Good on ya Larry
Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
- Status
Joel Goodson
- ties will be resolved
From Larry Boyd's twitter:
Sounds like he's flipping. So, Cusamano's saying Miznoz has a chance, right?
Now one to Miami from Gus Ramos.
Probably he is the biggest Mizzou apologist out there
Miami is the school that worries me the most. I think Mark Richt, Kuligowski connections at ESL, and THE U things are very appealing to any kid
Last edited:
That's a long way from home but what scares me is the Gus is an Illinois Insider.
illinidarrin
- from parts unknown
I love seeing this. Cusamano strikes out again!
illinidarrin
- from parts unknown
That's not good. Isn't Ramos an Illini guy? Look, he probably wasn't going to play here anyways because of his grades, but i hope his teammates still come though. What hurts is the fact he would give us instant credibility with other top STL area players.
I can't stand Frank. When he used to be on 590 he was almost unlistenable.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
Damn right, Larry.
Deleted member 342779
D
Guest
Thomas
I wouldn't get your hopes up too high for Thomas. He has huge academic concerns, and those types of recruitments rarely work out in U of I's favor. It would be the cherry on top, but I wouldn't set yourself up for more than a long shot.
I wouldn't get your hopes up too high for Thomas. He has huge academic concerns, and those types of recruitments rarely work out in U of I's favor. It would be the cherry on top, but I wouldn't set yourself up for more than a long shot.
I don't believe he plays D1 football anywhere next year.
ESL staff seems confident that he'll play D1 next year, needs to be really good in the classroom though but I'm sure they will have the teachers on-board with making sure he's doing what needs to be done.
TownieMatt
CU Expat
- Chicago
High school staff and coaches will always say a kid will qualify. Of course what are they supposed to say? "Thanks for your interest D1 coaches, but there's no way this kid can get the grades."
Their actions will speak louder than their words, if we start hearing about Thomas looking at Jucos then you know he won't qualify.
mattcoldagelli
- The Transfer Portal with Do Not Contact Tag
Actually ESL staff do tell the coaches exactly what their grades are. Again, didn't Stanley Green start as a true freshman. This isn't their first Rodeo. Didn't Terry Beckner start as a True Freshman for Mizzou!. How about Tre'vour, didn't he play for Mizzou this year.
As many kids that have gone to play D1 ball from the current coaching staff, there is no reason to trick anyone or pretend. Nate Strong and Greg Taylor both went to Juco whiled being signed by Mizzou.
Specifically to Jeff Thomas, Illinois staff is confident in him so that is all that matter. He has the ACT so continue to talk negative it you want. I can assure you that they see the comments including the players.
Word of advise, most top recruits want to feel wanted and not questioned by the fan base. Especially grades EVERYTIME an ESL kid is mentioned. Good luck with winning Jeff over for the next few weeks. He and other players visit this sight.
High school coaches who have a reputation for honesty and forthrightness are going to get the film of their kids who aren't Jeff Thomas-level talents in front of more coaches and generate more interest in their players and their program and gain more access to colleges and their coaches. It's a virtuous cycle and coaches in general at every level tend to be more eager to be collaborative with each other than you might think.
CPL basketball-type viper pits are the exception, not the rule.
Interest in Thomas from major schools was really waning over the past few months, to the point that it kinda seemed like Illinois or nowhere for him. Then his teammate James Knight posted his ACT score on twitter, and within days Thomas had a bunch of new offers from big programs. Tennessee, Oregon, etc.
Occam's Razor tells me Thomas got a test score that makes him qualifying look like a better bet than it did before. Because there is zero question about his talent at any program in the country.
FT35
- Naperville
I know you're close to the players/program. I would think that most of the people here have been overwhelmingly supportive in terms of getting a pipeline going to ESL. ESL players have historically done very well for this program.
Has anyone here questioned the grades of Knight or Estes? It's not fair to say that grades are questioned every time an ESL player is mentioned, because that hasn't been the case with these two recruits.
I don't know why questions persist about Thomas's grades? Perhaps because of his status as a recruit? I do agree with you that it is unfair that his eligibility is constantly questioned on this site but this is a discussion group and not every unfounded rumor can be squashed.
If the players read this site I would hope that they get the general sense that the fan base would be ecstatic if they came here. The staff has targeted these players for a reason and I would hope that alone would be enough to let them know that they are wanted/needed here. The fact that Green started here as a true Freshman should also let them know that there are opportunities to play right away if you're getting the job done in practice.
I agree not all or not even most on this site questions grades but it will come up when discussing most recruits from ESL.
My only question is what kid that signed with Illinois didn't qualify form ESL? For this to come up at all there should be some examples.
Clint Tucker is one. Did Tommie Hopkins ever make it into school?
JJB
- Chicago, IL
As I recall, he never made it to campus after getting shot in his leg the spring of his senior year.
Clint Tucker never signed officially as he was never close to qualifying which the staff new.
Tommie Hopkins did make it to campus however clearing house had an issue with the home school grades after he got shot. He qualified however clearinghouse wanted to launch an investigation. He elected to go back home as I don't think he was all that interested in school at the time. He went to school until November.
Every scout ask for Transcripts from day one. Some offer with the hopes of the kid pulling it out and others are too far away to consider. If you look at college sports, the only thing that is consistent is the fan base. They play a much bigger role than most people think. At least in the Metro East.
My only point is try to be more positive as kids actually read the comments.
- Status