Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#2,002      

Hoppy2105

H
Little Rock, Arkansas
Hoppy2105
mhuml32 said:
Is Jeff Thomas going to Illinois an actual possibility? A handful of articles in the past week or so are mentioning it, but each seems to be connecting the dots more than anything of substance
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I have a feeling some people think he is coming. But as of that last article, it would be down to us and Bama.

If NW had hired Lovie and Thomas was down to NW and Bama, we would all assume he was going to Bama right? That's how I am right now. It's Bama until we see orange and blue smoke.

The one thing we have going for us is the desire to play early. My goodness he could play early. Let's hope he wants that and loves his home state school.
 
#2,003      

calibear

C
calibear
IlliniBrave75 said:
Ryan Easterling ‏@RyanEasterling 5h5 hours ago
Ryan Easterling Retweeted dcall the man
#illini DL coach out in Yuma seeing an under-the-radar DE with a lot of potential.

dcall the man‏@CallenderDaniel 6h6 hours ago
Thank you coach for coming to visit me, and my family! Had a great time talking to you! Go illini
1f64c-1f3fe.png
1f64c-1f3fe.png
. @CoachPhair @jason247scout
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For the record I like Callender every bit as much as Roundtree. Several guys I like better but Callender would make a nice addition.
 
#2,004      

CUWPC

C
Geneva, IL
CUWPC
Hoppy2105 said:
I have a feeling some people think he is coming. But as of that last article, it would be down to us and Bama.

If NW had hired Lovie and Thomas was down to NW and Bama, we would all assume he was going to Bama right? That's how I am right now. It's Bama until we see orange and blue smoke.

The one thing we have going for us is the desire to play early. My goodness he could play early. Let's hope he wants that and loves his home state school.
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I would agree that Alabama versus Illinois would suggest Alabama. But if playing time is his goal, he should look at the Alabama roster. Alabama has 2 5* and 4 4* commits at WR since 2015. That doesn't include any of the 4* ATH they've also recruited during that time. He would come to Illinois and be the highest ranked WR commit since Rejus Benn.
 
#2,005      

StateFarmCenter

StateFarmCenter
StateFarmCenter
mhuml32 said:
Is Jeff Thomas going to Illinois an actual possibility? A handful of articles in the past week or so are mentioning it, but each seems to be connecting the dots more than anything of substance
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If Mizzou was truly the favorite before over Alabama (and according to everyone they were), then no reason to think we don't have a chance. Especially given his public comments about playing time.
 
#2,006      

FT35

FT35
Naperville
FT35
mhuml32 said:
Is Jeff Thomas going to Illinois an actual possibility? A handful of articles in the past week or so are mentioning it, but each seems to be connecting the dots more than anything of substance
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Him actually committing here is looking like a possibility.

The odds of him ever actually playing here and contributing are just slightly above 0%.

It would be a huge PR victory to get him to commit here, however. That would raise some eyebrows around the Midwest.
 
#2,012      

Doak1960

D
Doak1960
FiveStar said:
As a high school teacher I will tell you that you have no idea how much these kids use their phones. I've been doing this for years and I'm still shocked at how much they got going on at once on their phone. But the bigger difference is they don't necessarily have a place to charge them during the day depending on their teacher/schedule.

That said, Larry Boyd is some kind of confident. I like his style on that post.
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Glad the young man got the ACT he needed. It is a lot more difficult for some of these young men when taking these tests. Some are not as fortunate to hiring tutors for their children. Nice job Larry. You'll be all set when you get the diploma from U of I.
 
#2,015      

EJ33

E
San Francisco
EJ33
BillMo said:
if we can end up with a top 40ish class I will be pleased. then just have to give Lovie and staff a couple years to tie some things together. Next year us fans just have to look at as a LONG version of fall practice and not worry about the record at all. Even in 2018 we have to give the kids a break on wins and loses, by 2019 we will know what Lovie and staff have come up with and we can start hopeing for bowl games
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That will be tough to do given the number of scholarships we need to fill - I think we have ~25?

The most encouraging sign I see is that our average star rating thus far is 3.09. That ranks 30th right now (2 spots below Wisconsin). This will likely drop as they try to fill out the class, but it's a good indicator of where we're headed.
 
#2,017      

EJ33

E
San Francisco
EJ33
JBtheTrill said:
We received 4 crystal ball picks for Jeff Thomas on 247.

http://247sports.com/Player/Jeff-Thomas-35335

This article also claims that we are currently the team to beat.

http://illinois.247sports.com/Artic...g-for-blue-chip-receiver-Jeff-Thomas-49415955
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Thomas ran a 4.38 laser-timed 40-yard dash and later won the fastest man race competing against some of the nation's top prospects at the Nike World Headquarters in Oregon.
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Have we ever had someone this fast?
 
#2,023      

illinidarrin

illinidarrin
from parts unknown
illinidarrin
Even if he's not able to play, atleast he will open up eyes for good recruits and maybe they come to Illinois as well. He could be a good recruiting tool.
 
#2,024      

FT35

FT35
Naperville
FT35
illinidarrin said:
Or place him at a near college near by , then maybe by his Sophmore, he would be able to play. (hopefully)
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How often has this worked out for us? I guess Trenard Davis did something similar but he obviously wasn't playing football at Parkland and he wasn't the same kind of recruit.

Thomas will want to play next year.
 
#2,025      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
The Worm said:
It's that bad?
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The space between the clearinghouse standards and Illinois standards isn't and has never been significant.

But yes, it has never been a secret, Jeff Thomas is no sure thing to qualify.

Is Illinois the leader now because others see the writing on the wall and have backed off? That's very possible. A commitment from Jeff Thomas that ends up meaning nothing because he doesn't qualify is a waste of Alabama or Michigan's time. It wouldn't be a waste of Illinois or Mizzou's time.
 
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