 star by 247: https://247sports.com/player/bennett-konkey-46156227/
need to lock him down!
need to lock him down!
"Associated with us until Michigan decides to outbid"
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
These are the helium cases where we would absolutely despise if they passed an IIlinois commit in the rankings.
I mean the kid has gotten a ton of offers and just won state in the 100m and 200m so it makes sense. David Hill a prospect I like a lot jumping up to #11 is the head scratcher.
Kids moving up the rankings after a good performance is normal. Trae Taylor is now the number 1 qb after winning the elite 11. People get mad when the kid from Loyola academy jumps to a 4 star after he gets 1 p4 offer and he’s Michigan.
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
There's a sizeable difference between reinforcing a known trait that is correlated to football performance and competing/winning a football event. Konkey's 247 account already listed him as a burner before winning state. He further reinforced that trait in a non-football event. Trae Taylor openly competed against other QBs in specific skills that are directly related to playing his position, not just football.
I'm not surprised nor arguing against his ranking improving. I just find it interesting that this kid has no reported offers 34 days ago and he was not ranked by 247 just 28 days ago, he also has not attending any football camps to compete against other wide receivers during that time, but he is now in the top-247 rankings. It shows the value of his speed, and speed for his position, but this feels like helium watch (Baseball America shout out)
He plays 7on7 with Midwest boom and was listed as a week 5 stock riser at ot7 by rivals. After that is when he went from unranked to 87.I’m not buying the 10.25 100m but having a verified 10.39 is legit speed. Also that 10.39 was into the wind.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Concerned? Yes.
Deeply concerned? No.
Last time I checked, we were 18th in the B1G in total ranking, but 9th in the B1G in average rating.
The inquirer reporters have mentioned this is going to be a much smaller class than last year, so average rating is probably the number to pay attention to.
Still though, it’s likely to be a step back from last year. Which could be a pivot in strategy to save more money for retention and transfers. Seems like we lost a few pieces we wanted to keep this last offseason. They might want to ensure that doesn’t happen again.
He’s had a very good spring in track and 7on7