Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#152      
As much as I love the walk on QB pickup with experience....really hope we have someone on this roster that can win the #2 spot over him
 
#154      
This is your second post insulting the kid. Why all the hate? I’m ecstatic we got someone with this much experience to be our #2.
How have I hated on the kid? I have actually looked at this rationally

Actually stated this is a nice pickup with experience as a walk on, that is not an insult. Yeah I am glad we didn't use a scholarship on him,. Not an insult

I have never said Paddock is the #2 guy, though experience at the collegiate level is valuable. I just stated that I hope someone beats him out. It has less to do with him and more so the younger guys developing that have been in the system longer here with less experience. Illinois has brought in some decent talent in the last year or two now at QB that was young and raw. That is my view plain and simple....we don't have to agree
 
#156      
Solid? 18 with 14? I must be missing something. Please explain.
Well Sitkowski was 8 with 20 in his career prior to joining Illini, so needle is moving in the right direction. I think having a backup with some experience who has had at least some success is a good thing. If one of the younger players the Illini signed out of HS beat him out, then that’s probably a good thing. I’d feel more confident with that if that QB had beaten out more than just Ryan Johnson.
 
#157      
It seems the perfect fit for our illini. He'll compete for the job, win it or be a more than a capable back up if something happens to
Luke and, as a legacy, is proud of his families back ground and represent the school well. He started and threw 40 passes a game
and completed 60% at Ball St.
That QB room will push each other and only make us better. Remember how we felt when Devito
was hurt and wondering how the back up would do? This kid is more than capable. He could have been on scholarship at a lot of
D1 programs, including some in the Big Ten. This is another sign that this program is moving up! This is big business, our staff is
being paid handsomely to stock the roster with players and this makes us better. If one of the 3-4 string kids can compete, that
means our roster is better as a whole. Perhaps one moves on and we wish him well. We don't see practice, but apparently the young
QB's aren't ready.
 
#158      
It seems the perfect fit for our illini. He'll compete for the job, win it or be a more than a capable back up if something happens to
Luke and, as a legacy, is proud of his families back ground and represent the school well. He started and threw 40 passes a game
and completed 60% at Ball St.
That QB room will push each other and only make us better. Remember how we felt when Devito
was hurt and wondering how the back up would do? This kid is more than capable. He could have been on scholarship at a lot of
D1 programs, including some in the Big Ten. This is another sign that this program is moving up! This is big business, our staff is
being paid handsomely to stock the roster with players and this makes us better. If one of the 3-4 string kids can compete, that
means our roster is better as a whole. Perhaps one moves on and we wish him well. We don't see practice, but apparently the young
QB's aren't ready.
Agreed. Also, do people realize that for our QB1 and QB2 heading into spring practice, we have one that reportedly is taking no or far less NIL money than he could have gotten elsewhere and a QB who started at a D1 school who is walking on and not taking up a scholarship. How’s that for culture?
 
#159      
Agreed. Also, do people realize that for our QB1 and QB2 heading into spring practice, we have one that reportedly is taking no or far less NIL money than he could have gotten elsewhere and a QB who started at a D1 school who is walking on and not taking up a scholarship. How’s that for culture?
Based on background reported here, I wonder if the new walk on qb can get a pretty good NIL deal :)
 
#160      

Mr. Tibbs

southeast DuPage
we weren't going to get a much better (likely) back up QB than this lad. Its a pretty good fit for our needs and keeps a scholarship open for someone else who might commit next week or a transfer after spring ball in April
 
#165      
What he said....
On top of that, kids like this may be looking at the academic side of things, meaning they want a degree from UI and football is a nice way to help them get there.

If I had a child playing D1 ball at Ball State starting (but nowhere near NFL material), but they could transfer to Stanford, ND, UI, Michigan, etc. and probably not play much (if at all), I'd 100% support that transfer.
 
#166      
BB since he got here has always looked to add depth. As a walk on move with Paddock I would grade this an A. Not to often you can add a QB that was top 10 in pass attempts in the NCAA this year and have him walk on to your team the next season. The experience is key, plus throwing him around the younger guys is great.

