Joel Goodson
- it's all ball bearings, nowadays
not gonna lie, I was pretty concerned that Thomas was listed at 6' 205. not anymore. guided missile
Illini Football 2026
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not gonna lie, I was pretty concerned that Thomas was listed at 6' 205. not anymore. guided missile
Anderson has a higher ceiling but lower floor. He’s a big kid and a great athlete but has a long way to go physically. Vala is shorter so he doesn’t have the upside but he is ready to get on the field right away. Mac Sutter was by far the best of the 3.
I don’t blame JC for taking the biggest bag. I think long term it would’ve been better for him to come here but cash is king. At lsu if he doesn’t work out he will get pushed out. If he came here BB would do everything for a local 4 star to succeed.
If he gets pushed out at LSU after year 2.
There are going to be several spots open at TE for the illini in 2028.
Feagin, abney will be gone. I think stoffel also.
I’m not sure Bret would take him. There’s a shift in portal philosophy from Bret and across the country to take guys from obvious steps below and bringing them up vs potential guys from steps above that haven’t panned out.
I think in this hypothetical JC would basically need to beg to come to Illinois, and Bret would feel he have an immediate impact guy from day 1. Could it happen, sure, but I wouldn’t plan on it.
Well, we were heavily interested in Miles McVay last off-season (he just got a bigger bag to go elsewhere).
If he’s a bust at lsu I wouldn’t want him unless he came here for free. We need instant impact guys from the portal. I hope it works out for him but I think he will have a hard time getting on the field
McVay also didn’t like what he heard from the staff. He actually did get on the field for Alabama the only problem was he was horrible.
McVay transferred to UNC (not Alabama; that’s where he transferred from).
He would’ve been a tremendous addition because it would’ve allowed us to move Priestly to guard, as he had an underwhelming and inconsistent year at tackle.
Miller has also been very good with development.
We went after mcvay when he transferred from bama. We had no interest in him this past transfer cycle. If you thought Melvin was underwhelming at tackle I can tell you’ve never watched Mcvay play. He would’ve been a horrible addition. He was been awful at bama and unc. He’s big and slow. He didn’t come here because he wasn’t guaranteed to start and was told he might move inside to guard.
Mcvay didn’t play for a terrible North Carolina team.
He’s now at Mississippi state.
He wouldn’t have played for Illinois in 2025.
I would think this would further my point and what is being seen across the country. Good to great big ten and sec teams don’t want guys that didn’t play at other good to great big ten and sec programs.
They want guys that are studs they can outbid and poach, or lower tier guys that are coming up a level from a lower power 4 program, G5, or FCS program that have played a lot.
If you guys don’t follow bud Elliot, you should. There’s been a definite shift in portal philosophy.
McVay also isn’t starting at Mississippi state. Him and Paris Patterson were both busts. McVay has been this since since 8th grade and started getting a ton of hype since the. Throughout his hs career his ranking consistently dropped. He’s a huge kid with slow feet.
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mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
A couple milestones for Bielema:
- Three Illinois coaches have won 40 or more games at Illinois. Bielema needs three wins to join Zuppke, Eliot, and White.
- No Illinois football coach has won three bowl games at Illinois. Bielema can accomplish that this season.
- 17 active or retired coach have 60 or more Big Ten conference wins. Bielema has exactly 60 before the season starts. He has a chance to pass Jim Harbaugh (60), James Franklin (64), Pat Fitzgerald (65), and Barry Alvarez (65) this season.
- Three Illinois coaches have won 40 or more games at Illinois. Bielema needs three wins to join Zuppke, Eliot, and White.
- No Illinois football coach has won three bowl games at Illinois. Bielema can accomplish that this season.
- 17 active or retired coach have 60 or more Big Ten conference wins. Bielema has exactly 60 before the season starts. He has a chance to pass Jim Harbaugh (60), James Franklin (64), Pat Fitzgerald (65), and Barry Alvarez (65) this season.
BRB gonna go start a crowdfund campaign for his bronze statue outside the stadium.
Joel Goodson
- it's all ball bearings, nowadays
Man, that person just dropped all those jerseys perfectly so you could see the numbers! /s
Illini92and96
- Austin, TX
The first iteration of the video had the numbers upside down because they used the same person that did the TSJ banner. Bret’s daughter used ChatGpt to fix it.
Joel Goodson
- it's all ball bearings, nowadays
I thought the same thing
big man with a handsome square jaw look
that lad is gonna make some money in the league in 12 months
See him as freshman to now is amazing. He has gotten big without losing speed.
Really hope the secondary can stay healthy.
Obviously some bumps and bruises will happen, but please no more season-enders.
Obviously some bumps and bruises will happen, but please no more season-enders.
Don't like the sleeve on the knee.
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