Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#52      
logjam
illinidarrin said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2029303299292135700
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#65      
the juiceman cometh
genevaillini39w said:
You are correct on the class years, my mistake.

I'm not optimistic and don't see it as a good sign that the visit dates aren't set yet, doesn't pass the smell test to me. Lopati seems to be doing a lot of flirting as well. He could very easily shut everything down and tell those other schools no thank you.

With 2 DL starters transferring out, K transferring out, and a very slow start to the 2027 class, just doesn't add up with the wins on the field. Even if they are planning to bring on a smaller 2027 class, I would have guessed 3-4 guys would have already verballed.
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Are you feeling any better yet?
 
#67      
TheFlyingIllini1317
I feel like we are going to be leaning into HS recruiting more than the portal. Given how we are plus evaluators, plus the portal money guys get it feels like (I won't say underrated market), but maybe more valuable for us now. If we get 3 more classes like the last one the long-term and short-term health of our program would be in maybe its best ever spot.

Now let's hope this 3-3-5 defense and our linemen are good.
 
#71      
IlliniWu
TheFlyingIllini1317 said:
I feel like we are going to be leaning into HS recruiting more than the portal. Given how we are plus evaluators, plus the portal money guys get it feels like (I won't say underrated market), but maybe more valuable for us now. If we get 3 more classes like the last one the long-term and short-term health of our program would be in maybe its best ever spot.

Now let's hope this 3-3-5 defense and our linemen are good.
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I think it's a given for the line. They have some good ones on campus and that they're recruiting. The '26 haul was very good, much more so than people believe even though it was rated highly. Just some great talents and very underrated finds, even some of the more higher rated ones. '27 has the chance to really add some more impact guys with Parks, O'Neil (Who is at #74 now in the top 100 and OV Illini first), etc.

Along with Lopati, Johnson is one of the guys who I think that if they can bring them in, they will be legit contenders to win the CFP.

Secondary in general will be ridiculous in a few years even with just:

CB Hankins
CB Thomas
S Johnson
S Eberhart
S Lovett

Not even including any other potential players for this class or anyone who emerges. They have a lot of versatility as well there.
 
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#74      
mhuml32
therealmiket86 said:
We could miss on the top guys in state and still have a very strong in state class. It would be huge to land guys like Fifer, Mattison, Kasey..etc most years those guys would be top 10 players in state
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While trying to avoid the impossible "I know 'em when I see 'em" conversation, and the equally impossible rankings discussion, let's look at offers. Justin Johnson is a great get! I would happily take another 10 players of his caliber! but his offer sheet is different than guys like Wagner, Mattison, any of the top-8 guys on 247's in-state rankings. Offers are one of the strongest indicators of future success. Illinois needs to be bringing in as many recruits that are wanted by other P4 programs. The staff went from bringing in 0 recruits in 2022 with 20+ P4 offers to 12(!) in 2025. Now, the staff could think Justin Johnson is criminally underrated (which would make sense because the staff has prioritized him for a while now), and they've earned that respect based on recent recruiting, but that conversation was about (a) who are going to be the top recruits the staff brings in that can match Eberhart-Hankins-Rankin from an offer quality perspective? Parks and Wagner would definitely qualify in that tier.
 
#75      
Illini92and96
mhuml32 said:
While trying to avoid the impossible "I know 'em when I see 'em" conversation, and the equally impossible rankings discussion, let's look at offers. Justin Johnson is a great get! I would happily take another 10 players of his caliber! but his offer sheet is different than guys like Wagner, Mattison, any of the top-8 guys on 247's in-state rankings. Offers are one of the strongest indicators of future success. Illinois needs to be bringing in as many recruits that are wanted by other P4 programs. The staff went from bringing in 0 recruits in 2022 with 20+ P4 offers to 12(!) in 2025. Now, the staff could think Justin Johnson is criminally underrated (which would make sense because the staff has prioritized him for a while now), and they've earned that respect based on recent recruiting, but that conversation was about (a) who are going to be the top recruits the staff brings in that can match Eberhart-Hankins-Rankin from an offer quality perspective? Parks and Wagner would definitely qualify in that tier.
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Johnson has six other offers from the BIG, 40% of the BIG already offering seems like a high enough bar to have the talent to win. Does it even matter how many schools from other conferences have offered, or is the BIG offer sheet an acceptable proxy?
 
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