I moved to northwest Florida about six years ago. I am amazed by how many athletes from this general area get offers from P5 schools. The best ones usually go to the SEC or the ACC. The four counties in the area that I live in probably average close to 200,000 in population. I didn't realize there were that many living down here.I watched the press conference. He basically said they want all the Illinois, Midwest and Florida kids in traditional recruiting. Then they can grab the Illinois guys out of the portal who they might have missed on, and the guys they hadn’t identified out of high school because they weren’t in those 3 main areas, like Nicario Harper from Atlanta.
Personally I’d like to see us get more into Texas, but that doesn’t seem to be a focus. Being down here for over a decade now, I’ve flipped my opinion to that the best athletes in the country are actually here, and not in Florida. Houston, Dallas, and the small country towns in East Texas just have different types of dudes in ridiculously large quantities. So much so that it really doesn’t make sense.
Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
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We stopped recruiting him ...
We are still recruiting Lightfoot, and Ricky Knight at full speed ... Working on getting Stephenson to flip ... And the staff also seems very confident they will get Dennis to flip ...
This portal class has the chance to really help us ... Bret mentioned it to the media but lots of kids that they recruited his first couple classes and did not get are wanting to come and it's not really a secret ...
They will also really pursue the JUCO route ... Bret likes taking those kids ...
Yes ... But he's going to Georgia ... Lol
Bradley Bourbonnais High School has a wide receiver, Luke Allen that is fantastic. 4.6 speed & never drops a ball. Set a school record last week with 15 catches. He is a sleeper & recruiters are finally taking notice.
That's fantastic news. Hope there's a fair amount of linemen on the radar
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Just add a couple quotations around select words and, yes, you are correct.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
I don't want a QB recruit that is unwanted by others.
Barring a blue blood SEC offer, this still feels likely to come down to Illinois v. State of Mississippi, which has been the narrative since early July.
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
When there are two P5's in a battle for him, then radio silent for a couple months, followed by a G5 swooping in for a commitment, the writing is on the wall.
For me, it makes sense to slow down the secondary recruiting unless it's a no-brainer type of recruit because the program just brought in a billion HS and transfer pieces in the past 8 months. I said this during the summer that the sheer number of secondary commitments was going to have to taper off significantly. At some point you have to play the thousand guys you signed instead of constantly bringing in more options. Here's the returning secondary pieces next year barring transfers/declarations:
Tahveon Nicholson (RSR)
Prince Ford (RJR)
Xavier Scott (JR)
Tyler Strain (JR)
Kaleb Patterson (RSO)
Demetrius Hill (RSO)
Matt Bailey (RSO)
Zachary Tobe (SO)
Saboor Karriem (SO)
Tyson Rooks (RSO)
Elijah McCantos (RSO)
TJ Griffin (RSO)
Mac Resetich (RFR)
Jaheim Clarke (RFR)
Vernon Woodward (FR)
Chase Green (FR)
Amar Reynolds (FR)
Adding more youth doesn't seem like the answer (again, unless it's someone like Ricky Knight). Now, we are projecting to have a couple players on this list that will have finished their third season in the program who have played limited snaps. Maybe they seek an option elsewhere. It's also not crazy to see Ford transfer after the year, leaving only three upperclassmen in the secondary. In that scenario, finding an option who can provide more leadership and dynamic play for the unit seems like the optimal play.
Complete dart throw based off of Bielema's recent comments about in-state talent coming back home: Toriano Pride or Austin Brown?
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TentakilRex
- Land O Insects between Quincy-Macomb-Jacksonville
Seconding the Texas sentiment. That state is loaded with QBs (see NFL QB from Texas) and star skill position guys, heck it is rich in "role players" too (see Casey Washington). TCU made a team out of the "scraps" that Texas and A&M left behind that beaten Michigan (no one was beating Georgia). Heck set up a base in say Denton (with Ryan HS and Guyer HS being state power) or Aledo (DFW's Kankakee but better HS football).I watched the press conference. He basically said they want all the Illinois, Midwest and Florida kids in traditional recruiting. Then they can grab the Illinois guys out of the portal who they might have missed on, and the guys they hadn’t identified out of high school because they weren’t in those 3 main areas, like Nicario Harper from Atlanta.
Personally I’d like to see us get more into Texas, but that doesn’t seem to be a focus. Being down here for over a decade now
Also personally, I would consider (this applies for any B1G school) recruiting in area where tons of Illinois alum settle down. For example, a lot of Chicagoans end up in Phoenix so recruit there (especially with the QB talent produced in that area).
“Everything’s fine. Good night”
(Context for the youngins’: this is what Eric Gordon’s dad posted on the old Illiniboard about 48 hours before the rumored flip to Samscum was announced, resulting in one probably remains the top Illini fan board DEFCON 1 meltdowns of all time)
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BZuppke
- Plainfield
“Feagin was one of two WCIA 3 viewing area products who made an impact against FAU, with Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley native Aidan Laughery scoring his first career touchdown in the win. Laughery rushed three times for 23 yards and that score, something he’s been waiting a long time for.”
How does this happen? What I mean is Bret is doing a great job finding talent throughout the state - just as Wisky and Iowa have done.
How does this happen? What I mean is Bret is doing a great job finding talent throughout the state - just as Wisky and Iowa have done.
217sports
- Springfield
Other than the Sophomores, that seems like pretty good class balance within the secondary where there are 5 starting spots for us. Not to mention that those guys who will have finished their second/third season with limited snaps will most likely transfer. In the end though, I agree that with who we have taken in as of now they should only accept more from top800 or so guys within those positions
2022 class as an example, would guys like rashad rochelle, jimmy rolder or austin brown be guys he could be referring too? Couldn’t remember many from 2021 recruits off the top of my head and 2023 recruits seemed like a wishlist. For example mcvay was the first 2023 recruit to come to mind.. so I just stopped even trying to guess.
aiwpfan
- Springfield, Il
Rashad Rochelle going to Rutgers was always a curious outcome to me. I thought he always wanted to go to Illinois.
217sports
- Springfield
I think he would be looking at dropping down a level if anything, not a BIG ten level receiver IMO
Agree on Texas. Not sure I understand your rationale for recruiting areas where there are a good number of alums though. Not against recruiting Phoenix area in general, but do you think we’re going to pull in the kids (or grandkids) of alums? Not sure I think possibly spreading the staff thin because alum in the area really makes a lot of sense.
Any MSU kids heading for the portal that would be worth keeping an eye on?
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
more than likely a tad early to be speculating on that
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
They get a free transfer within the next 30 days. So there will likely be some movement soon.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
so that is in addition to the automatic free transfer every player gets in their first 4 years ?
simply a terrible time for a player to move tho.
I kinda have a hard time thinking any player of real value is going to make use of that in mid season
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Yep, as far as I understand, players get one free transfer. If they want to transfer again, they have to sit.
MSU players now have 30 days to transfer without counting against their one free transfer.
You very well may be right, though. I doubt if they transfer now they’ll get to play this year.
Old times. Top 3 for sure. I would have Livingston going to school before the announcement with a Cook jersey ahead of IDKWTI. I would also have the secret visit by Rose just behind Gordon. Those have to be the top 3, right?
Cliffmas, hat gate, whatever you want to call it was bigger than Rose. It was top 3 for sure
mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
Not a lot of crossover because of Tucker's insistence on the transfer portal. They've focused their recruiting on in-state and Texas recruiting. Here's one that could make sense:
https://247sports.com/player/andrew-depaepe-46113946/high-school-262437/
1m4tr
Cliffmas
Imagine an AI generated Denzel saying that “Everything’s fine. Good night.”
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