lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
You said this:
The #24 ranked recruiting class in the country, our highest in the past 20 years, shows that at least some players are willing to commit to a school using our recruiting strategy.
Coaching Carousel (Football)
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This is where we definitely agree
You might have forgotten but just a quick reminder, they did retain clarke, bailey and scott.
We did great at the HS level this year when we had a FULL STAFF. Which we did not this offseason, and the difference between those two classes is 35 spots. I think it's fair to question the approach.
The modern day recruiting strategy. It's equal parts this, as it is about building relationships. Especially when it comes to the transfer portal.
is this allowed?? /s
But seriously. Idk how you argue that. You can’t recruit to a system and DC you don’t have in place. There was no reason to wait as long as we did. If partridge was always the plan why did we have Ahen meeting with recruits on campus? To get them to commit to a system they weren’t ever gonna play in?
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I think we were more of a bend over backwards defense last year on 3rd and long
Do we have that? Can't do much research until we see the personnel asked to perform it.
We have plenty. We have defensive linemen and linebackers in the class of 2024, 2025 and the incoming 2026 class. We got some really good defensive players from this year’s transfer portal. The players that we lost on the defensive side besides Angelo McCullom and Tomiwa Durojaiye didn’t contribute much if at all. That’s why I don’t understand why people think we don’t have enough. It’s time for the 2023, 2024 ,2025 and some of the incoming 2026 class to step up and compete. That’s why you recruited them out of high school to play football not to sit on the bench for 2 -3 years. Players are not going to get better sitting on the bench. The players you already have on the roster need to play in games and get experience. Can’t keep relying on the Transfer Portal. The portal is meant to plug a few holes not to flip an entire roster . How is that working out for Portal King Deion Sanders and Colorado football. I trust Bret and Tank with strength and development of our current defensive players on the roster. Illinois will be excellent on defense . We have all the players we need. Juice Clarke , Matt Bailey , Xavier Scott is the best defensive backfield in the Big Ten. Grant Beerman is an elite young linebacker . This is the base of your 3–3-5 defensive
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Not jumping in on the substance of this dispute, this is my least favorite commonly expressed sentiment on this board, and I've been seeing way too much of it lately. It makes no sense. In what way did he stop you from "getting a word in?" Your word got in. We all saw it. He responded to it, to which you issued a response, which we also saw! What you're really saying is you don't want people to disagree with you, and that's not how this works.
I love BB and love the incoming freshman class. I also don't know how anyone can say that we had a successful portal season when it appears that we clearly lost more talent than we picked up, particularly at positions of need. We may have picked up some good WR's, but that was relatively speaking a position of strength for us.
People claiming we have the personal to run a 3-3-5 right now are short bus. We do not have the bodies needed on the DL and OLB to run that scheme right now. The guys we got in the portal dont even fit it.
This board never disappoints with their takes. The hotter the better. Makes me utilize and appreciate the ignore function even more.
Is that you coach B?
Curbelo Fanboy
BERTBALL IS LIFE
Obviously the portal matters but it kind of seems Bret has adopted the approach still more focused on high school recruiting & long term development vs the 1 year hit the portal provides. IMO there is a solid case to be made that approach may serve us better in the long run in the quest for year to year consistency.
Of course no one wants to suffer a "net loss" in talent during the portal cycle each year but with football I still think over the long run 4 year development will always matter moreso than say on the hoops side. Time will tell how well the programs that pound the portal hard can maintain year to year over the long run. Football requires so much organizational skills that the benefit of guys being together for 3 or 4 years may prove to outweigh the pure talent on the field.
Maybe its naivete on my part or just pining for the days of old but I do think that year to year roster consistency over a 4 year cycle will be beneficial more times than not.
Of course no one wants to suffer a "net loss" in talent during the portal cycle each year but with football I still think over the long run 4 year development will always matter moreso than say on the hoops side. Time will tell how well the programs that pound the portal hard can maintain year to year over the long run. Football requires so much organizational skills that the benefit of guys being together for 3 or 4 years may prove to outweigh the pure talent on the field.
Maybe its naivete on my part or just pining for the days of old but I do think that year to year roster consistency over a 4 year cycle will be beneficial more times than not.
You don’t have to be a head coach to see this. They simply don’t have difference‑makers in the front seven. Just like you didn’t have to be a head coach to know the defensive coordinator was going to be a problem going into last season. The same went for the DB coach Finenlus wasn’t ready. Sintim wasn’t ready to coach OLBs either. Coaches aren’t infallible. Love coach B, but his hiring the last few cycles has been pretty mediocre and i think it hurt the roster.
I think 3-3-5 plays well with who we're returning in the secondary, but our LBs are fairly unproven. And MLB is especially critical for it to be effective as they have massive responsibilities and area they need to cover. Optimally you'd want someone with plus speed, plus athleticism, and tremendous instinct. Just a lot of boxes that need checking at that position where you really need a stud. Hopefully we have that, but I do feel it's a question mark until we see the defense in action. OLBs also need to be good, but so long as they're sure tacklers who take the correct angles they'll be fine. Don't need anything super special there. But MLB, that's the one part of the 3-3-5 that makes me the most nervous for next season as I really need to see it to believe it. Just a tough role to fill.
Or more like just a bend over defense on third down
I wonder if Beerman could make the jump in 2026. He seems to check a lot of boxes, but maybe still too young.
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
I hope so. If he’s the guy, I think we'll see some growing pains early as the inexperience will be a hurdle. If it's Edmonson, we're hoping for us to have a great hit on the eval.
Sintim wasn’t ready? He had 10 years experience in college and was also a nfl edge rusher. It’s not that he wasn’t ready he just wasn’t good enough and got demoted
I don’t think he was either. 4 years at Virginia with little accolades as a coach. And he was demoted 8 games into his career at Illinois. Bret wiffed on that hire. Gotta agree with that. Outside of stepp the last few cycles of hiring has been roughhhh
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