Illini Football 2021

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#51      

Deleted member 747671

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Another totally random thought, this time on the Oline. In the spring game, Philstrom was starting at guard and Brown was on the 2nd string line. So with this starting point, I'm going to add some baseless speculation based on a couple other observations:
1. Palczewski was out. Pearl was his replacement.
2. Pearl received tons of praise this spring.

I think there's a chance Palcho goes back to G and Pearl starts at T.
 
#52      
Agreed! I think Petersen's ability to work more closely with QBs in game will help Peters be more consistent. Having a solid backfield and veteran line will also help. I think Bielema is also a great motivator that will be constantly communicating with his players during the game. With Lovie, we barely saw emotions in game after bad plays
And Lord knows, we had a lot of bad plays with Lovie. :eek:
 
#53      

Illinivek23

Gurnee
Another totally random thought, this time on the Oline. In the spring game, Philstrom was starting at guard and Brown was on the 2nd string line. So with this starting point, I'm going to add some baseless speculation based on a couple other observations:
1. Palczewski was out. Pearl was his replacement.
2. Pearl received tons of praise this spring.

I think there's a chance Palcho goes back to G and Pearl starts at T.
Jeremy has talked about Palcho sliding inside a few times on his podcasts. And the staff seems really high on Pearl at OT. Definitely a possibility.

I am also hoping Verdis develops his explosiveness like Coach Bart is looking for.
 
#54      

Deleted member 747671

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Jeremy has talked about Palcho sliding inside a few times on his podcasts. And the staff seems really high on Pearl at OT. Definitely a possibility.

I am also hoping Verdis develops his explosiveness like Coach Bart is looking for.
I didn't rewatch the spring game or check on who all was playing with which squad, but the fact that Brown wasn't in a rotation at G with the starters seems a bit concerning to me. I liked Pearl's potential based strictly on his athleticism, and now he seems to be putting it all together. I think BB and Bart will get the 5 best OL on the field, regardless of position, that's mainly why I think that involves sliding Palcho inside and playing Pearl at T. I think Pearl at T and Palcho at G is better than Palcho at T and Philstrom at G.
 
#55      

redwingillini11

North Aurora
To get to 6 wins:

MUST WIN: Charlotte, UTSA, Maryland, Rutgers. I'm sure we will have to sweat some of these out, but we HAVE to win these.

Then I think our next best shot is at Purdue. We've won 3 of the last four in WL, and last year was a bs game. I think if we are building something close to as solid as it seems, we should be able to go in there and take care of business.

Then I'd say Nebraska, given how much of a trainwreck they've been, and perhaps with all of the hype if we have a Week 0 College Gameday scene.

Then the PJ Fleck Frauds.

Then Virginia, Iowa and Northwestern being gritty games against tough opponents that maybe we can squeak out if we are a competent football team. Getting one of these would be a real solid sign that we may be on the way to being a solid Big Ten West program.

Then Wisconsin and Penn State of course being the major upsets that would give the program a lot of momentum and ensure a season we are all pretty proud of.
 
#56      
Some of my thinking for a pass game goes to scheme, QB, and WR.
Need a quality scheme. Competent qb. Receivers that can get separation.
Thinking tanner morgan had success because he was competent, but Bateman/Tyler Johnson put the passing game on a higher level.
 
#57      

altenberger22

South Carolina
To get to 6 wins:

MUST WIN: Charlotte, UTSA, Maryland, Rutgers. I'm sure we will have to sweat some of these out, but we HAVE to win these.

Then I think our next best shot is at Purdue. We've won 3 of the last four in WL, and last year was a bs game. I think if we are building something close to as solid as it seems, we should be able to go in there and take care of business.

Then I'd say Nebraska, given how much of a trainwreck they've been, and perhaps with all of the hype if we have a Week 0 College Gameday scene.

Then the PJ Fleck Frauds.

Then Virginia, Iowa and Northwestern being gritty games against tough opponents that maybe we can squeak out if we are a competent football team. Getting one of these would be a real solid sign that we may be on the way to being a solid Big Ten West program.

Then Wisconsin and Penn State of course being the major upsets that would give the program a lot of momentum and ensure a season we are all pretty proud of.
Accurate - I agree on all points.
 
#58      
To get to 6 wins:

MUST WIN: Charlotte, UTSA, Maryland, Rutgers. I'm sure we will have to sweat some of these out, but we HAVE to win these.

Then I think our next best shot is at Purdue. We've won 3 of the last four in WL, and last year was a bs game. I think if we are building something close to as solid as it seems, we should be able to go in there and take care of business.

