Answered my own question. Turns out a fan on a TCU message board had some harsh, profanity-laced words for Avery's decision to air his commitment on TV. Someone sent it to Avery and he obviously was not happy. Don't think it will have any major effect one way or the other on his decision.
Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
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Answered my own question. Turns out a fan on a TCU message board had some harsh, profanity-laced words for Avery's decision to air his commitment on TV. Someone sent it to Avery and he obviously was not happy. Don't think it will have any major effect one way or the other on his decision.
The higher ranked guys are always going to be tougher for us, because we're going up against top power-5 programs.
Calvin Avery, 4-star DT from Texas decides on Friday. We have a commitment from his HS teammate, but TCU is likely the leader.
Luke Ford, 4-star TE from Illinois is another one we're in on. He can go to any program he wants at this point. Going to be tough, but I would imagine we make his top 5.
Ronnie Perkins, 4-star DE from Missouri. Going to be another tough one. Pretty sure Mizzou has the lead in this one. I think it was mentioned before, but his brother is on their roster.
Dallas Craddieth, 3-star DB from Missouri. Looks like a 3-way battle between us, Mizzou, and Iowa. I think our staff is pushing pretty hard with this one based on his recent tweets.
All in all, we have some really good targets left on the board. If we can snag Avery on Friday, that'll be a huge boost!
FT35
- Naperville
It's amazing how much of an impact fans can have on the recruiting process with the presence of social media and message boards. In the end these are just kids and it's unfortunate that something like this would happen. It's also unfortunate how one idiot can make an entire fan base look bad.
FWIW, I don't think it changes much of anything either. Incidents like this should have no impact on a life changing decision such as this. Avery was recently at one of the TCU fall practices and there are almost no indications that he's going to commit here. The proximity that he has to TCU is just too much for us to overcome and the connection to Myers is probably the main reason we are in the Top 2. We'll see what happens though.
Texas picked up a commit the top ranked Junior College TE recruit today. He was also being recruited by Alabama. Hopefully, Luke Ford wasn't the next guy on their list.
Good info...what are your thoughts in terms of only 1 more DL? I was thinking we need at least 2 more, but haven't followed it as closely as you.
Good Tweet by Jeremy Werner today on the Freshmen:
http://www.hudl.com/profile/5366737/calvin-avery
Avery reminds me of Corey Liuget and would absolutely be the biggest recruiting get in several years.
Side note, I miss Corey Liuget.
Avery reminds me of Corey Liuget and would absolutely be the biggest recruiting get in several years.
Side note, I miss Corey Liuget.
I wonder how much of the recruiting pitch is style of play you will play against. A lot of running b10 west offenses, both Spread and pro style, vs the air raid b12 offenses. You can really showcase yourself a lot better as a DT when teams will run at you 25-30 times per game vs 10-15.
FT35
- Naperville
Just my opinion since we picked up 7 DL in the last class, so I don't really see the need outside of maybe 1 DT. I think that's why we were swinging for the fences with Thompson, Brown and now with Avery.
There are RS Juniors who may not have their scholarships renewed(i.e. McGrew and Roberts) so I think we can open up more scholarships for the class without taking into account additional transfers, so we may reach for a HS DL or 2 after the season is over if we don't land Avery.
Speaking of the DL, Pate looks huge. There's no way he is 245 lbs. He's probably closer to 275 lbs at this point and will certainly be a DT. Pate and Woods will hopefully be redshirted while Green may have to play.
I also noticed that Isaiah Gay won't turn 18 until after the season is over (born in December of 1999), which might explain why he was overlooked by FBS schools. He could end up being a really nice find as he was a year young for his class and had a really nice Senior season.
Deleted member 533939
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Buzzkill! I don't know enough about football recruiting to know the difference, so I was just happy. :doh:
I'll just be happy anyways!:clappy:
I never said don't be happy, as he is a good player according to the rankings. I just think saying we somehow beat UM and MSU might be a little misleading.
