Carthage?
Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
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Carthage?
Deleted member 633632
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Can i just ask what is all Fleck is fake talk about? Im not trying to challenge anyone's opinion, i just really not in the know about why people dislike him so much and I would just like understand where it comes from... Thanks in advance!
Fleck didn't inherit a dumpster fire.
Looks like those traits have gained traction nationwide among less than half the population.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
In many ways he's the televangelist of college coaches. You love him if you connect with his passion and energy. You hate him if you feel like he's selling false hopes. He is the epitome of a mantra.
Deleted member 633632
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Thank you!! I know he has a lot of catch phrases and what some would call corny sayings, but i just had no idea he rubbed people in such a wrong way! But i can understand why
BZuppke
- Plainfield
This
Yeah some people just don’t gel with his personality also he’s kinda known for being an offer first ask questions later type of guy but the guys love is recruiting are not only being recruited by minny but also mich st Iowa Oklahoma and in some cases bama Georgia and Ohio st so u really can’t blame fleck
https://mobile.twitter.com/juniormoses08/status/991499851077648384
Not sure how many stars this kid is but omg he is huge
Not sure how many stars this kid is but omg he is huge
Like you, I'm hoping we add Randolph, but his rating is solely based on potential. He's played one season of football in which he had one sack. I think he has the tools & once he's totally focused on football he can become a solid Big10 DE, but at this point hard to say he's underrated.
I also really like where we stand with Hawthorne. That would be a solid pair of DE's for this class
Reminds me a little of Jihad Ward. A little raw, but a long athletic monster. If he's truly interested in academics as he says, we have a shot!
Illiini
- In the land of the Nittany Lion
Because he beat us with Western Michigan and we're afraid he may do it with Minnesota as well. And people are worried about him stealing our recruiting bacon.
And there's a fear that Lovie might not be all that we think he is...though that will be denied, of course. But we won't know for sure, really, until we start winning. We don't hear #wewillwin very much lately.
Yeah, I think a lot of folk are frustrated over what Fleck did at WMU and did to us that helped cement the popular perception of Illinois as a bottom feeder of the Big Ten. There's a perceived need to punish HIM for what happened here.
Well we offered and he visited 2 months later so that’s a good sign but a 6’7” DE that’s a size u can’t teach and a matchup nightmare for anyone
Because he beat us with Western Michigan and we're afraid he may do it with Minnesota as well. And people are worried about him stealing our recruiting bacon.
And there's a fear that Lovie might not be all that we think he is...though that will be denied, of course. But we won't know for sure, really, until we start winning. We don't hear #wewillwin very much lately.
Yeah, I think a lot of folk are frustrated over what Fleck did at WMU and did to us that helped cement the popular perception of Illinois as a bottom feeder of the Big Ten. There's a perceived need to punish HIM for what happened here.
Yeah but if you are an Illini fan or one that actually follows the recruiting trail u know by 2020 we should be back to playing some meaningful games
Speaking for myself I would hate Fleck no matter where he were, possibly even including Illinois, because that management buzzword speak and try-way-too-hard attitude makes my skin crawl in any context.
But I will certainly admit to fear that Lovie isn't going to work out. At 5-19 you're lying to yourself if you're not feeling that.
You look at the Big Ten West moving forward, I think Frost's Nebraska is going to rocket by everybody, Wisconsin is going to be what they are forever, Iowa and Northwestern are going to be what they are forever at that slightly lower level, with Purdue looking like they might get there as well. There aren't many life rafts left on this boat, pardon the pun.
Lovie and Fleck are fighting for the same bone, it seems to me. Hard to see both of them succeeding, IMO.
Just curious, what is the difference between what Fleck is doing "buzzwords" and "Littyville". If you don't like Fleck's approach then you have to be concerned with Illinois approach. I don't see anything wrong with either approach based on the need to attract talent.
Littyville is intentionally silly and lighthearted, and we haven't turned it into an acronym of core ideals of the program that we'll print as an acrostic across the whole locker room. Or put it on the back of our uniforms (Note to Lovie/Whitman: do not do this)
Thad Ward is trying 8% too hard, and he knows it but does it anyway. Fleck is trying 7000% too hard and has no idea.
Deleted member 654622
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That was literally my first thought!