Then I'd say Nebraska, given how much of a trainwreck they've been, and perhaps with all of the hype if we have a Week 0 College Gameday scene.

Then the PJ Fleck Frauds.

Then Virginia, Iowa and Northwestern being gritty games against tough opponents that maybe we can squeak out if we are a competent football team. Getting one of these would be a real solid sign that we may be on the way to being a solid Big Ten West program.

Then Wisconsin and Penn State of course being the major upsets that would give the program a lot of momentum and ensure a season we are all pretty proud of.

100% agree. UTSA I think will be tougher than we think they were decent last year. Nebraska is always interesting (hoping so since I scored tix for the fam)... no idea on Virginia.
 
#59      

Deleted member 746826

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I picked up some time back that the fact the offensive coordinator, Rod Smith, was upstairs during the games may have been a contributing factor to Peters' lapses. The suggestion was that Peters would sometimes get down mentally or emotionally if he made a mistake or something went wrong, and there was no one on the sideline to help bring him out of his funk. His quiet demeanor probably didn't help. As I understand, however, Bielema plans to have his two coordinators on the sidelines during games. Tony Peterson, who seems to have a good rapport and ability to communicate well with players, could closely monitor Peters and help stave off the lapses we have seen. We will see.
interesting take here and i hope you are right. it is about confidence. and peters needs to think he can win against the best teams he goes up against. maybe someone else stoking the fire all the time will help.
 
#62      

Deleted member 747671

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I thought Cooper Davis had a chance to be a star at OLB in a 3-4 defense.. ideal size and athleticism.
I'm surprised they didn't give him another year at OLB. There's not a lot of depth there.
 
#63      
I'm surprised they didn't give him another year at OLB. There's not a lot of depth there.
He never got a year at OLB. He was a DE last year as a true freshman recruited by Lovie to play DE. When Bielema and Walters came in, they moved the lengthy-fast DEs to OLB to better fit the Multi-scheme D they will be running this year. Davis only players OLB during Spring ball.
 
#64      

Deleted member 747671

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He never got a year at OLB. He was a DE last year as a true freshman recruited by Lovie to play DE. When Bielema and Walters came in, they moved the lengthy-fast DEs to OLB to better fit the Multi-scheme D they will be running this year. Davis only players OLB during Spring ball.
Oh yeah I know. I didn't mean it sound like he was a LB last year. Obviously with the scheme change he went from DE to OLB. He was recruited as a DE and originally committed to Mizzou when Walters was there. Figured they'd want to give him a longer look on defense, and I thought he had the build, athleticism, talent to develop into a decent rush OLB. Also, there's not much depth there once Gay and Carney leave.
 
#66      

mhuml32

Cincinnati, OH
Interesting tidbit from Bielema's interview with Werner this week: No player mentioned the transfer portal during spring exit interviews. I have seen it mentioned in a couple places about the expectation for some players (5-10) to transfer out and look for a different opportunity (scheme change, senior electing to return, playing time concerns, etc.). Doesn't mean that no one is going to transfer but pleasantly surprised to see no one has intentions to transfer as of now.
 
#67      
From what I seen from all the spring practices, I really believe Spann will be the backup QB he constantly hitting his receivers in stride,and that's on the whole route tree
When is Sitkowski able to start practicing with the team?
 
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#69      

illini80

Forgottonia
Interesting tidbit from Bielema's interview with Werner this week: No player mentioned the transfer portal during spring exit interviews. I have seen it mentioned in a couple places about the expectation for some players (5-10) to transfer out and look for a different opportunity (scheme change, senior electing to return, playing time concerns, etc.). Doesn't mean that no one is going to transfer but pleasantly surprised to see no one has intentions to transfer as of now.
I guess that means everyone is buying in and we aren’t pushing anyone towards the door. Both are positives imo.
 
#71      
Interesting tidbit from Bielema's interview with Werner this week: No player mentioned the transfer portal during spring exit interviews. I have seen it mentioned in a couple places about the expectation for some players (5-10) to transfer out and look for a different opportunity (scheme change, senior electing to return, playing time concerns, etc.). Doesn't mean that no one is going to transfer but pleasantly surprised to see no one has intentions to transfer as of now.
Noticed in a 247 article on new preferred walk on Marko Rajkovic (6-5. 240, TE from WI) that Josh Beetham (never heard of him) entered transfer portal after spring practice. Still, if only player leaving is him that has to be good thing.
 
#74      
Looks like a new TE as a PWO. He is one of those guys who would have gone to an FCS school and became a FCS All American. Put some weight and experience and could be another OLB or DE. Good size and dipped into Wi again.
 
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