Illinois Football Recruiting Thread (February-April 2021)

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#51      

Deleted member 747671

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PackofIllini12 said:
Traditionally, QBs and OL are hard to predict in that transition from HS to college. QBs in HS can skate on their athletic ability and may not have the mental part of the game down. EX – Harrison Beck was at NC State and then transferred to Nebraska. Kid had an absolute cannon for an arm... AND would throw pick after pick in stupid situations.

OL is more difficult to evaluate bc the average joe can't tell what blocking scheme was called and can only look at the measureables/trucking over dudes.

BB has a pretty good track record of evaluating coachable talent and getting them on campus. The whole "you might not be a 5* now, but you will leave here as one" deal.
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Yeah. OL is by far the hardest to predict because there is so much physical growth that takes place in those 3-5 years of college. It's why there's so many small school lineman in the NFL. QB is difficult to predict, but with that position at least there's typically a baseline that has to be passed to be an NFL prospect (size and arm strength primarily). Still plenty of under the radar QBs that end up very successful in college but arm strength is no joke in the NFL.
 
#52      

CubsIlliniFan

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CubsIlliniFan
altenberger22 said:
#74 nationally
#14 Big 10 (Last)

It's certainly going to be an uphill battle after we leverage all the returning seniors for one final year.
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I have thought about that too but once BB get’s the recruiting going in the right direction (hopefully 22), we will be hitting the transfer portal hard next year along with JUCOS. I think we will be OK because BB and his staff will be able to coach them up unlike Lovie who could not. I love BB’s approach at recruiting HS and the transfer portal. His vision from his three years in the NFL will pay huge dividends with us.
 
#53      

BWBW

BWBW
BWBW
I like CubsIlliniFan's take.

Also, we have a great staff. I think the sum will be the greater of the parts, which is mind boggling considering the last staff or two.

I look forward to some exciting football and year over year improvement.
 
#54      

IllinoisFan80

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IllinoisFan80
CubsIlliniFan said:
I have thought about that too but once BB get’s the recruiting going in the right direction (hopefully 22), we will be hitting the transfer portal hard next year along with JUCOS. I think we will be OK because BB and his staff will be able to coach them up unlike Lovie who could not. I love BB’s approach at recruiting HS and the transfer portal. His vision from his three years in the NFL will pay huge dividends with us.
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This is just a terrible take. There is no way he's going after JUCOs.
 
#55      

CubsIlliniFan

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CubsIlliniFan
IllinoisFan80 said:
This is just a terrible take. There is no way he's going after JUCOs.
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If he can get the players needed from transfers then he would not need to as we will have huge holes to fill. But I think he will look under every rock to find players who will fit what he is looking for and that includes possible JUCOS.
 
#57      

FlyingIlliniFan

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FlyingIlliniFan
ChiefGritty said:
That totally mistakes the reason why the playoff has cemented this new aristocracy in the sport.

The playoff makes the race for the national championship the an ever-more central and narratively dominant center of the sport, it makes it the whole point of the sport and sucks all the interest toward those three games in January, so it is natural that the programs able to exist on that level will rocket away from the teams they are traditionally associated with. 8 teams doesn't make that better, it makes it much, much worse.

College football is a regional sport built around its regular season of traditional rivals and ancient grudges played out on college campuses away from the traditional major cities. Plus the quirky holiday season bowl games with their own traditions and whatnot. The "national championship" is not supposed to occupy the central position in the sport that the Super Bowl does in the NFL. The glossy, nationalized, neutral site product the sport is becoming is just eating the seed corn of what makes it special in the first place. It is voluntarily turning itself into Minor League Football.

"Get with the times man, move on, have to adapt to modernity". Well, guess what, modernity is a world where college football is irrelevant. It's the same story as NASCAR that decided they wanted to have everyone's interest and wound up with no one's passion.
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New Year's Day used to be one of my two favorite days of the year, falling just behind my annual father-son golf tournament with my dad. Now it's not, and I miss it, and what's evolved over the last 20 years has done zero to fill the hole.
 
