Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
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This 100%.
For all those upset about getting mid majors, I'd much rather have Alex Perry -- who was first team All CUSA, accounting for 30% of team's receiving yards -- than some 20 catch 200yd guy from the P4.
Firstly, one guy has been much more productive than the other.
But most importantly -- for the P4 player, I already know what you are at this level. So it's a higher ceiling to take the guy from the lower level because there's more of a chance to develop him into a high quality player.
illinidarrin
- from parts unknown
It’s funny, I’ve only watched highlights of Houser but he seems more mobile than Luke IMO, he’s definitely quicker and a stronger runner while Luke is a long strider that has good speed once he got going. Houser only took 14 sacks all year while Luke took 34 - to your point he definitely gets rid of the ball and makes quicker decisions than Luke which accounts for some of that difference
Big Jack
- Decatur
This is all true.
Luke had 470 rushing yards this season (not counting sacks).
Good riddance … We don’t play the price increase every few hours game …
Luke, Priestely, and Davis were all huge question marks when they got here. We have won 19 games over 2 years because our staff has developed them into winners. Bielema said Priestley was brought in for depth initially.
The staff sees the Tuerks, Beermanns and others on a daily basis, they know what they have and what they need.
The staff thinks Martin is better than Priestly
mhuml32
Gesture of Northern Aggression
It’s too early to say this but it’s concerning that all of the comments on here about the outgoing D-Line guys is focusing on the demand while willfully ignoring the supply component.
And as the market (supply) shrinks what tends to happen to price?
Staff dropped the ball on this. Can still think the staff is really good at what they do but also acknowledge that the roster building on the defensive side of the ball is brutal right now.
let’s hope he doesn’t collect penalties like Priestly did
And if he's half as successful for us, I'll be overjoyed!
P.S. where were the highlights?
The 19 penalties in 26 games must be why he hon mention all B1G in 2024 and is playing in the Hula Bowl this year. Did anyone on the offensive line have a run blocking PFF grade above 60 for 2025?
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
it's rocket surgery
Or. We're on day 8 of 14 for the window to enter the portal.
Right now it's 13 in with 24 out. Any chance we could all wait to see what the class shakes out to be before declaring the sky has fallen?
Its also a fair assumption that the staff can count and understands market dynamics..
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Nasir Rankin lookin good in AA game. Just needs to learn how to read blocks!
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Luke is a classic example of the contrast between being "quick" and being "fast".
His pocket presence improved a lot in his time at Illinois, but that's still definitely an NFL question mark for him, not an elusive player even though he'll leave players in the dust once he gets his legs pumping.
This is partly the result of keeping Aaron Henry as well. Nobody wants to play in a soft, non aggressive defense. Bret needed to fire him and he didn’t.
Poster child for the new MFL?
Houser is a lot stronger and will be great in short yardage runs. I don’t see him ripping off long runs like Luke did. He probably has 20lbs on Luke
I was fortunate enough to be 5th row 45 yard line at Music City Bowl on Illinois side. Observations from being about 50 feet away.
Luke was thicker than I was expecting…not huge, but definitely sturdy and weight room time showed in torso and arms. If Houser is bigger and faster, that’s exciting.
Ashton Hollins was super skinny with very thin legs and calves. Too skinny IMO. Best of luck at his next stop.
Matthew Bailey’s neck is intimidating both in person and on TV.
Luke was thicker than I was expecting…not huge, but definitely sturdy and weight room time showed in torso and arms. If Houser is bigger and faster, that’s exciting.
Ashton Hollins was super skinny with very thin legs and calves. Too skinny IMO. Best of luck at his next stop.
Matthew Bailey’s neck is intimidating both in person and on TV.
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