Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#1,376      
Twangers
Dude said:
Agreed we need a safety and DT. Not sure why you think we need a WR though
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I don't want to put words into LH's mouth but I'm guessing he's referring less to a need for a WR and more to the idea that if a great one wants in, you take him.

The WR position has significantly high stand alone value at the college level, much moreso than the professional level. If an elite level talent kid that a University like ours wouldn't normally be in on wants to sign, you pretty much take him regardless of the depth chart.
 
#1,378      
LHIllinis
While I agree that we will be much better at WR next season, if you could get one that was a stud and put them opposite BheBhe, why wouldn't you? Especially if they are a burner and a legit deep threat. You have Ford as well and a QB that can throw it. We saw what happened this year with the WR position. We do have lots of help next year in the current frosh and incoming frosh. But, if a stud is out there and wants in, you take him. Lots of unknowns with the injuries there as well. Maybe you grab an OL as well. I think they should get an OL that has two years left. But, only if they come in and actually challenge for a starting spot.
 
#1,379      
Twangers
LHIllinis said:
While I agree that we will be much better at WR next season, if you could get one that was a stud and put them opposite BheBhe, why wouldn't you? Especially if they are a burner and a legit deep threat. You have Ford as well and a QB that can throw it. We saw what happened this year with the WR position. We do have lots of help next year in the current frosh and incoming frosh. But, if a stud is out there and wants in, you take him. Lots of unknowns with the injuries there as well. Maybe you grab an OL as well. I think they should get an OL that has two years left. But, only if they come in and actually challenge for a starting spot.
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Bold: That would be a very difficult niche to find.
 
#1,380      
Greensboro
Twangers said:
I’d say that’s fair, fits to the specific profile portion and there’s nothing particularly “fun” about the way the NCAA has run the waiver process. I’d be a little eye brow raised to see us take kids with only 1 year of eligibility however. Thoughts?
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A bit late to this party, but my opinion/questions:
- 2 yrs> 1yr (I personally was surprised how many 2yr immediate eligible players we were able to grab...not convinced that there will be that many available for us this yr)
- The staff grabbed a bunch of 2 yr this past yr, that were added to a large jr class...one year transfers this year make less sense for class balance, but the staff didn't seem to care this past year, so I don't think that is the main deciding factor
- In the end, I expect we would like 2 yr transfers, but expect more 1 yr transfers than last year because I doubt we can find that many this coming year.
- At the end of the day, I think talent to fill gaps next year or clear upgrades of talent will be the primary deciding factor...NW game I feel highlighted depth gaps, we were short across the Defense, WR we were down top 3 , we may lose top 2 returning RB... I think talent/depth upgrades and what is availalble rule the day.

Last point, it may be a bit tougher go this year...last year we could promise starting rolls to QB, tackle, 2 WR...thankfully the holes look a bit smaller this year, but make it harder to promise starting roles to guys looking for more playing time.
 
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#1,381      
Twangers
Greensboro said:
A bit late to this party, but my opinion/questions:
- 2 yrs> 1yr (I personally was surprised how many 2yr immediate eligible players we were able to grab...not convinced that there will be that many available for us this yr)
- The staff grabbed a bunch of 2 yr this past yr, that were added to a large jr class...one year transfers this year make less sense for class balance, but the staff didn't seem to care this past year, so I don't think that is the main deciding factor
- In the end, I expect we would like 2 yr transfers, but expect more 1 yr transfers than last year because I doubt we can find that many this coming year.
- At the end of the day, I think talent to fill gaps next year or clear upgrades of talent will be the primary deciding factor...NW game I feel highlighted depth gaps, we were short across the Defense, WR we were down top 3 , we may lose top 2 returning RB... I think talent/depth upgrades and what is availalble rule the day.
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That's all fair but you're missing one large, key variable: One year players aren't signing up to compete for jobs. Outside of maybe one-two positions, we can't offer clear avenues to start. We're less likely to attract a player with one year of eligibility than we are to attract a player with two plus.

Haven't checked it out personally but I'm told there's actually a large number of 2 year grads in/going to be in the portal.
 
#1,382      
ivwilsoniv
Twangers said:
That's all fair but you're missing one large, key variable: One year players aren't signing up to compete for jobs. Outside of maybe one-two positions, we can't offer clear avenues to start. We're less likely to attract a player with one year of eligibility than we are to attract a player with two plus.

Haven't checked it out personally but I'm told there's actually a large number of 2 year grads in/going to be in the portal.
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In the PORTAAAAL...

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#1,383      
Deleted member 654622
Twangers said:
I don't want to put words into LH's mouth but I'm guessing he's referring less to a need for a WR and more to the idea that if a great one wants in, you take him.

