Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#2,627      
Dren1
IlliniCaboose said:
Anyone we were previously in on?
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It doesn't look like there is a ton of overlap in the kids that we and Purdue were recruiting. Kind of surprising to me as it seemed that we were often looking at the same caliber of recruits in the past .
 
#2,628      
Halloweenie
Dren1 said:
It doesn't look like there is a ton of overlap in the kids that we and Purdue were recruiting. Kind of surprising to me as it seemed that we were often looking at the same caliber of recruits in the past .
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I know a coach in the Indy area and he says he never sees or hears of Illini coaches recruiting Indy in recent years. He has sent players to IU and Purdue so I think he would have some knowledge here.
 
#2,630      
illini1123
mhuml32 said:
Assuming Brohm leaves for Louisville, would love for Illinois to re-engage with Dave Monnot III and get involved with Khali Saunders.


Also, a lot of crystal balls already changing on Purdue commits. They could see this class fall apart very quick if Brohm announces he's leaving. They have four 4* commits and could lose all of them.
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Should we send Beckman to West Lafayette?
 
#2,632      
Title
FT35 said:
That documentary, 89 Blocks, that focused heavily on Jeff's Senior season at ESL was eye opening and not in a good way. There's a poster that frequents here named Title who has connections to ESL and I'm curious to know what he thinks about this. The documentary also focused on Estes and how Missouri was trying to get Thomas/Estes in a package deal. Every time that Estes visited they'd ask about Jeff but I didn't get the feeling that Jeff liked Missouri. Jeff at least visited us unofficially two years ago.

Regardless of the baggage, you take him. Even beyond his ability as a WR, he could be our PR as well. How nice would it be to have a guy back there who isn't running away from the ball out of fear and has the potential to take the ball to the house every time he touches the ball? He'd be a total game changer. He could turn out to be another Green-Beckham but we have to take a chance on him.

Don't get me started on Tate. Arizona was third in the country in rushing yards in 2017. A backfield with Tate, Corbin and a healthy Epstein would be deadly. Just add some guys who can catch the freaking ball to keep defenses honest and this could be one of the top rushing teams in the country with this OL.
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Yes, I have knowledge regarding Jeff Thomas situation. First I will start by addressing 89 Blocks. It was a great documentary however trying to put an entire season into 90 minutes created some issues with perception. Jeff NEVER missed three weeks of school however he did miss one or two days a week for three weeks. It's unfortunate for the perception of Jeff that they didn't go into why he was missing. I am sure that would have added another hour to the documentary but it was worth it in my opinion. In short, he missed days of school when they didn't have child care for his daughter because he didn't trust some family members with her. Everyone knew the reason and tried to help out as much as possible which is why it was left up to the team on whether they wanted to deal with it or not. It wasn't a case where he was ditching school and hanging with the fellas. I just thought I should add that piece to help understand the current situation.

Jeff noticed he wasn't getting targeted for over a month and express concerns. Once he did that, the staff at Miami kind of turned on him and started calling him selfish. The bottom line, he wanted to win and it didn't appear that Miami felt he was the answer. They started having issues with everything he did which created an uncomfortable situation. He pretty much was limited against Virginia Tech and was taken out of the line up at practice that following Sunday. After practice he met with his position coach and told him "if you are not going to play me I will just transfer". They had words and it didn't go well. Miami tried to reach out to him to rectify the situation on Monday and Tuesday before announcing his dismissal on Wednesday. He met with the HC and they agreed to part ways. All the extra stuff was an attempt on Miami's behalf to publicly explain why their best offensive weapon was looking to transfer. In the end he is transferring however he don't want to sit out a year. Both Illinois and Mizzou are options for a waiver. Dana Howard has been in contact with him in a effort to get him to Illinois. Mizzou head coach has put his name in the hat as well.
Right now it is too soon to tell which way he will go.
 
