Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#376      
therealmiket86
AirTran said:
Then how do you explain the 2025 and 2026 recruiting classes and the 2024 and 2025 transfers? Those were the best classes we have had for years. This year, there is clearly "something in the air" that is being told to high level recruits about Illinois. Whatever it is (and I have no idea), it's working. Our available NIL spend capability is at an all - time high and we have 1 recruit so far. This looks like a Lovie Smith recruiting year.
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This was always going to be a smaller class but we are still striking out with recruits. We also had a massive turnover on the defensive staff so that will slow things for with recruiting.
 
#380      
joeybcrazy13
Epix GIF by Billy The Kid

Sorry, I said Lopati can go be a rodeo 🤡! It's hard to be pals, I apologize
Funny GIF


ILL!!
 
#385      
JucoIllini10
Simeon Rice said:
Define red flags. '27 is one of the deepest in-state classes in years, if not decades, and we almost assuredly won't touch the top 10 and barely register for the next 10-25. Our neighbor rivals have far more momentum in our own state. And this in an era when you don't need years of overperformance on the field. Instead, you need a little bit of a pitch and a bunch of NIL.
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Red flags would be missing out on targets to programs with similar NIL funds. Illinois simply cannot compete dollar for dollar with Michigan, Ohio State, ND, Mizzou, Miami, etc. I'll start getting concerned if recruits the staff is prioritizing start committing to other mid-tier Power4 programs. Thies would be the only current in-state prospect that fits that description which I mentioned in my original post. Halliman, Fifer, TJ Lewis, and Injaychock are much better indicators of in-state recruiting success compared to panicking when guys like Park and Wagner end up committing to historically better programs with bigger NIL budgets.
 
#386      
IlliniFan85
These kids still have to get past admissions as well, correct? Have we loosened up those standards for athletes? If not, then all of the NIL money in the world would do nothing since the kid couldn't get admitted. This is not in reference to one specific player, this is just in general.
 
#387      
ChiefGritty
AirTran said:
Then how do you explain the 2025 and 2026 recruiting classes and the 2024 and 2025 transfers?
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Simeon Rice said:
Define red flags. '27 is one of the deepest in-state classes in years, if not decades, and we almost assuredly won't touch the top 10 and barely register for the next 10-25.
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In 2026, mere months ago, we signed 2 of the top 8 and 5 of the top 18 in-state players, in what was overall a class worthy of Prime Zook, a huge breakthrough.

Losing Lopati has been inevitable for a long time even within that context, that doesn't concern me at all. But it is tough to square that monster class we just signed with the sense of financial and strategic momentum stalling since then.

Maybe the bar is just raising so fast nationally that we're getting dragged underneath it? Maybe we're just pushing Hauck anxiety onto recruiting? Hard to say.
 
#388      
mhuml32
Simeon Rice said:
Define red flags. '27 is one of the deepest in-state classes in years, if not decades, and we almost assuredly won't touch the top 10 and barely register for the next 10-25. Our neighbor rivals have far more momentum in our own state. And this in an era when you don't need years of overperformance on the field. Instead, you need a little bit of a pitch and a bunch of NIL.
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Another red flag is this class is supposed to be small, meaning you had advantages of (a) spending more on each recruit because of class size, (b) spending more time on a smaller target of players, (c) taking less players in a loaded in-state class meant you could swallow more risk than previous years.

JucoIllini10 said:
Red flags would be missing out on targets to programs with similar NIL funds. Illinois simply cannot compete dollar for dollar with Michigan, Ohio State, ND, Mizzou, Miami, etc. I'll start getting concerned if recruits the staff is prioritizing start committing to other mid-tier Power4 programs. Thies would be the only current in-state prospect that fits that description which I mentioned in my original post. Halliman, Fifer, TJ Lewis, and Injaychock are much better indicators of in-state recruiting success compared to panicking when guys like Park and Wagner end up committing to historically better programs with bigger NIL budgets.
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There are targets and offers being made to players that Illinois wants that are landing at the Iowa's of the world. It's also a messy business to define who's a A-list target because every program, including Illinois, will spin a loss as just wanting another player more instead, and finding the truth is impossible. Plus, some of Illinois' best recruiting wins last year were players that had offers from schools you mentioned. That's how the program can elevate. Constantly being at a talent disadvantage is one heck of a burden.
 
#389      
Simeon Rice
ChiefGritty said:
In 2026, mere months ago, we signed 2 of the top 8 and 5 of the top 18 in-state players, in what was overall a class worthy of Prime Zook, a huge breakthrough.

Losing Lopati has been inevitable for a long time even within that context, that doesn't concern me at all. But it is tough to square that monster class we just signed with the sense of financial and strategic momentum stalling since then.

