I believe he also had great sources during the Zook era.
Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
Really? I thought he was a huge critic of the "old German."
He had a 'good' source in Frank Frangie that was really fun when Zook was landing massive recruits. That source kinda sucked when he could no longer land any
Oh, wow, that name rings a bell! Was Frank a Florida guy/Zook buddie who migrated up north with Zook?
He was being facetious.
Jeff is not a fan of RG
I mean, who is?
Man oh man. I'm getting somewhat concerned with our drive to sign transfers in secondary and Wide receiver room. Are the coaches that concerned about positions, IMO that are deep? I get it if there's a Center, Line backer, or TE that can block. Are their injuries we are not aware of? I thought all Freshman Matthew Bailey would be our FS? It seems like we've signed 5 WR and 50 Db's?
to the OrangeNBlue youngman!Good for the Illini. Good for 'merica.
Now watch this drive
Revenge of the Nerds reference?
We’re getting db’s because we just put 3-4 in the NFL! Plus last yr. Db’s want to come here.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
It's fair to be concerned about the secondary additions and what that means about the coaches' belief for the holdovers at the position. Just tough to know if it's a situation as dire as "If Bailey goes down there are zero safeties we trust on the roster" or as minimal as "we were looking at adding another player or two at offensive and defensive line but we aren't landing those guys or they aren't talented enough to warrant our attention, so let's just add another secondary piece to max out that position".
I have zero concerns about the WR starters but things do become more uncertain if there's an injury.
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
I see the SIU kid as a stop gap injury hedge, as he has only one season left. To your point, yeah, there are always going to be questions about the newer kids who haven't played.
Nice job
. You got it!!!Hit the nail on the head with that line. We look strong at multiple positions...hopefully the injury bug won't deplete any position
CB for Will Leys from Werner this morning. A 285lb OL from Saddlebrook College. Apparently an OV today.
We have our center?
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
I agree w/the OP who said that Leys beating out Kruetz is very unlikely to happen. There's definitely value in strengthening the group though.
With an 8 out of 10 confidence. A pretty sure bet at this point.
Yeah, I think at this point, Kreutz wins out. I think the right side of the line will be more interesting to figure out
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I'm usually not that poster who doesn't just read through the damn pages, but I honestly am just kind of not very knowledgeable about football recruiting the way I am about basketball. So, would a poster mind giving his/her take on kind of "where we stand" as far as the Bielema Era goes for recruiting? I know we are nowhere close to getting back to the early Zook days, but I also get the impression that (1) the early outreach efforts (especially instate) from Bret and the staff have been a breath of fresh air compared to Lovey, (2) we are getting some encouraging "leads" on recruits that (if they commit) would really be a huge step forward for the program and (3) we all seem a bit more comfortable with the idea of finding under-the-radar guys and developing them with solid, proven coaching.
Living in Chicago, I have seen a very serious uptick in Illini gear around the city from 2020 to 2021 to 2022, exponetionally increasing each year. This is GREAT to see, as the atmosphere out at the bars on a college football Saturday in Chicago really can't be beat IMO, and Illinois' futility always held back the turnout of Illini fans ... and I am ecstatic to see that start to change! However, it would be a real shame if we cannot cash in some of this momentum and positive rebranding of the program with some substantial recruiting wins.
Again, apologies for the novice request ... lol, at the end of the day, it just stems from truly renewed excitement and optimism in the program and my desire to get excited further.
Living in Chicago, I have seen a very serious uptick in Illini gear around the city from 2020 to 2021 to 2022, exponetionally increasing each year. This is GREAT to see, as the atmosphere out at the bars on a college football Saturday in Chicago really can't be beat IMO, and Illinois' futility always held back the turnout of Illini fans ... and I am ecstatic to see that start to change! However, it would be a real shame if we cannot cash in some of this momentum and positive rebranding of the program with some substantial recruiting wins.
Again, apologies for the novice request ... lol, at the end of the day, it just stems from truly renewed excitement and optimism in the program and my desire to get excited further.
I think he sees them as a professional staff that 'gets it' in terms of understanding what it takes to win at Illinois.
Hard to argue with given the string of non-serious IL coaches we've seen the last 20 years.