#2,633      
TheGMan
Title said:
Yes, I have knowledge regarding Jeff Thomas situation. First I will start by addressing 89 Blocks. It was a great documentary however trying to put an entire season into 90 minutes created some issues with perception. Jeff NEVER missed three weeks of school however he did miss one or two days a week for three weeks. It's unfortunate for the perception of Jeff that they didn't go into why he was missing. I am sure that would have added another hour to the documentary but it was worth it in my opinion. In short, he missed days of school when they didn't have child care for his daughter because he didn't trust some family members with her. Everyone knew the reason and tried to help out as much as possible which is why it was left up to the team on whether they wanted to deal with it or not. It wasn't a case where he was ditching school and hanging with the fellas. I just thought I should add that piece to help understand the current situation.

Jeff noticed he wasn't getting targeted for over a month and express concerns. Once he did that, the staff at Miami kind of turned on him and started calling him selfish. The bottom line, he wanted to win and it didn't appear that Miami felt he was the answer. They started having issues with everything he did which created an uncomfortable situation. He pretty much was limited against Virginia Tech and was taken out of the line up at practice that following Sunday. After practice he met with his position coach and told him "if you are not going to play me I will just transfer". They had words and it didn't go well. Miami tried to reach out to him to rectify the situation on Monday and Tuesday before announcing his dismissal on Wednesday. He met with the HC and they agreed to part ways. All the extra stuff was an attempt on Miami's behalf to publicly explain why their best offensive weapon was looking to transfer. In the end he is transferring however he don't want to sit out a year. Both Illinois and Mizzou are options for a waiver. Dana Howard has been in contact with him in a effort to get him to Illinois. Mizzou head coach has put his name in the hat as well.
Right now it is too soon to tell which way he will go.
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Thanks for the info! Hopefully someone from the coaching staff gets in touch with him soon.
 
#2,634      
thunderwear
Title said:
Yes, I have knowledge regarding Jeff Thomas situation. First I will start by addressing 89 Blocks. It was a great documentary however trying to put an entire season into 90 minutes created some issues with perception. Jeff NEVER missed three weeks of school however he did miss one or two days a week for three weeks. It's unfortunate for the perception of Jeff that they didn't go into why he was missing. I am sure that would have added another hour to the documentary but it was worth it in my opinion. In short, he missed days of school when they didn't have child care for his daughter because he didn't trust some family members with her. Everyone knew the reason and tried to help out as much as possible which is why it was left up to the team on whether they wanted to deal with it or not. It wasn't a case where he was ditching school and hanging with the fellas. I just thought I should add that piece to help understand the current situation.

Jeff noticed he wasn't getting targeted for over a month and express concerns. Once he did that, the staff at Miami kind of turned on him and started calling him selfish. The bottom line, he wanted to win and it didn't appear that Miami felt he was the answer. They started having issues with everything he did which created an uncomfortable situation. He pretty much was limited against Virginia Tech and was taken out of the line up at practice that following Sunday. After practice he met with his position coach and told him "if you are not going to play me I will just transfer". They had words and it didn't go well. Miami tried to reach out to him to rectify the situation on Monday and Tuesday before announcing his dismissal on Wednesday. He met with the HC and they agreed to part ways. All the extra stuff was an attempt on Miami's behalf to publicly explain why their best offensive weapon was looking to transfer. In the end he is transferring however he don't want to sit out a year. Both Illinois and Mizzou are options for a waiver. Dana Howard has been in contact with him in a effort to get him to Illinois. Mizzou head coach has put his name in the hat as well.
Right now it is too soon to tell which way he will go.
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I wish I could super like this post. This will have me rooting for him no matter where he goes.
 
#2,635      
FT35
Title said:
Yes, I have knowledge regarding Jeff Thomas situation. First I will start by addressing 89 Blocks. It was a great documentary however trying to put an entire season into 90 minutes created some issues with perception. Jeff NEVER missed three weeks of school however he did miss one or two days a week for three weeks. It's unfortunate for the perception of Jeff that they didn't go into why he was missing. I am sure that would have added another hour to the documentary but it was worth it in my opinion. In short, he missed days of school when they didn't have child care for his daughter because he didn't trust some family members with her. Everyone knew the reason and tried to help out as much as possible which is why it was left up to the team on whether they wanted to deal with it or not. It wasn't a case where he was ditching school and hanging with the fellas. I just thought I should add that piece to help understand the current situation.

