think they were plan B unranked guys, but a couple had some other power 5 offers. Cant remember them all, but I think it was a S, WR, DL, and Edge.
Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
- Status
Article includes blurbs on two recent Illini commits.
Illinivek23
- Gurnee
Clayton Leonard's brother is Iowa bound?
Looks like it, and appears that the Illini didn't offer.
yeah, wondering if BB would have offered if we didn't hit on some of our OL targets. Pretty cool to have the whole OL class have other multiple P5 offers. Rico Jackson keeps getting offers even after committing to us. South Carolina and NC State just offered this week.
I noticed that. Cannon Leonard, yup, he’s Clayton’s brother. No interest from Illinois?
Maybe this help push Terek to Illinois.
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mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Agreed. Great job by staff to close this one out before things progressed with other programs.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Comparison of official visits (pre-commitment) across recruiting classes.
This isn't a perfect metric but making an official visit shows interest from the recruit and the coaching staff is pushing for their commitment. It's also a worthwhile comparison on how the staff is doing on securing commitments from recruits being sought by other comparable (or better!) programs. A couple notes:
- Because early commits either occur before the official visit season or because it implies an early preference on a specific school, I removed pre-June 1st commitments from the calculation. The only caveat is if the recruit took multiple visits after he committed.
-Still can be a little noisy, as end of class recruits often visit before committing, QB recruits almost always makes visits, coaching staff preferences, etc. Only counting P5 official visits:
2018:
Official visits/recruit: 0.53
Recruits with >3 OVs: 1 (Verdis Brown)
2019:
Official visits/recruit: 0.53
Recruits with >3 OVs: 0
2020:
Official visits/recruit: 0.75
Recruits with >3 OVs: 1 (Johnny Newton)
2021: COVID wiped out the official visits for this year
Official visits/recruit: N/A
Recruits with >3 OVs: N/A
2022:
Official visits/recruit: 1.85
Recruits with >3 OVs: 5 (Aidan Laughery, Jared Badie, Shawn Miller, Isaiah Adams, & Matt Fries)
2023 (Ongoing):
Official visits/recruit: 1.2
Recruits with >3 OVs: 1 (Zach Aamland)
The 2023 number is likely to only increase, as the toughest recruiting battles are likely ongoing.
This isn't a perfect metric but making an official visit shows interest from the recruit and the coaching staff is pushing for their commitment. It's also a worthwhile comparison on how the staff is doing on securing commitments from recruits being sought by other comparable (or better!) programs. A couple notes:
- Because early commits either occur before the official visit season or because it implies an early preference on a specific school, I removed pre-June 1st commitments from the calculation. The only caveat is if the recruit took multiple visits after he committed.
-Still can be a little noisy, as end of class recruits often visit before committing, QB recruits almost always makes visits, coaching staff preferences, etc. Only counting P5 official visits:
2018:
Official visits/recruit: 0.53
Recruits with >3 OVs: 1 (Verdis Brown)
2019:
Official visits/recruit: 0.53
Recruits with >3 OVs: 0
2020:
Official visits/recruit: 0.75
Recruits with >3 OVs: 1 (Johnny Newton)
2021: COVID wiped out the official visits for this year
Official visits/recruit: N/A
Recruits with >3 OVs: N/A
2022:
Official visits/recruit: 1.85
Recruits with >3 OVs: 5 (Aidan Laughery, Jared Badie, Shawn Miller, Isaiah Adams, & Matt Fries)
2023 (Ongoing):
Official visits/recruit: 1.2
Recruits with >3 OVs: 1 (Zach Aamland)
The 2023 number is likely to only increase, as the toughest recruiting battles are likely ongoing.
Very interesting metric! I like it.
Hopefully the 2023 number goes up because that means that they are winning recruiting battles and not settling for less sought after recruits.
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
Rivals Michigan guy switched his forecast for Hill to us. Sure hope he's right.
