Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#451      

IlliniFan85

Colorado Springs, CO
Lane Kiffin clearly likes what he's seen from Thompson (Alabama) quarterback Trent Seaborn. Seaborn earned playing time early in his eighth-grade season for Thompson and was the starter when leading the Warriors to the state championship in November. Now he's earned his first SEC offer before reaching high school, announcing on Twitter that Ole Miss had made its move

Wisconsin, Nebraska, Arizona State, Marshall, Hawaii and Northern Colorado have already offered the class of 2027 quarterback.

The 5-foot-11 14-year-old also thrives in band playing the baritone saxophone. In two more years he can also drive the team bus
Seaborn has a chance to end up being the first college quarterback to also play a halftime show in the band, and he has lots of time to consider his options.
Whatever happened to the Kindergartener (ok he wasn't that young) that we offered when Lovie was coach?
 
#452      
I think 95% of fans don't care about the names of the players, but the results. Did OSU fans care that Justin Fields started at another college?
I have to agree with Gritty on this. They will care that the best players bolt every December. Imagine your team is group of five or bottom tier P5 and every time a player breaks out your first thought is “welp, this is fun but next year he’s gone.” It will be worse than minor league. It will be like being a fan of the Kansas City Athletics, a franchise that basically just existed to develop players and give them to the Yankees.
 
#453      

Mr. Tibbs

southeast DuPage
Whatever happened to the Kindergartener (ok he wasn't that young) that we offered when Lovie was coach?
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#454      
FED gov should/will remove non profit status from athletic programs

Athletes will eventually be classified as employees

You already do not get tax deduction for athletic donations

Times are a changing.
Exactly. Which will eventually drive the weak programs out of business. End of college athletics as we knew it for the past 100 years.
 
#459      
it was already crazy. it was already escalated. It was shoe companies directing people to certain places. Bag men with influence. Agents, boosters - IT WAS ALWAYS THE WILD WEST. It was just hidden. Now it is more obvious.

To those fans who had a little ostrich in them and had their heads partially in the sand, this must be distressing (and I'm sorry). But for those of us who paid attention, we always knew. We lost to UNC because their players were NBA minor leaguers who didn't attend class. Michigan players are somehow all Sports Management majors. The Fab 5 was paid. Self is a master at it (and if he stayed at Illinois, he would have done it here and we would have cheered). Every school has done things, with the SEC just being better at it than the Big Ten.

At least now the players aren't completely screwed and have freedom, and they can transfer if they don't like things. I have freedom to work for any company I want, and I can quit 4 months into a job.

And if Terrance Shannon and Marcus Meyer bring us a final four, I will be just as excited as I was as a freshman in 88-89. And if they bring us a national title, I will lose my mind! And endlessly mock Michigan fans for not getting Shannon.
A lot of truth in what you say. However, my guess is that BBucks did not have his head in the sand. It is more obvious now, and maybe even helps our favorite team a bit more, today. But I agree with many who don't believe it helps the overall condition of intercollegiate sports as much as we would like to think. I fear that in the long haul, unintended consequences, things we haven't even thought of, will rear their ugly head and we will look back and say, "what the hell happened to the college athletics that we loved." I hope not. I really, really do.
 
#460      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
A lot of truth in what you say. However, my guess is that BBucks did not have his head in the sand. It is more obvious now, and maybe even helps our favorite team a bit more, today. But I agree with many who don't believe it helps the overall condition of intercollegiate sports as much as we would like to think. I fear that in the long haul, unintended consequences, things we haven't even thought of, will rear their ugly head and we will look back and say, "what the hell happened to the college athletics that we loved." I hope not. I really, really do.
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#461      
Finally catching up. Wow.

A few points.

Part of the frustration for fans is how far removed this is from pro sports. No contracts to keep players. No salary caps. Franchise tags. You name it. Totally unregulated. (Not quite. No mid-season transfers. Yet)

Second, the spirit of the NIL lawsuit has been totally passed up.

Third, endorsements have been a factor in free agency forever. But I wonder if some enterprising teams won't figure out a similar way at pro level to pay players "endorsement" money to get talent.
 
#464      
#471      
A lot of truth in what you say. However, my guess is that BBucks did not have his head in the sand. It is more obvious now, and maybe even helps our favorite team a bit more, today. But I agree with many who don't believe it helps the overall condition of intercollegiate sports as much as we would like to think. I fear that in the long haul, unintended consequences, things we haven't even thought of, will rear their ugly head and we will look back and say, "what the hell happened to the college athletics that we loved." I hope not. I really, really do.
You bring up a very good point - But I agree with many who don't believe it helps the overall condition of intercollegiate sports as much as we would like to think. This new system might make things worse, and we need to recognize what is actually happening.

Personally, I would argue that it is better and will be better in the long run, but even if I am wrong, the old system was built on taking advantage of teenagers. It was built to maximum money for the coaches, ADs, and universities. Even if the new system is worse, the old system had to go.
 
#472      
You bring up a very good point - But I agree with many who don't believe it helps the overall condition of intercollegiate sports as much as we would like to think. This new system might make things worse, and we need to recognize what is actually happening.

Personally, I would argue that it is better and will be better in the long run, but even if I am wrong, the old system was built on taking advantage of teenagers. It was built to maximum money for the coaches, ADs, and universities. Even if the new system is worse, the old system had to go.
You are correct about this. No argument.
 
#473      

IlliniFan85

Colorado Springs, CO
The kid’s name is Bunchie Young. He lives in LA, and should be a HS frosh or soph by now, but I haven’t heard anything about him since he did that NFL commercial years ago. 🤷‍♂️
Thanks for that. I looked him up and there isn't much about him for Football recruiting anymore. He has an instagram, but I didn't look at it.
 
#474      

GrayGhost77

Centennial, CO
You bring up a very good point - But I agree with many who don't believe it helps the overall condition of intercollegiate sports as much as we would like to think. This new system might make things worse, and we need to recognize what is actually happening.

Personally, I would argue that it is better and will be better in the long run, but even if I am wrong, the old system was built on taking advantage of teenagers. It was built to maximum money for the coaches, ADs, and universities. Even if the new system is worse, the old system had to go.
One possibly overlooked benefit of NIL is that perhaps it keeps alive the future of American Football as a viable sport for a bit longer. Younger kids now at least have the prospect of, in addition to getting a college scholarship, making potentially life-changing money during their time at college, even if they aren't good enough to make it to the next level (and we all know the chances are quite low of that happening for the vast majority of players). There might be more kids growing up poor who might see football as a way out, who even if they aren't NFL caliber have an extra motivation to get to college so they can make even a few extra hundred thousand dollars (though potentially much more) that will be enough to help their families get out of a bad situation. I think American football was a slowly dying sport and NIL just might be enough life support to save it.
 
#475      
Here's the thing, without a overhaul that somehow evens the playing field. (see below) We are still going to have the big 4-6 schools doling out $10's of millions every year to the top kids. Everybody else will be like my household, on a budget with a couple of occasional luxuries/players who you can afford. Key to those programs are the undervalued player who you recognize and develop into a NFL player and become recognized as a program that can do that. That's where the Illini are and will stay. But then don't lose them to the portal. Maybe tightening the portal is one answer? Second might be an NIL salary cap?
 
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