Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
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Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Awesome advice!
I see it a bit differently. I think the bulk of our team should be solid 3* players and we want to have some top playmakers that tend to be higher projection recruits. But I don't see us regularly competing with the likes of Ohio State, Alabama, etc. So I would be happy with a bowl qualifying team in the hunt for the West title.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
And we need to stop using Wisconsin recruiting and player development as a crutch for when Illinois doesn't get a commitment from a heralded recruit. They are such an outlier that there is no point in believing what happens in Madison can/will happen in Champaign.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Reading this will be painful for some, but I agree. Illinois should look West and try to become Iowa.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
New 2020 Recruiting Rankings from 247. Not much Illinois talent in the top 100 (AJ Henning @ 26).
Side note: Terrible timing for Maryland football, as the #1 and #16 players in the country are from Maryland and would fill sorely needed area for them (DE).
Side note: Terrible timing for Maryland football, as the #1 and #16 players in the country are from Maryland and would fill sorely needed area for them (DE).
SampsonRelpenk
- Edwardsville, IL
Even if it did, they are creeping toward year 30 of being capital-W Wisconsin. As the Beasties said:
Iowa and Wisconsin are quite similar.
Not in terms of targeting scouting and player development and scheme consistency as areas of competitive advantage, which I think are sound ideas, but more in terms of the style of football they play, one big problem of imitating Wisconsin and Iowa is that Wisconsin and Iowa already exist and they're right next to us.
I think Rod Smith's offensive style will help differentiate us there. And I think the other area where we've opened a competitive advantage is in diverting our recruiting resources away from overrated Midwestern areas where Illinois track record of being awful puts us at a disadvantage relative to Texas or Florida where we represent kind of a blank slate. On net places like Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania have not been advantageous recruiting areas for Illinois, and Lovie seems to have dropped them completely.
And then the other competitive advantage we feature is our program culture which has a wealth of both high-level NFL experience and black leadership, two things that are uncommon elsewhere. We have a recruiting pitch that's not something others can imitate.
It's sometimes not even so much about being "better" as it is about being "different in smart, well selected ways", and I think we have that right now.
FeelYourPaign
- So Cal
Thoughtful. Good stuff
Deleted member 654622
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I agree 100%. I am sorry but I do not want to be Iowa or Wisconsin. I want to be on the Ohio State level. I think that is where JW wants to take us as well. Recruits want to play on Sunday. If this staff can prove they can get kids there, that is a huge step in the process. We have to differentiate ourselves from other programs, but at the same time get the same results. I believe they are working that way now.
I too would like to be OSU. I'd even take Bama. However, this isn't a 5 year plan. Try more like 15 or 20, to start. To humor the idea, we'd need a coach that either a) immediately brings in about 20 top 200 recruits, in multiple recruiting classes, or b) the best in game tactician in the league. Then of course we'd actually have to beat teams like OSU. This is not happening with Lovie. Why? Because there has got to be a rise in overall performance before we get talent good enough to be considered for the CFP. Lovie's 60. He's got maybe another 15 years in him if we are exceptionally lucky. I'd wager to say no more than 6 or 7. So now you're talking another HC hire that has to keep AND improve the level Lovie has set. Nickerson seems to be the guy in waiting. Now, hes got to improve this team consistently for probably another 5 or so. Then, I would say, we could be at the level of OSU. The problem then still is hiring a guy after he retires to keep it up for another 15 or so years, at least until we are so cemented in the CFB premier landscape that having a few bad years or a bad coaching hire wont bring us back down to the level we currently are at.
The last point is the most important. There are probably coaches out their that could get us to the CFP, and get us there consistently, quicker than Lovie. The problem is, can the Illinois football brand keep a footing as a premier FB program even after a few rough years and a bad coaching hire or even two? Michigan went through that. They are still an elite program. OSU had a scandal (Tressel) and came out better because of it. Becoming OSU/USC/Texas/Auburn/Alabama/etc. isn't just getting consistent on field results, its building something more than the football team and having tradition.
Let's just have consecutive winning regular seasons for the first time since 1991-92 (edging Indiana for the longest such streak in CFB) and go from there shall we?
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Cali JUCO LB Jashua Allen commits to Colorado. Would've been a very good get, but with Eifler on board, Cooper at the top of our board and limited numbers, this was predictable.
Dang I totally would have watched if I knew
Deleted member 631370
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Illinois will never be Ohio State (or even Michigan or Penn State). And that's fine.
