Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#176      
Yes … There’s a situation there …

Don’t know how much I can get into …

Completely unrelated to Hammock leaving for Seahawks and it’d be a special waiver scenario …

There's a situation at Cincinnati or NIU?
 
#179      
Even with the portal closing I’m pretty sure he can transfer without a waiver. Obviously the circumstances are different but look at Retzlaff
highly doubt the NCAA can nor will stop him from transferring between now & 6/1/26 if he really wants to pursue it .
 
#182      
Commitments mean nothing until they are on campus.

LOI's are not binding anymore.

If we have another good season the QB's will come. It would be nice to have a starter that was home grown vs portal.
 
#186      
Let's all meet in the middle by saying:

(a) this staff has less recruiting chops than any previous Bielema staff
(b) the current sell to come play for Illinois football is the best in the last ~50 years
(c) the sheer number of staff members allowed to recruit is going to lessen the importance of having a specific number of position coaches that are ace recruiters
(d) it's possible that Bielema sees NIL value in having coaches that are better developers than recruiters "stay here for a little less for better coaching"
(e) the staff will have another 3-5 changes next offseason so there's no need to get overwhelmed with perceived shortcomings of the current makeup
Possible to revisted this post next November?
 
#187      
Possible to revisted this post next November?

Absolutely, some of these are theoretical gambles. The emphasis on coaching over recruiting could bite the program at a time where folks could make an argument that recruiting is going to be paramount. The program went for it last year and is actively turning it over to a next era, ideally you would need more and more quality freshman talent to come in and help raise the floor of the program. Also, you can see that some P4 programs are starting to choose to bring in 30+ HS preps every year and letting those guys sort themselves out on who's worthy to keep and who's going to be pushed out. The thought is you can bring in in ~35 freshman and not play them but still have 65 other players that are expected to meaningfully contribute. Bielema is likely banking on (a) the secret sauce is him, and (b) the program's elevated status is going to make it easier to recruit than 2021-2023. If we see next year's recruiting go down a little bit (missing on Plan A guys, less average number of offers per commit, etc) then it was likely a mistake unless they bring in a big, impactful transfer class next winter.
 
#188      
The Lopati competition is a necessary evil. He's going up in rankings (could be a top-5 QB in 2027!), he's doing well in spring showcases, and his build means he's going to be an NFL prospect (most of the top-5 guys are speed guys who have more question marks on their NFL future).

Holding onto him will be a battle but its a good sign for his potential that programs like Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida, Tennessee, etc. are offering him and actively recruiting him.
 
#189      
Absolutely, some of these are theoretical gambles. The emphasis on coaching over recruiting could bite the program at a time where folks could make an argument that recruiting is going to be paramount. The program went for it last year and is actively turning it over to a next era, ideally you would need more and more quality freshman talent to come in and help raise the floor of the program. Also, you can see that some P4 programs are starting to choose to bring in 30+ HS preps every year and letting those guys sort themselves out on who's worthy to keep and who's going to be pushed out. The thought is you can bring in in ~35 freshman and not play them but still have 65 other players that are expected to meaningfully contribute. Bielema is likely banking on (a) the secret sauce is him, and (b) the program's elevated status is going to make it easier to recruit than 2021-2023. If we see next year's recruiting go down a little bit (missing on Plan A guys, less average number of offers per commit, etc) then it was likely a mistake unless they bring in a big, impactful transfer class next winter.
Well here is the problem. Neither of us have any first hand knowledge of the people involved or the scheme Illinois will run next year. We aren't evaluators of talent and we haven't broken down video focusing on the key 25 - 30 match ups in every game next year. The Illinois staff on the otherhand has done all of that work already. Unfortunately so have next year's opponents And that is where the tranfer portal, historic recruiting and coaching changes come in.

Let's see how it works out.
 
#190      
Possible to revisted this post next November?
look, kids at the high school want to be developed and play at the highest level possible, and at the
portal level want to be prepared for a NFL shot, many are moving up a class with something to prove.
ex-players and coaches who know how to prepare those kids are a premium. That's the sales speech.
If we don't have the same cash, then that's all we have. BB knows this and has shown he can get kids
to the league. lets talk about recruiting. we just had the best recruiting class and best two seasons in
10 years. trust the boss.
 
#191      
look, kids at the high school want to be developed and play at the highest level possible, and at the
portal level want to be prepared for a NFL shot, many are moving up a class with something to prove.
ex-players and coaches who know how to prepare those kids are a premium. That's the sales speech.
If we don't have the same cash, then that's all we have. BB knows this and has shown he can get kids
to the league. lets talk about recruiting. we just had the best recruiting class and best two seasons in
10 years. trust the boss.
Agree on all of it. In this day and age its about trust, communication and committment.
 
#194      
Life Love GIF
 
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