Maybe the bar is just raising so fast nationally that we're getting dragged underneath it? Maybe we're just pushing Hauck anxiety onto recruiting? Hard to say.
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This is where I am at as well. Losing Lopati, while disappointing, isn't that big of a deal. The bigger deal is what happened (is happening) since the last phenomenal prep class. In that class, it was big on quantity (great point by @mhuml32 about spreading cash in the prior post), and big on quality (several in-state top 10ers).

Since then, we had the January portal season, which while it may provide some interesting pieces, it was clear we were not in the convo for most top talent and lost a bunch of marginal dudes that presumably we didn't pony up for. Plus, didn't retain as many as we'd like. Now, for this prep class, we're off to a slow start, and doesn't seem to be much path to change that.
 
#391      
ChiefGritty
Simeon Rice said:
This is where I am at as well. Losing Lopati, while disappointing, isn't that big of a deal. The bigger deal is what happened (is happening) since the last phenomenal prep class. In that class, it was big on quantity (great point by @mhuml32 about spreading cash in the prior post), and big on quality (several in-state top 10ers).

Since then, we had the January portal season, which while it may provide some interesting pieces, it was clear we were not in the convo for most top talent and lost a bunch of marginal dudes that presumably we didn't pony up for. Plus, didn't retain as many as we'd like. Now, for this prep class, we're off to a slow start, and doesn't seem to be much path to change that.
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It's a little like Purdue Basketball, where our strategy for the portal NIL era has essentially been very carefully and intelligently keeping the Before Times alive within our building.

Purdue Basketball is dead-ender-ing that strategy by promoting their whole bench next year, which is cool and we'll see where it goes, but we have pivoted, and it feels like we've slammed into the wall of reality a little bit as a consequence.
 
#392      
mhuml32
I view the Lopati loss as a bigger deal than some because it was evidence of a different path. I was raising concern a couple months ago that the 2027 recruiting was trending poorly. That said, the staff could argue they spent big on getting the absolute best prep QB they could after they brought in their best recruiting class in 2026. That makes sense to me, and I get spending big on the most expensive asset on the transfer portal, and raising the potential ceiling of what type of QB is playing in Champaign. Now? The worst of both worlds is increasingly likely where Lopati very much seems destined elsewhere and the rest of the recruiting class is lagging behind previous years. This all might correct itself with Illinois freeing up large funds from Lopati de-committing and Bielema & staff can seriously re-engage with top in-state prospects, but that's TBD right now.
 
#393      
RJK01
NIL is like a Ponzi scheme, you need to keep bringing in new money to keep the overall amount at a consistent level. Unless you have donors at a Walton family level, some NIL donors are going to leave or reduce their donation because they have a need or feel that money will bring a better return elsewhere. Donors will drop off if their team doesn't make the CFP or Final 4 on a consistent basis. If Illinois doesn't make it to the Final 4 next year, some donors will withhold their donations. Where would Indiana be without Mark Cuban's contribution? I never heard he was a big donor until Cig came. I doubt if he was willing to donate big money based on Woodson's results. Donors will lose interest if their teams aren't showing post season success. After a few big name recruits wash out, donors will question if the coaching staffs know what they are doing. I don't think teams will be able to sustain the large NIL donations as time goes on. People get excited by the shiny new toy. There isn't much of a return for NIL donation, no tax deduction, no upgrade in seating, no moving to a better parking space. At least if you donate to the athletic department there are benefits.
 
#395      
Simeon Rice
Interesting relevant example. Don't know any of the details aside from what's on the 247 page, but in-state DL/Edge Keysan Taylor (a top 400, 4* composite from Rockford) just received a CB to Ole Miss. Vandy (visit), IU (visit), ASU, Cincy also listed as destinations under consideration. Looks like we offered at some point, but no visit date. There may be a whole backstory on this one, but it's more interesting that for a majority of the top 20 in-state kids, we barely even register in the discussions. In the matter of 4 months, we seem to have gone from Peak Zook Era to End Zook Era
 
#397      
JucoIllini10
mhuml32 said:
There are targets and offers being made to players that Illinois wants that are landing at the Iowa's of the world. It's also a messy business to define who's a A-list target because every program, including Illinois, will spin a loss as just wanting another player more instead, and finding the truth is impossible. Plus, some of Illinois' best recruiting wins last year were players that had offers from schools you mentioned. That's how the program can elevate. Constantly being at a talent disadvantage is one heck of a burden.
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I agree with this (I didn't agree last class when some on this board tried to "spin" that Riordan was not a priority O-line target when he committed to Iowa) but I'm wondering specifically for the class of 27 who are all these recruits everyone is upset that Illinois missed on? Looking at the class of 27 offers, there are very few serious targets that have committed elsewhere... the QBs, missed out on top TE target, and missed some safety recruits. This is not a great start but the timeline for this group of targets seems pushed back compared to previous years.
 
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