What kind of NIL deal can we throw at Quinn Ewers 
Exclusive: Ocoee three-star OLB/DE Calvin Smith announces his college decision
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound edge ruisher had 29 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in 2021. He has narrowed his offers to Illinois, Pitt and Rutgers.
t.co
That's really awesome if true
.Calvin Smith to Illini!!!
247sports.com
Trey Smith, Illinois Fighting Illini, Edge
2022: As a senior, totaled 107 tackles (38 for loss) and 19.5 sacks. Helped Ocoee make the semifinals of Florida’s new 4M playoffs. -Andrew Ivins
247sports.com
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
Exclusive: Ocoee three-star OLB/DE Calvin Smith announces his college decision
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound edge ruisher had 29 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in 2021. He has narrowed his offers to Illinois, Pitt and Rutgers.t.co
Wow, Smith's letter/article is awesome. Nice offer list.
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Calvin Smith to Illini!!!
Trey Smith, Illinois Fighting Illini, Edge
2022: As a senior, totaled 107 tackles (38 for loss) and 19.5 sacks. Helped Ocoee make the semifinals of Florida’s new 4M playoffs. -Andrew Ivins
Exclusive: Ocoee three-star OLB/DE Calvin Smith announces his college decision
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound edge ruisher had 29 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in 2021. He has narrowed his offers to Illinois, Pitt and Rutgers.
www.news-journalonline.com
Vet School paying off. What an interesting young man. Said when he came for his official he thought he was going through the motions, but then it clicked and felt like Illinois was right.
Well done to the staff!
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
Exclusive: Ocoee three-star OLB/DE Calvin Smith announces his college decision
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound edge ruisher had 29 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in 2021. He has narrowed his offers to Illinois, Pitt and Rutgers.www.news-journalonline.com
Vet School paying off. What an interesting young man. Said when he came for his official he thought he was going through the motions, but then it clicked and felt like Illinois was right.
Well done to the staff!
Great job determining what the kid wants, education-wise. Ditto with getting the academic side to be engaged. Amazing things can happen when all the relevant parties are in sync.
One more thought: Kevin Kane is killing it
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illini80
- Forgottonia
I know we had Jenner that went to med school. Have we ever had a football player go to vet school before? Welcome Calvin!Exclusive: Ocoee three-star OLB/DE Calvin Smith announces his college decision
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound edge ruisher had 29 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in 2021. He has narrowed his offers to Illinois, Pitt and Rutgers.www.news-journalonline.com
Vet School paying off. What an interesting young man. Said when he came for his official he thought he was going through the motions, but then it clicked and felt like Illinois was right.
Well done to the staff!
I only watched a few minutes of Smith's highlights, but he has an extremely quick first step which makes him hard to block.
On a side note, I wonder if he will bring any of his pets with him when he heads north??
On a side note, I wonder if he will bring any of his pets with him when he heads north??
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
I hope he brings Tobe.
And another recent recruit said he wants to major in mechanical engineering. Getting some smart kids who hopefully are good players too.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
Bruce or Kaitlyn ?
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Slight update in 2019 due to a bad copy/paste and 2023 for the Smith commitment.
2018:
Official visits/recruit: 0.53
Recruits with ≥3 OVs: 1 (Verdis Brown)
2019:
Official visits/recruit: 0.50
Recruits with ≥3 OVs: 0
2020:
Official visits/recruit: 0.75
Recruits with ≥3 OVs: 1 (Johnny Newton)
2021: COVID wiped out the official visits for this year
Official visits/recruit: N/A
Recruits with ≥3 OVs: N/A
2022:
Official visits/recruit: 1.85
Recruits with ≥3 OVs: 5 (Aidan Laughery, Jared Badie, Shawn Miller, Isaiah Adams, & Matt Fries)
2023 (Ongoing):
Official visits/recruit: 1.50
Recruits with ≥3 OVs: 2 (Zach Aamland & Calvin Smith)
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- Status