But, there's no reason why it can't be Iowa or even Michigan State (which, IMO, is our ceiling). Wisconsin before Barry Alvarez. Kansas State before Bill Snyder. VA Tech before Frank Beamer. It can be done at a place like Illinois -- it just depends on having the right coach in place.
Do I think Lovie is our Alvarez, Snyder, or Beamer? No. But getting to where NW is would be a positive first step. And then we can go from there.
I wouldn't say "Illinois will never be Ohio State", things change.
But we won't go from where we are now directly to being Ohio State. We have to become Wisconsin first, and before that we have to become Iowa, and before that we have to become NW, etc. There are a lot of steps between where we are at and the top. Just keep moving up.
I think Lovie has a great chance of building a solid foundation for the next coach. I think he can get us to the level that a bowl game is expected. We will really need to nail the next hire though. Someone younger who can build on that foundation and move us up. Future problem though.
But we won't go from where we are now directly to being Ohio State. We have to become Wisconsin first, and before that we have to become Iowa, and before that we have to become NW, etc. There are a lot of steps between where we are at and the top. Just keep moving up.
I think Lovie has a great chance of building a solid foundation for the next coach. I think he can get us to the level that a bowl game is expected. We will really need to nail the next hire though. Someone younger who can build on that foundation and move us up. Future problem though.
Cory Patterson could become that man in time. You never know. Just a thought.
I remember when making bowls was the norm a decade ago
(those were some frustrating Zook teams, who knew how far we'd fall. Your point on the next hire is spot on. Schools become powerhouse by either continuously hiring good coaches, or finding a young one that sticks around 20+ years (or both for that matter). If Lovie does succeed, I would find it very difficult to not see Nickerson taking his place. Whether he continues the upward trend is obviously a major mystery, but being optimistic, I think the hire after that might be even more crucial. Of course, thats 15+ years down the road, best case scenario.
If he is the heir to the heir apparent now, then I would be ecstatic. I have an affinity for programs that can promote from within, its one of the hardest practices any institution can perform well (emphasis on the latter word).
Deleted member 654622
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Why? Because it would be very hard? Would it be easy? Hell No. But can it happen? Yes. And no I do not think it is fine. I would like this team to be great. And I am fine with them reaching for that goal.
Deleted member 654622
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Let me ask this question. Would anyone here want to be in Clemson's shoes right now? I think the answer is hell yes. It is not like Clemson was a power house program before Dabo got there. But look at what he has done around all those BIG BOY football programs.
Now before anyone starts dismissing this post due to Lovie's age, let me just say the purpose of this was to show a program can be built! Yes people, a program can build themselves into a national powerhouse.
Now before anyone starts dismissing this post due to Lovie's age, let me just say the purpose of this was to show a program can be built! Yes people, a program can build themselves into a national powerhouse.
Yes, and Illinois has some disadvantages. The first and most important is that we have strict academic requirements. We can’t recruit the top 100 players because many wouldn’t get accepted into the university. Plus, for the ones that can get accepted, we have to compete with Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, usc, Michigan, etc. many of which are considered better in terms of academics. I’m not comparing specific programs because most of or athletes are not getting engineering and accounting degrees. We have limitations that stretch far beyond our past record and who is coaching.
But either way, before we are passing Clemson in the rankings, we have to pass Minnesota, northwestern and many others. I do think that our ceiling is very high with the current coach, but first I’d like to see us win conference games before we talk about the future
Clemson may not be the best comparison. They weren't a national power when Dabo got there, but historically they have consistently been very good, and occasionally great. They have a beautiful campus with unbelievable facilities and proximity to 3 fertile recruiting areas in NC, GA and FL.
I love UI football with all my soul, but we aren't going to be Clemson or OSU or UM. With some patience and a good hiring decision or two we can become UW or MSU, and if that happens we should all be ecstaic
Deleted member 631370
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Let's be honest. They weren't going to get those kids anyway. Breese is probably going to Penn State, Ohio State, or Alabama.
Maryland produces a TON of football talent. Penn State is the recruiting heavyweight in the state of Maryland, but MD kids go to all kinds of big programs. The top MD kid in the 2019 class is probably headed to Florida State, for example.
Deleted member 631370
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Yep. Clemson won a national title in the 80s, and consistently won 8-9 games during the Tommy Bowden era. Historically, they're probably comparable to a program like Michigan State or Texas A&M. Not one of the elites, but pretty respectable. In large part because (1) football is a religion in the south, and (2) there's a whole lot of talent in South Carolina, GA, and Florida from where schools like Clemson and South Carolina and get recruits.
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