Jeff noticed he wasn't getting targeted for over a month and express concerns. Once he did that, the staff at Miami kind of turned on him and started calling him selfish. The bottom line, he wanted to win and it didn't appear that Miami felt he was the answer. They started having issues with everything he did which created an uncomfortable situation. He pretty much was limited against Virginia Tech and was taken out of the line up at practice that following Sunday. After practice he met with his position coach and told him "if you are not going to play me I will just transfer". They had words and it didn't go well. Miami tried to reach out to him to rectify the situation on Monday and Tuesday before announcing his dismissal on Wednesday. He met with the HC and they agreed to part ways. All the extra stuff was an attempt on Miami's behalf to publicly explain why their best offensive weapon was looking to transfer. In the end he is transferring however he don't want to sit out a year. Both Illinois and Mizzou are options for a waiver. Dana Howard has been in contact with him in a effort to get him to Illinois. Mizzou head coach has put his name in the hat as well.
Right now it is too soon to tell which way he will go.
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Really insightful stuff as always Title. The way the documentary was edited does not do Jeff justice and made me wonder how he got accepted into any D1 program. Like you said, they made it seem like he was just went AWOL for a large chunk of the season. Best of luck to him wherever he ends up. Ending up at Missouri or Illinois would probably get him the waiver.

As an Illinois fan, I was also disappointed that the documentary didn't feature more of James Knight but I'm sure he doesn't have the interesting back stories that Thomas and Estes have. I think I spotted him with an Illinois hat on at the signing day ceremony.

Speaking of East St. Louis, Illinois finally offered 2020 players Antonio Johnson and Lawaun Powell. I'm not sure what took so long as both were here for the WIU game. I believe Patterson was there today:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1067906406865608705

https://247sports.com/player/lawaun-powell-46039904/#

https://twitter.com/x/status/1067893438014791689

https://247sports.com/Player/Antonio-Johnson-46051895/
 
#2,636      
Title
FT35 said:
Really insightful stuff as always Title. The way the documentary was edited does not do Jeff justice and made me wonder how he got accepted into any D1 program. Like you said, they made it seem like he was just went AWOL for a large chunk of the season. Best of luck to him wherever he ends up. Ending up at Missouri or Illinois would probably get him the waiver.

As an Illinois fan, I was also disappointed that the documentary didn't feature more of James Knight but I'm sure he doesn't have the interesting back stories that Thomas and Estes have. I think I spotted him with an Illinois hat on at the signing day ceremony.

Speaking of East St. Louis, Illinois finally offered 2020 players Antonio Johnson and Lawaun Powell. I'm not sure what took so long as both were here for the WIU game. I believe Patterson was there today:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1067906406865608705

https://247sports.com/player/lawaun-powell-46039904/#

https://twitter.com/x/status/1067893438014791689

https://247sports.com/Player/Antonio-Johnson-46051895/
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The original Documentary was supposed to be six episodes similar to last chance U. The captains, which included James Knight were supposed to be the feature and were followed the entire season. They had to make things intriguing but keep it in perspective. James is quiet which doesn't help for entertainment. LOL
 
#2,637      
FT35
Title said:
The original Documentary was supposed to be six episodes similar to last chance U. The captains, which included James Knight were supposed to be the feature and were followed the entire season. They had to make things intriguing but keep it in perspective. James is quiet which doesn't help for entertainment. LOL
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Yeah, I'm not surprised. Nice kid who gets a 26 on his ACT and chooses Illinois. No story there.

Six episodes would have been nice. As it was, 90 minutes didn't seem like it was enough for the story/stories they were trying to tell with ESL winning the State Championship in the background.
 