Illwinsagain
- Cary, IL
I understand, sarcasm does not always come out well in posts. I was just having some fun.
Frankly FT wishful thinking on my part but I am hoping for us to have at least 9 more schollies open to sign for 2018. There are so many needs to help balance and up grade the depth.
You hit one of the prime positions I would expect some transfer from. McGrew, Jones, are candidates with scholarships potential who might move on to another school so they might play. In all there is about a dozen guys now on scholarship I could see leaving after reading the signs.
FT35
- Naperville
You certainly could be right. Just look at how many non-Seniors who were here at this time last year that are no longer on the roster. Vaughn, Cain, Fish, Heath, Kelly, Holcombe, Lee, Nation and McGriff are all gone. That's a lot of turnover.
I was just focusing on the RS JRs who have not played much and may not have their scholarships renewed. Technically Adesanya also falls into that category, although he is expected to start this year so we'll see what happens.
There are obviously other guys who could leave. I'm surprised that Trenard Davis, for instance, is still here. He didn't qualify academically in 2015. However, he stayed in the area and went to Parkland in large part because Desmond Cain is his cousin. With Cain gone and it being unlikely he gets meaningful playing time, I don't know why he wants to stay?
We definitely have a glut at TE and LB. I wouldn't be shocked if guys from that group choose to leave after this year.
EfremWinters84
- S. Carolina
I checked the 247 team recruiting rankings for 2018 this morning. With 11 recruits onboard, we rank 14th in the Big 10 --- with a really sizable gap between us and 13th ranked Iowa. (Iowa also has 11 commitments.)
I know the ranking probably has a "quantity" factor incorporated as well. However, Nebraska is ranked #6 with just 10 recruits onboard.
I would say this is spot on with my thinking as well,
We don't really need DL guys but if we can get a really good one for sure will take them
I thought Pate and even woods both looked more like DTs when I first watched their clips then DE so I as well hope they get to sit a year and keep growing into true DTs, I think Green in a way you want to get him on the field. He is ready I believe and can only help with the pipeline if he get early playing time
While I occasionally looked at 24/7 rankings before they bought out Scout, I never gave them to much credit. Starting with their crystal balls being wrong so often. I like balancing their rating against Scout , Rivals and sometimes Espn. Whom also lacked credentials imo.
Point is they often don't seem to be at the many of the schools that we get our commitments. Personally as I have said recently I think we are about par with last season at this point. Like last year several of the big gets start about now last year. So I have a wait and see thing going.
Any last minute predictions before the big announcement video today?!?
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Pate definitely looks destined for the inside. Also, Jeremy did an interview with Oladipo where he says the staff wants him at the 3 tech. This might mean Woods stays outside at SDE. Either way I think they probably want at least one DE and DT each for this class. Illini just made list for Sanders (DE out of Florida). Could be a backup option if they can't get Perkins.
TCU is the favorite but I'm riding high on preseason hope and I'll say he is an Illini.
I heard that as well and I took it to mean they wanted him to be able to play both, I think they want to have DE who they can move to the inside on pass downs, they did it last year at times with Smoot and president. I like the idea of us making DEs into DT way more then a TE into an Ol
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
+1
Really, football prospect ratings are a complete crapshoot, especially beyond the elite guys. The hope is that our coaching staff is ID-ing kids that are better than their ratings. Too soon to tell if that's true.
I think differences in coaching preferences makes a big difference as well. A big slow OL V a small fast OL for example. One may be the better player for Alabama while one a better fit for Oregon. Ranking is more difficult when you fit one play style very well, and another not at all. How do you compare a player like that to a solid all around player who may not excel in one scheme or another?
It's tough.
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ILLINIFAN2
- Des Moines, IA
ILLINIFAN2
- Des Moines, IA
In all seriousness, probably bodes well from a recruiting standpoint but is her referring to Tutu or Avery?
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