The WR position has significantly high stand alone value at the college level, much moreso than the professional level. If an elite level talent kid that a University like ours wouldn't normally be in on wants to sign, you pretty much take him regardless of the depth chart.
Click to expand...
LHIllinis said:
While I agree that we will be much better at WR next season, if you could get one that was a stud and put them opposite BheBhe, why wouldn't you? Especially if they are a burner and a legit deep threat. You have Ford as well and a QB that can throw it. We saw what happened this year with the WR position. We do have lots of help next year in the current frosh and incoming frosh. But, if a stud is out there and wants in, you take him. Lots of unknowns with the injuries there as well. Maybe you grab an OL as well. I think they should get an OL that has two years left. But, only if they come in and actually challenge for a starting spot.
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I guess I read the original post wrong. It seemed to me like you were putting WR in the same category as DT and Safety in the original post. That is why I was confused
 
#1,387      
LHIllinis
If Sidney and Smalling hadn't gotten hurt and we knew for sure that BheBhe was back next year for sure, I wouldn't be concerned. I would still take a burner though if one showed up.
 
#1,388      
ChiCityIllini
Twangers said:
That's Day Day, the DFW kid.

Hard pass.
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Agree - think he spurned us already back in 2018 - didn't like the cold weather and I think he was upset we didn't take the friend he visited with (KD Davis) who Illini ultimately didn't take and ended up at UNT (where based on his 2019 stats - he actually would have been upgrade over some of guys on current roster). Gardner the JUCO is a similar player who doesn't have to sit
 
#1,389      
Twangers
ChiCityIllini said:
Agree - think he spurned us already back in 2018 - didn't like the cold weather and I think he was upset we didn't take the friend he visited with (KD Davis) who Illini ultimately didn't take and ended up at UNT (where based on his 2019 stats - he actually would have been upgrade over some of guys on current roster). Gardner the JUCO is a similar player who doesn't have to sit
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Bold: And Derrick Smith. We're loaded with tweeners, I see no use for a 3rd-4th.
 
#1,396      
TwoElevenEastDaniel
Dude said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1202345838908981248
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I don't mind that this is not a sign that he is signing with the Beloved. It is nice to be reminded about Coach Patterson's connections to that particular community. Meeting with a kid you probably won't flip and reminding him who his "family" is makes sense, especially when you want to leave an impression on the ESL community that Illinois football is back.
 
#1,398      
whatahack
Curious on thoughts about Cory Patterson...
Recruiting ability
Coaching skill
Successor to Lovie (I know that one is out there)
 
#1,399      
Twangers
Madco Illini said:
I said the same thing about a bowl after emu/neb game. Obviously less on the line here, but give me a punchers chance. Good players attract other good players, especially if they are from and know of each other.
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There actually may be more on the line here. The whole point of getting to 6 is to put ourselves in position to land these types of kids. Better facilities, better on-field product, better recruiting. With Johnson, we will be putting ourselves into a whole new class of athlete.

Listed at 6’2 1/2” 180, I buy his measurement. The kid is a bit of a bean and needs 10-12 (Hate to see more than 12 on him) pounds of good weight to hold up in the Big Ten. He struggles on tape with the larger backs. A kid like Charbonnet from Michigan, the freshman, would run over the top of him so this weight is crucial to his long term prospects but aside from this the kid is pretty close to flawless. I couldn’t guess the metrics but he’s quick (Late 4.5-ish) with what I’m sure is a fantastic vertical, he routinely outplays kids to high point the football (Offense and defense). Has that innate WR type ability to use his body to position himself to the ball without having to grab, an incredibly important trait in today’s game where nearly any hard contact risks a flag. Silky smooth in and out of his breaks, nice hips, no stiffness, he tracks the ball extremely well and diagnoses plays as well as any HS senior I’ve seen in quite some time. He would thrive in this defensive scheme, which is designed almost solely to get it’s players eyes to the ball. His football IQ is off the charts. It’s nice that ESL actually schemes players, he’s far more advanced than other deep thirds due to this and has seen as much Cover 3 as he has Cover 0. They use him in a lot of different ways too. He plays a lot of box and a lot of the “Z” from what I view, he’s also very active on special teams. He’s close to the total package. He reminds me a lot of the kid from Beaumont, Deionte Thompson who attended Alabama and is now in the NFL (4th round pick last year I think, maybe 3rd. I’m not a draft guy). He would start for this team from day one and not only would he start, he would be a key cog in the transformation of our defensive unit from something kind of exciting to something truly special.
 
#1,400      
Madco Illini
Agreed. The best sell should be next year, coming off a bowl with our best team in a decade. To top it off it's our last year with a favorable schedule.
 
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