#58      

GilThorpe

GilThorpe
GilThorpe
1612466046283.png

while ole man river keeps rollin along


you know you are getting older when you yearn for the "good old days"
 
#59      

FlyingIlliniFan

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FlyingIlliniFan
GilThorpe said:
View attachment 7315
while ole man river keeps rollin along


you know you are getting older when you yearn for the "good old days"
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Nah, I'm happier overall than I was 20 years ago, but the college football post-season went from an annual highlight to something I just don't think about. I agree with Gritty, it's been a slow march to irrelevance for me. I still love fall Saturdays.
 
#60      

ChiefGritty

ChiefGritty
Chicago, IL
ChiefGritty
"Sports" broadly has been a bigger and bigger industry and part of our society really just about every decade since the origins of professional baseball in the 1870's. That "sports" just keeps on advancing as this cultural behemoth has been as sure as the sun coming up the next day for the entirety of the life of anyone you've ever met.

I think it's pretty likely the 2020's will be the end of that story. Not that sports will end by any means, but that they will recede. Part of that is structural, but a lot of it is that they've been feasting on their seed corn for decades. And I think college will probably be the hardest hit because of labor strife and college's particular reliance on cable TV income.
 
#62      

ktal

ktal
ktal
O&B4Ever said:
We have nowhere to go but up. It's sustaining that once we do. I like our chances better now.
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Are you new to being an Illini fan? If there's one thing I learned from "not ideal", it's that things can always get worse for Illinois. /s

I think this staff has a real shot at turning things around. I was anti-Bert, but so far only Bret has shown up, and he's been on point. Keep it up.
 
#65      

Deleted member 747671

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I keep seeing all the posts about Illinois offers to players all over the midwest and wonder why no Illinois players yet. Then I remembered they haven't had a season yet. I feel bad for those players. I really hope they can get in a spring season, but man that has to be tough, especially on the seniors.
 
#66      

moggs3

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moggs3
WINTer said:
I keep seeing all the posts about Illinois offers to players all over the midwest and wonder why no Illinois players yet. Then I remembered they haven't had a season yet. I feel bad for those players. I really hope they can get in a spring season, but man that has to be tough, especially on the seniors.
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They have film from this year to evaluate from everyone in the midwest except Illinois.
 
#67      

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moggs3 said:
They have film from this year to evaluate from everyone in the midwest except Illinois.
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Exactly. Rough being the largest populated state in the Big Ten and the only one with no high school football.
 
#68      

moggs3

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moggs3
WINTer said:
Exactly. Rough being the largest populated state in the Big Ten and the only one with no high school football.
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Yep. Once football kicks off here you'll see some more offers.
 
#71      

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mhuml32 said:
I have no insight but based on public data, I'm guessing Danny McGuire? Feels like there would be a big emphasis on making the first commitment an in-state recruit for obvious optics reasons.
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Agree that would definitely be the best first commitment statement. No idea if he's ready to commit. I don't follow recruiting nearly as much as I used to. Could be anyone. Maybe one of these assistants already has a guy lined up. Sure we'll find out soon enough.
 
#73      

mhuml32

mhuml32
Cincinnati, OH
mhuml32
Just like I said, Joey Okla from Wisconsin.


Looks like his offers are Illinois and EIU. Could be an especially difficult year to assess other offers for recruits because of the various season disruptions (besides the top-500ish recruits). I'm dubious about giving the benefit of the doubt always to the staff but I think Bielema has deserved some respect for his past offensive line recruiting.
 
#74      

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mhuml32 said:
Just like I said, Joey Okla from Wisconsin.


Looks like his offers are Illinois and EIU. Could be an especially difficult year to assess other offers for recruits because of the various season disruptions (besides the top-500ish recruits). I'm dubious about giving the benefit of the doubt always to the staff but I think Bielema has deserved some respect for his past offensive line recruiting.
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Guessing Bart Miller was already all over this guy. Seems like offers were just starting to go out for a lot of '22s so I'm not surprised at the lack of offers at this point. As was discussed I think in this thread earlier, OL is pretty much the most difficult position to project/predict so I rarely complain about OL recruits. If the coaches like him and he likes us, good enough for me.
 
#75      

EyeoftheIllini

EyeoftheIllini
EyeoftheIllini
He’s a big boy — listed at 6-3, 285. Article on 24/7 says he’s played all over the line, so should have some versatility. Not worried about lack of offers. If BB and Miller like him that is good enough for me. Also feels good going into another B1G state and nabbing a recruit. Welcome Joey.
 
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