Deleted member 654622
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I have no problem with Fleck. Coaches, amongst a plethora of responsibilities, is to motivate his players. If "row the boat" gets everybody on the same page and he is passionate about it, good for him. We don't need to be concerned about what other coaches and programs are doing. We need to focus on our program and how we can be the best Illinois.
Someone is trying to hard?????? Come on
Someone is trying to hard?????? Come on
There are a lot of assumptions in your statement however I understand your point of view. I disagree that one has a clue and the other don't. I think both know and understand what they are doing. Fleck's approach has landed success in recruiting and Illinois is finally getting some momentum.
I was critical of the staff when Lovie first took over however, I am noticing an effort to recruit. Recognizing the need to do something different is a huge step in the right direction. "Littyville" has the young recruits listening which is a great thing. Fleck has most parents listening which is a good thing as well.
I am certainly not worried about Lovie's ability. In a short career as a headcoach he is a top 50 winningest coach in NFL history. And he wasn't handed great teams at Chicago or Tampa Bay. Lovie turned around the Bears and was mid turn around for the Bucs. I don't question Lovie, my fear is that we don't give him enough time. The Illini record only highlights the level of talent on our roster.
The first season Lovie was here was not a full term. He was hired during the time of the Spring Game. Many Illinois recruits were already committed at that time. But he has still managed to do a decent job recruiting and the culture is turning.The recruiting to date was not extraordinary, but was solid and it consists of Big 10 caliber talent. Look at the number of true freshmen that won awards. We finally have a foundation from which to build a team. A few playmakers and difference makers would go a long way on the current, young roster.
By most metrics Illinois is headed in the right direction. You can see the excitement built within and around the program (I have never known Illinois football recruiting to be so exciting and the high school kids are getting excited). The players are having fun and winning accolades (I don't remember a time when so many young players were winning awards). We had to start so many true freshmen out of need and they are rising to the occasion. We were in most of the games we played going into the 4th quarter (against way better teams). This happened with a depleted and young roster. It is hard to say that Illinois is not trending up.
Plus, the talent on our roster was suspect when Lovie arrived. We would have been a middle of the road MAC team by the time Cubit left and our recruiting was in the gutter. It would be a lot for any coach to take the roster and win games in the Big 10. We lacked any depth at quarterback and that cost us games. Our record is not important now, it is our culture. Our culture is turning and Lovie will start to win more games. But I think our wins don't jump significantly until 2020. Lovie is taking his time and putting the pieces in place. He is cutting the people that aren't buying into his system. What is being built right now is something extraordinary. The question is, do we let him finish what he started? Or do we go the way of Tampa Bay and fire him while we are turning the corner?
Time will tell. For me, it has nothing to do with whether Lovie has the ability. It just matters if we give him enough time.
If you want an informed assessment of P.J. Fleck, go to the NIU board (the Dog Pound). There are many over there who have followed Fleck since he was a player and can't stand him.
Part of it is because he accepted the Offensive Coordinator position at NIU and then left the very next day to take an NFL receiver's coach position with Schiano at Tampa Bay.
Mostly, people don't like him because he comes off as a crazy person. Fans tend to tolerate him when he's successful, but his act would get old very fast if his team were losing.
Even after his success at Western Michigan, many die-hard NIU fans would not have wanted him back at NIU as head coach (if that were a possibility).
I think of Fleck as kind of a cross between Jim Harbaugh and Tim Tebow. He's either a nicer Harbaugh or a more secular and self-promoting Tebow, or both.
When he's your coach, you put up with many of his cringe-worthy antics. When he's not your coach he is even more annoying.
Part of it is because he accepted the Offensive Coordinator position at NIU and then left the very next day to take an NFL receiver's coach position with Schiano at Tampa Bay.
Mostly, people don't like him because he comes off as a crazy person. Fans tend to tolerate him when he's successful, but his act would get old very fast if his team were losing.
Even after his success at Western Michigan, many die-hard NIU fans would not have wanted him back at NIU as head coach (if that were a possibility).
I think of Fleck as kind of a cross between Jim Harbaugh and Tim Tebow. He's either a nicer Harbaugh or a more secular and self-promoting Tebow, or both.
When he's your coach, you put up with many of his cringe-worthy antics. When he's not your coach he is even more annoying.
Lovie simply has to show improvement by winning. The staff have to win a minimum of 4 games this year period. Anything less will likely see a huge negative swing in recruiting.
Lovie will be our head coach in 2020. But I don't necessarily agree with this premise, depending by what you mean by "significantly".
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