Paddock is a major conference backup and nothing wrong with that. Few stats and things I noticed

2022 Stats

vs FCS (2-9 Murray St) TD 3 INT 1 61.4%

vs non-conference TD 3 INT 4 61.2%

vs MAC TD 12 INT 9 58.6%

Had at least 1 interception in 10 of the 12 games he played.

He is no rushing threat. Sacks count as a loss in rushing yards and he finished 11 out of 12 games at 0 yards/negative yards and had no rushing TDs.

QBs can be all sizes at the collegiate level and succeed. Paddock is probably 5'11 on a good day.

Just like Illinois this season, Ball St also had a top 10 rusher in the nation in Carson Steele(transferred to UCLA). Paddock was losing the job if he stayed around at Ball St next season.




Overall I love the pickup. I think it has less to do with Paddock and more so the worry that we had to use a backup QB at some point for consecutive years whether due to performance or this year injury. Here is to hoping the backup QBs only see mop up time during blowout wins 🍻
 
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#167      
What he said....
Season 5 Nbc GIF by The Office
 
#168      

DReq

Always Illini
Central Illinois
On top of that, kids like this may be looking at the academic side of things, meaning they want a degree from UI and football is a nice way to help them get there.

If I had a child playing D1 ball at Ball State starting (but nowhere near NFL material), but they could transfer to Stanford, ND, UI, Michigan, etc. and probably not play much (if at all), I'd 100% support that transfer.
I would think that the Sitkowski move to coaching would be a big draw here too. A kid who has played QB is always going to be a prime candidate for coaching and I have a hard time imagining a better coach to work with for that than Bielema. His coaching tree and contacts seem pretty endless and he really seems to support those he has worked with. If this kid sees coaching in his future this seems like a great move for him and no way it hurts us in any way.
 
#169      
BB since he got here has always looked to add depth. As a walk on move with Paddock I would grade this an A. Not to often you can add a QB that was top 10 in pass attempts in the NCAA this year and have him walk on to your team the next season. The experience is key, plus throwing him around the younger guys is great.

Paddock is a major conference backup and nothing wrong with that. Few stats and things I noticed

2022 Stats

vs FCS (2-9 Murray St) TD 3 INT 1 61.4%

vs non-conference TD 3 INT 4 61.2%

vs MAC TD 12 INT 9 58.6%

Had at least 1 interception in 10 of the 12 games he played.

He is no rushing threat. Sacks count as a loss in rushing yards and he finished 11 out of 12 games at 0 yards/negative yards and had no rushing TDs.

QBs can be all sizes at the collegiate level and succeed. Paddock is probably 5'11 on a good day.

Just like Illinois this season, Ball St also had a top 10 rusher in the nation in Carson Steele(transferred to UCLA). Paddock was losing the job if he stayed around at Ball St next season.




Overall I love the pickup. I think it has less to do with Paddock and more so the worry that we had to use a backup QB at some point for consecutive years whether due to performance or this year injury. Here is to hoping the backup QBs only see mop up time during blowout wins 🍻
"Paddock was losing the job if he stayed ..." Who was unseating him as the starter at Ball St.? The only new QBs they have this year are a freshman and a transfer who came in long after Paddock entered the portal.
 
#170      
"Paddock was losing the job if he stayed ..." Who was unseating him as the starter at Ball St.? The only new QBs they have this year are a freshman and a transfer who came in long after Paddock entered the portal.
Ball St was looking for an upgrade at QB like most teams. Paddock put up mediocre stats with a stud running back this season. Watching a lot of college football the RB Steele was the focal point. They just had to gunsling it around when they got behind. Yes, Paddock entered the portal about a week before the transfer they brought in entered the portal.

Laynce Hatcher will take over after stops at Arkansas St and Texas St. Thrown 84 TD and 35 INT in his stops so far. Hatcher has a little more size and open the field up a bit more.
 
#172      
It seems the perfect fit for our illini. He'll compete for the job, win it or be a more than a capable back up if something happens to
Luke
His Uncle was a great WR for us, makes me wonder if it's possible he might play another position for us like IW did (not comparing the two players)?
 
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