Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#502      
AirTran
Love the optimism. But a bit short on facts. The highest missed tackle PFF score amongst linebackers in 2025? A: The award goes to - James Kruetz. Against the quick teams he struggles. The other points I agree with and can another positive. Daniel Brown was actually a starting outside LB (at Duke) before he got hurt. He played 33 snaps against Tennessee. JoJo Hayden played 5 snaps against Tennessee. So the writing was on the all there. Hood is a good tackler, but not good in pass D. I agree, I think we will be better @ LB in 2026 given the number of returnees and who left.
 
#507      
Mr. Tibbs
hmmm

there are a few guys I have noticed have not been pics

gonna assume no one is on vacation right now
 
#508      
Chukwuwumba
Indy Illini Fan said:
Just pay attention to who is and more so who isn’t on the road right now …
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If there are 10 assts who can recruit offsite.
Art and Terry are on the trail.
Embleton and Nate McNeal also
Thad ward already left so that makes +3??

Going by previous posts…
BB, lunney, stepp, Harris, Archie, miller
Art &hawthorne. McNeal, Embleton

Not seen/missed it
Ahen, Parker, discher, jamo
 
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#509      
illini0440
Chukwuwumba said:
If there are 10 assts who can recruit offsite.
Art and Terry are on the trail.
Embleton and Nate McNeal also
Thad ward already left so that makes +3??

Going by previous posts…
BB, lunney, stepp, Harris, Archie, miller
Art &hawthorne. McNeal, Embleton

Not seen/missed it
Ahen, Parker, discher, jamo
Click to expand...
You can plug and place. It can be any 10 at one time it just can’t be more than 10. Parker has also been out on the road and Ahen has been around doing a lot of on campus recruiting when kids where visiting.

Also pretty sure Jamo has been out too but can’t remember for sure.
 
#511      
Indy Illini Fan
illini0440 said:
You can plug and place. It can be any 10 at one time it just can’t be more than 10. Parker has also been out on the road and Ahen has been around doing a lot of on campus recruiting when kids where visiting.

Also pretty sure Jamo has been out too but can’t remember for sure.
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Correct … Typically Lunney is home during season and Art goes out for him … We want Pat, Nate annd Terry on the road as well … Etc.

Jamo/Parker have both been out and active …

A Hen has not been out as much like others have but has been doing on campus …
 
#513      
Mr. Tibbs
is there still a Feb signing day for any 2026 preps committing late ?
 
#514      
Joel Goodson
IlliniWu said:
Williams is a terror. IMO for those worried about LB, I wouldn't be.

Kreutz is a hitter and solid. You know what you're getting and can't account for the senior leadership. After that you have Kante who is an athlete and versatile. Has been in the system. Don't know two much about the new Colo St. transfer but theres another LB with experience. Then you start getting to the young guns.

Beerman should be ready this year. As I mentioned Williams is hell on wheels. Maybe not initially in the LB rotation (More ST), but wouldn't be surprised. Thomas a versatile type like Kante but will be good either way as an athletic striker.

You also have Jack Paris who I think is going to start multiple years here at some point and would not surprise me if he is getting major reps this year. Cobbs is going to factor whether he bulks to LB or is in the SS role. Given that most times you'll see 1, maybe 2 LBs on the field in base, LB is fine. They have some really good talent.
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I share your optimism about our young backers. Thing is, ~90% of true frosh simply aren't ready. And those that are, typically aren't better than guys who have at least a season under their belt. Don't want to burn a year unless there's a clear cut, compelling reason to do so. Burning a year via special teams can be painful down the road. The flip side is hindsight is 20/20. But, to be sure, playing true frosh is often a very fine line
 
#515      
therealmiket86
Joel Goodson said:
I share your optimism about our young backers. Thing is, ~90% of true frosh simply aren't ready. And those that are, typically aren't better than guys who have at least a season under their belt. Don't want to burn a year unless there's a clear cut, compelling reason to do so. Burning a year via special teams can be painful down the road. The flip side is hindsight is 20/20. But, to be sure, playing true frosh is often a very fine line
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At this point I don’t have a problem burning redshirts. At this point how many kids will be in the program 5 years. Getting them to enroll early is close to a redshirt
 
#517      
BrownTown
therealmiket86 said:
At this point I don’t have a problem burning redshirts. At this point how many kids will be in the program 5 years. Getting them to enroll early is close to a redshirt
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Couldn't agree more.

If they are good enough to play for Illinois as a freshmen...they will be in the league within 4 years.

Not to mention how much their value skyrockets for the open market (transfer portal).
 
#518      
therealmiket86
BrownTown said:
Couldn't agree more.

If they are good enough to play for Illinois as a freshmen...they will be in the league within 4 years.

Not to mention how much their value skyrockets for the open market (transfer portal).
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I never liked that McCollum burned his redshirt to play 16 plays. I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. If you enroll early and can’t get on the field as a sophomore it’s probably time to move on.
 
#519      
IlliniWu
Indy Illini Fan said:
I’m VERY confident he’s going to be ours …
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Now let's get MJC, Wagner, Fifer, Floyd, Johnson, Parks, Hill, etc. as a base and then go from there. That's the start of a serious CFP contending type of team for the next few years when added to this roster.
 
#520      
Chukwuwumba
illini0440 said:
You can plug and place. It can be any 10 at one time it just can’t be more than 10. Parker has also been out on the road and Ahen has been around doing a lot of on campus recruiting when kids where visiting.

Also pretty sure Jamo has been out too but can’t remember for sure.
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Ah ok thanks. Wasn’t sure of the rules.

This time of year makes sense to rotate and get some time off.
 
#521      
Indy Illini Fan
BrownTown said:
We finally land the elusive game changing tight end prospect...with no TE coach?

Has Stepp/Lunney took the lead on this one? Would trust either of those guys to get it done, though recent success, stability, and family ties surely play quite a role, too.
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There is a reason Bret went himself on this one ... He has taken lead in this recruitment ...
 
#522      
ChiefGritty
BlueFlag said:
So, who are these guys? We haven’t seen them play much in their primary roles yet.

Early in their careers, we could have asked the same “who are these guys” about Witherspoon, Joseph, Brown, Newton, Jacas, etc.
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Spoon, Newton and Jacas are conspicuously bad examples for players we didn't immediately identify as stars, especially Jacas.
 
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