I don’t think kids of their caliber are all that concerned with press. Press is not what got Spoon drafted #5. The press came because he was good enough to get drafted fifth. All that press Chase got didn’t elevate him beyond the 5th round (or get him there). Now if you want to talk about NIL, the big fish, small pond might hold water. But I don’t know if Illini’s NIL offer would be equal to let alone larger than say Ohio State’s.Immediate playing time.
You go to OSU, Bama or Georgia you are small fish in big pond. At C-U you are a whale. Look at how much press Chase Brown and Weatherspoon got at Illinois!
It’s all about getting to the NFL followed by team success. If Illini can convince them that Illinois/Bullen can maximize their NFL potential, they have a shot. I’m not even sure if immediate playing time is as important as some think though it probably doesn’t hurt. Going up against the best in practice and then potentially on a big stage might be more beneficial to their long-term development. I think Pick 5 with less playing time freshman year would trump pick 21 and starting as a freshman.
As someone said, Illini seems to be on the trajectory of getting a player(s) of this level. While I wouldn’t bet on that time being now with these two, we’ll just have to wait and see.