Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#51      

mhuml32

mhuml32
Cincinnati, OH
mhuml32
Starting to see some information trickle out on top priorities for this earlier phase of 2024, especially for top recruits. Werner is starting to write articles on recruits the staff is prioritizing:

Ricky Knight III - DB from Florida (the staff's bread and butter combo)
*Ranked 434th by 247

Thomas Heiberger - LB from South Dakota
*Ranked 605th by 247

Just a couple examples (Dan's comments with tweets about players making return visits are also good indicators). Also, more offers going out from the staff this year, especially out-of-state. Whether that is an outcome of lack of traction within the state, less interest in this year's in-state talent, or other factor, it's a noticeable shift. I'm still assuming the staff will sign a handful of in-state recruits but the top, "plant your flag" battles will be out-of-state. Here's hoping the 2022 success and defensive excellence can make their mark on these more heralded recruits. You can see from the offers of the two guys above, it's a great sign that Illinois is being seriously considered when they already have offers in hand from Washington, Florida State, Wisconsin, etc., now you gotta sign 5-6 of these recruits to make a step forward.
 
#52      

Joel Goodson

Joel Goodson
respect my decision™
Joel Goodson
mhuml32 said:
Starting to see some information trickle out on top priorities for this earlier phase of 2024, especially for top recruits. Werner is starting to write articles on recruits the staff is prioritizing:

Ricky Knight III - DB from Florida (the staff's bread and butter combo)
*Ranked 434th by 247

Thomas Heiberger - LB from South Dakota
*Ranked 605th by 247

Just a couple examples (Dan's comments with tweets about players making return visits are also good indicators). Also, more offers going out from the staff this year, especially out-of-state. Whether that is an outcome of lack of traction within the state, less interest in this year's in-state talent, or other factor, it's a noticeable shift. I'm still assuming the staff will sign a handful of in-state recruits but the top, "plant your flag" battles will be out-of-state. Here's hoping the 2022 success and defensive excellence can make their mark on these more heralded recruits. You can see from the offers of the two guys above, it's a great sign that Illinois is being seriously considered when they already have offers in hand from Washington, Florida State, Wisconsin, etc., now you gotta sign 5-6 of these recruits to make a step forward.
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Good summary. Far to early to tell how our next class is gonna shake out and this is a gross generalization...but it's pretty apparent that we are targeting a better rated group (overall) than previously. And it's encouraging that we're getting some of these kids to seriously consider us.
 
#53      

ptgrd23

ptgrd23
ptgrd23
I remember when Ron Zook went out and got Juice, Tez, Arlen and Vontae in his first 2 years. The man could recruit!

If Locksley had not left after 2008 for NM HC job maybe Zook gets back on winning track. Of course we had already fallen to 5-7 in 2008 so maybe Locksley felt he was leaving a sinking ship. NM was a terrible choice - Locksley was fired after 2.5 years.
 
#54      

WeWillWhen

WeWillWhen
WeWillWhen
ptgrd23 said:
I remember when Ron Zook went out and got Juice, Tez, Arlen and Vontae in his first 2 years. The man could recruit!

If Locksley had not left after 2008 for NM HC job maybe Zook gets back on winning track. Of course we had already fallen to 5-7 in 2008 so maybe Locksley felt he was leaving a sinking ship. NM was a terrible choice - Locksley was fired after 2.5 years.
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Locksley's done really well for himself ever since that misstep. Won national championship at 'Bama, now making bank as HC at his (basically) hometown school. With current contract he should be financially set for life regardless of how the next few years play out. Good for him.
 
#55      

illini0440

illini0440
illini0440
ptgrd23 said:
I remember when Ron Zook went out and got Juice, Tez, Arlen and Vontae in his first 2 years. The man could recruit!

If Locksley had not left after 2008 for NM HC job maybe Zook gets back on winning track. Of course we had already fallen to 5-7 in 2008 so maybe Locksley felt he was leaving a sinking ship. NM was a terrible choice - Locksley was fired after 2.5 years.
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Ya wanna win games or do you want 5 stars? You can win games without 5 stars
 
#58      

KingWolf11

KingWolf11
KingWolf11
illini0440 said:
Ya wanna win games or do you want 5 stars? You can win games without 5 stars
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Girl Why Dont We Have Both GIF
 
#59      

Simeon Rice

S
Simeon Rice
mhuml32 said:
Also, more offers going out from the staff this year, especially out-of-state. Whether that is an outcome of lack of traction within the state, less interest in this year's in-state talent, or other factor, it's a noticeable shift.
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We do seem to take a different approach to Jr days (or even '25s) than most nearby programs. It seems like we may prioritize a smaller group of visitors, perhaps to provide more attention. But, many of our competing, neighboring programs (Mizzou, ND, UM, Purdue, Iowa, etc.) have hosted larger groups, with plenty of headliners recently. We seem more slow and steady this time around
 
#61      

Ghost77

Ghost77
Ghost77
KingWolf11 said:
Mizzou makes it sting
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Even worse as it seems they offered him about 2 months before us.:sick:

From the On3 article that was linked: Easley was at Missouri over the weekend. The Tigers were the first school to offer the No. 13 offensive tackle in the country.
 
#62      

Simeon Rice

S
Simeon Rice
Ghost77 said:
Even worse as it seems they offered him about 2 months before us.:sick:

From the On3 article that was linked: Easley was at Missouri over the weekend. The Tigers were the first school to offer the No. 13 offensive tackle in the country.
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And, given the connection with Jyaire Hill, we likely have known about Easley for some time. Of course, former alum Miles Osei the coach over there now too. Unfortunate that we couldn't get in the mix (or why we offered late)
 
#68      

willillini

W
willillini
Ya wanna win games or do you want 5 stars? You can win games without 5 stars

Agree. a lot of 5 stars have expectations (or been given promises,# see Illinois men's basketball) when they arrive
that involve a lot besides, getting better, being a good teammate and winning. 3 stars have something to prove.
Once you win and have a culture the right 5 stars will want to be a part. particularly when they see those kids move
onto the NFL.
 
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