illinidarrin
- from parts unknown
Do we really have a lot of NIL money to spend? I thought one of our insiders said that we did? If we do, we should be able get some really good players in the portal.
Illini Football 2024
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
to me. it seems much more complicated than that .
you need to respect the amounts you are giving to existing players and keep things in line, and
you need players that want to be here for reasons in addition to money
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Yeah football seems incredibly complex this way. The lower numbers make it all so much more straightforward in basketball.
217sports
- Springfield
Not here yet. Comes in the summer. Don’t expect him to be a factor as a freshman though
Ryllini
- Lombard
Thank you. Couldn’t remember if he enrolled early or not.
Football is a lot harder for nil because the roster is so much bigger. A lot more guys to keep happy and the money gets spread thin. I doubt it’s true but the rumor from Miami is that we offered Lightfoot 1 million to play here. I don’t believe that at all
I'm not sure there's a single player on the roster that was offered a million.... that's crazy.
No shot we offered him that. That’s way more than Johnny was making last year.
I'd think Luke based on comments other coaches have made about what it takes to get a transfer QB?
Nope, I don't think Luke's making that kind of NIL either. Even so, I would've expected Johnny to be the highest NIL earner based on merit
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I feel like we have all gotten SOME kind of feel for basketball NIL now ... a TSJ or Kofi can get $1 million or so out of a big-time/wealthier program, and since there are only so many players on a basketball team, you can kind of "estimate down" for the the rest of the roster based on minutes/PPG/etc.
However, football seems like a total mystery to me. I would not even have the foggiest guess as to what our "best players" get for NIL.
However, football seems like a total mystery to me. I would not even have the foggiest guess as to what our "best players" get for NIL.
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- North Aurora
College football bowl projections: Updated spring picks for 2024 season
Early predictions are in for every bowl matchup.
247sports.com
Birmingham Bowl
Projected matchup: Pittsburgh vs. Illinois
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Getting beat out by freshman DTs is a bigger indictment on Johnson than praise for the freshmen. 18 year old defensive tackles are rarely helpful. Even Newton, who showed some flashes in 2020, was pretty pedestrian and wouldn't have played if that defense wasn't getting rag-dolled every weekend.
Will Leys is transferring.
illinidarrin
- from parts unknown
My mind is blanking on him for some reason, was he a transfer a year a go or something?
A few years ago when Avery Jones ditched us and we whiffed on every other OL/C offer. He had no shot from Day 1 unfortunately
Top 7-8 seems set
LT: Davis
LG: Gesky/Wigenton
C: Kreutz
RG: Crisler/Wigenton
RT: ???
Henderson, Schuster, Whitenack figure to be in the mix. Henderson has the most upside at tackle, so I guess that would be my pick at RT? Also could see an underclassman work in to the 2-deep given the lack of depth at center.
Wouldn't be shocked to see anyone else outside this group enter the portal.
Henderson and priestly at RT, Schuster is an interior linemen. Not a big fan of Whitenack, he’s massive but very slow. It will be interesting to see how much Gesky improves, he really struggled with balance last year.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
we signed him out of a JC out west . He was buried on the depth chart . He will likely find a spot in a lesser tier division or league .
A step slow ? 20 lbs of muscle shy ? who knows - but coaches must have told him in clear language that he wasn’t going to play on Saturdays .
Don’t forget about transfer Priestly as the starting RT or the backup LT/RT option.
Curious if Dennis pushes for pt or is in the 2 deep.
I watched some of Priestly's film, think his technique is too raw especially in pass blocking to be contributing this year. Maybe in 25, but honestly no clue.
I do agree with you on Whitenack, too stiff / not enough bend to play at the Big Ten level
Overall, I think we'll be ok enough at guard, but that's not really good enough if we can't find an answer at RT
Priestly led the country in penalties last year. So he really needs to clean up his technique. Wish Henderson could’ve redshirted last year
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Makes a lot of sense. Staff really wanted Jones, he bailed. Then wanted Amaury Wiggins but he chose Arkansas (played little and wasn't good when he did). Leys was Plan D but I get the motivation to take a swing with Kreutz being such an unknown going into the season.
illinidarrin
- from parts unknown
This one sucks.