Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#107      
JJE
I don’t want to see any good coaches or players leave, we should work hard to keep guys here.

But in the new college landscape there’s hundreds of guys who could replace them, so it’s not like we have to a chance on a high schooler.
 
#115      
altgeld88
and 69 others said:
I’ve posted this before, but if Olano wins us just one game we wouldn’t have won, there is $$ value to the difference between 5-7 or 6-6 and 9-3 or 10-2 (and everywhere in between). I just keep watching kickers on CFP teams missing kicks that Olano would make. I fear we are undervaluing the position.
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This seems so obvious that I'm confused about anyone shrugging at the loss of Olano. His two walkoffs are the delta between 9-4 and 7-6 this season (maybe 8-5 if a 7-5 regular season total gets us into a bowl against an opponent weaker than TN.)

Last season: his 50- and 43-yarders are the reason why we beat Kansas, and his 38-yarder at the gun pushes us to OT and a win over Purdue. We're 8-5 or 7-6 without those.

Close games are won at the margin. An accurate kicker with a cannon for a leg is a huge marginal benefit and, as of this afternoon, loss.

Doubt that? Imagine your confidence at the beginning of the final drive (into the wind) on Tuesday evening without Olano on our sideline. More than a smidge lower, I'd say.
 
#116      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
illini0440 said:
Bret’s retention has been unbelievably good.
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If we lose Valentine (not saying we will), then that would be the second consecutive year we’ve lost our top RB.

I don’t think we retain all three backs to begin with, but even if it meant losing the other two, I’d still keep Valentine.

IMHO, the fact that there’s a realistic world we lose all three of Valentine, Olano, and X… does not signal “unbelievably good.”
 
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#117      
Red77sng
Well if that happens I would think Bret would hit the portal for a running back
 
#118      
BWBW
Perhaps we'll hire a RB coach who currently coaches a stud RB willing to come with him.
 
#119      
Chase321
altgeld88 said:
This seems so obvious that I'm confused about anyone shrugging at the loss of Olano. His two walkoffs are the delta between 9-4 and 7-6 this season (maybe 8-5 if a 7-5 regular season total gets us into a bowl against an opponent weaker than TN.)

Last season: his 50- and 43-yarders are the reason why we beat Kansas, and his 38-yarder at the gun pushes us to OT and a win over Purdue. We're 8-5 or 7-6 without those.

Close games are won at the margin. An accurate kicker with a cannon for a leg is a huge marginal benefit and, as of this afternoon, loss.

Doubt that? Imagine your confidence at the beginning of the final drive (into the wind) on Tuesday evening without Olano on our sideline. More than a smidge lower, I'd say.
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You talk like only he could have made those 50, 43 and 38 yard field goals. A lot of kickers can. And while it’s true that there are some good teams that are struggling with kicking, the vast majority are not. Those teams struggling are the outliers and that’s because there are a lot of good kickers out there. Don’t misinterpret that. I’m not saying a lot of kickers that are as good as David but there are a lot of kickers that could make those kicks. So if you’re a team that’s operating on a budget do you really want to overspend on a kicker?
 
#124      
ForeverOrange
Retaining Valentine is a must imo.

Laughery is solid when healthy. Always seems to get 4+ per carry.

Feagin has been a let down. Just doesn’t quite have the vision or lateral movement necessary.

So if we keep Valentine and Laughery I call that a win. Then get a transfer who can rotate in for 10-15 carries. (Or maybe we have someone on the depth chart ready for that?)
 
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