#2,638      
MadSeason
Thanks fo
Title said:
Yes, I have knowledge regarding Jeff Thomas situation. First I will start by addressing 89 Blocks. It was a great documentary however trying to put an entire season into 90 minutes created some issues with perception. Jeff NEVER missed three weeks of school however he did miss one or two days a week for three weeks. It's unfortunate for the perception of Jeff that they didn't go into why he was missing. I am sure that would have added another hour to the documentary but it was worth it in my opinion. In short, he missed days of school when they didn't have child care for his daughter because he didn't trust some family members with her. Everyone knew the reason and tried to help out as much as possible which is why it was left up to the team on whether they wanted to deal with it or not. It wasn't a case where he was ditching school and hanging with the fellas. I just thought I should add that piece to help understand the current situation.

Jeff noticed he wasn't getting targeted for over a month and express concerns. Once he did that, the staff at Miami kind of turned on him and started calling him selfish. The bottom line, he wanted to win and it didn't appear that Miami felt he was the answer. They started having issues with everything he did which created an uncomfortable situation. He pretty much was limited against Virginia Tech and was taken out of the line up at practice that following Sunday. After practice he met with his position coach and told him "if you are not going to play me I will just transfer". They had words and it didn't go well. Miami tried to reach out to him to rectify the situation on Monday and Tuesday before announcing his dismissal on Wednesday. He met with the HC and they agreed to part ways. All the extra stuff was an attempt on Miami's behalf to publicly explain why their best offensive weapon was looking to transfer. In the end he is transferring however he don't want to sit out a year. Both Illinois and Mizzou are options for a waiver. Dana Howard has been in contact with him in a effort to get him to Illinois. Mizzou head coach has put his name in the hat as well.
Right now it is too soon to tell which way he will go.
Click to expand...

Thanks for great insight as always.

All you had to say was Dana was on it and relief swept over me. One of the greatest competitors and leaders in Illini history
 
#2,641      
Deleted member 654622
I hope everyone is noticing all the Min decommitts that are happening currently. Sinking ship?
 
#2,643      
Deleted member 29907
ivwilsoniv said:
Ranking the rumored transfers is likelihood of transferring to Illinois (based on only what I've read on this forum):

1. Jeff Thomas
2. Khalil Tate
3. Unknown Big 12 WR
4. Luke Ford (just don't see this happening)
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Anyone else concerned with the comments by the Arizona fans regarding Tates all around ability at QB? From comments it sounded like they he had trouble learning the playbook and took off running (albeit alot of yards) too soon...
 
#2,647      
illiniwil
I saw a few pages back in this thread that Tate was having problems with the new Arizona OC. differing signals from the
HC too. They tried to "change" him into a strict pocket passer and he went form running often, to not at all. He had a fantastic
relationship with Rod Smith. I'm not sure how he fits with three QB recruits from last year an one 5 star coming in this year?
But whatever gets us to 6 wins next year is what i'm in for.

My question is, can we keep the 3 sophomore QB group with the depth chart growing or is Coran Taylor leaving? (moving to
wide receiver?) He's a superior athlete and I'd hate to see him leave.
 
#2,648      
TheGMan
VAIllini35 said:
Anyone else concerned with the comments by the Arizona fans regarding Tates all around ability at QB? From comments it sounded like they he had trouble learning the playbook and took off running (albeit alot of yards) too soon...
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He didn't seem to have any problems with the previous OC's playbook. I wonder where that guy is now?
 
#2,649      
Deleted member 29907
TheGMan said:
He didn't seem to have any problems with the previous OC's playbook. I wonder where that guy is now?
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Yep - i get that. Corbin is a good example of where good talent getting the right OC makes a world of difference (that and an O line that is one year older). Just thought there were alot of negative comments and not a ton of "we're going to really miss him" so I was just curious.
 
#2,650      
ChiefIllini
illiniwil said:
My question is, can we keep the 3 sophomore QB group with the depth chart growing or is Coran Taylor leaving? (moving to
wide receiver?) He's a superior athlete and I'd hate to see him leave.
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I expect at least one of the sophomore QB's to transfer, regardless of whether we get a grad QB or not. Based on nothing but feeling and my general football knowledge (stock is currently being sold for $0.02).

Did Robinson burn his RS? Assume MJ did. Taylor will obviously use his. My biggest concern is if we bring a grad transfer in, that at least two of those three leave for greener pastures, but I would take Tate in a heart beat considering we also have Williams.
 
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