Sparks has been a known “in” for a while now. He’s an intriguing kid, there’s talent there.
Yep, I think he & Griffin are good developmental OTs. This is the depth that we needed to add for the '21 season.
Sparks has been a known “in” for a while now. He’s an intriguing kid, there’s talent there.
After all the hand wringing and doom and gloom proclamations, looks like the Illini well close the month with only one less recruit than last year at this tine. And while 247 has them with last place class in conference, their average recruit rating is on par with last year’s final average and has them ranked 7 in B1G. Staff seems to have a plan and it’s working.
And these events seem to be a big part of the plan. I love the idea or getting all these recruits on campus at once and really solidifying the family atmosphere. That seems to be a big part of what the commits talk about.
I still have my doubts about Lovie and some on his staff wish he would do some stuff differently but I will say they are upgrading the talent.
Where are you getting the scholarship number? Werner has a grid on 247, but with a quick look it doesn’t look very accurate, seems like it had Peters as a senior, but the USC guys as jrs., Hanson as a senior. What is the best grid or did you just use the roster? Makes me appreciate @rbachhuber & the b-ball grid.8 scholarships left with no attrition
I still have my doubts about Lovie and some on his staff wish he would do some stuff differently but I will say they are upgrading the talent.
Recruiting philosophy or approach....and defensivelyDifferently how?
Just watched Blaise's Hudl highlights, and I am unsure how the 247 evaluator came up with his low 3-star ranking. I understand that some of the guys he pancakes in the video are small, but he:
-Has great flexibility for his size (e.g. stance looks very natural, he is comfortable)
-Enjoys finishing plays with some nasty
-Moves fairly quickly for a lineman that big
Some of the negatives include the typical high school OL problems such as high pad level. I am confident that McClain and coach Lou can get that fixed and improve his agility and strength significantly. His film coupled with his size seem to read more as a mid 3-star to me, similar to Griffin's ranking and perhaps even higher at a solid .86 in 247's system.
OL rankings are tough and inaccurate. There is still a year or two of development before they are serviceable, so generally it is better to be excited about the potential than to focus on the ranking. I’ve read that he is raw and quick footed, more likely to provide minutes his junior and senior year.
While the volume of recruits isn’t quite there, I agree that the quality of athletes in the classes of 2019 & 2020 (incl transfers) is solidly middle of the pack for the BIG, which bodes well for the future.
That said, even if Frenchie commits, they are still going to need to find probably 10 more quality athletes to fill the roster (anticipating some attrition), and there’s not a lot of kids left undecided. Gonna need to flip a couple and/or find a couple under the radar guys.
Of course, this whole thing will blow up if the defense doesn’t improve and Lovie gets canned. Fingers crossed.
Just watched Blaise's Hudl highlights, and I am unsure how the 247 evaluator came up with his low 3-star ranking. I understand that some of the guys he pancakes in the video are small, but he:
-Has great flexibility for his size (e.g. stance looks very natural, he is comfortable)
-Enjoys finishing plays with some nasty
-Moves fairly quickly for a lineman that big
Some of the negatives include the typical high school OL problems such as high pad level. I am confident that McClain and coach Lou can get that fixed and improve his agility and strength significantly. His film coupled with his size seem to read more as a mid 3-star to me, similar to Griffin's ranking and perhaps even higher at a solid .86 in 247's system.
Recruiting philosophy or approach....and defensively