Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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#251      
HouTexIllini
That's the (economic) conundrum for programs like Illinois: The hardest guys to acquire from a cost-to-playing time are going to be offensive and defensive linemen. There are countless freshman defensive backs and wide receivers that play as true freshman. That means their cost stays low because supply is high. It's a financial mistake to ignore paying o-line/d-line guys because they only get more expensive later from the portal, but the risk is much higher. The program is going to have to take on some of those risks to have good linemen. Bielema and staff are paid a lot of money to take those calculated risks.
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If you’re paying the “countless freshman WR and DB” cheap then that’s why you get what happens when ILL plays Oregon, Ohio State, Indiana, etc. The good ones that can play early and do it at high levels don’t come cheap bc there isn’t a high supply of high level ones.

If you spend money on the trenches (I agree which is crucial) but the defense isn’t connected where the secondary can’t cover then it can affect the effectiveness of the D-line. If you have a good QB and a good O-line, but your WR is slow, can’t get open, or can’t catch then you still have a problem.
 
#253      
BretMyBeachHouse
Saw a comment today about wanting to go play for a coach and not a CEO.

Not a very bright comment.

Things go well there, he’s fine.

If they don’t and he has to leave, that will get remembered and will close some doors to him.

Not sure I’ve ever seen an adult wear a backwards hat at a signing ceremony either.

May not be much guidance involved
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Lol. "Some doors closed.. "? Why should he care?

I don't know his exact words but it sounds like he wants a certain level of engagement with his head coach. Presumably, every coach in his final list met that criteria. If he ends up wanting a new spot I'm sure his finalists and others can meet that standard.

It's an interesting question. Which coaches are most engaged in individual recruitment and which in coaching. I have no clue.

I sure wouldn't criticize anyone for looking for certain attributes in their next boss.
 
#254      
genevaillini39w
therealmiket86 said:
If he doesn’t play and has to transfer BB would be working the phones trying to get Wagner. This kid is a 4 star talent
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I doubt it.

Looking at their portal strategy this past year, and what Bret has said in press conferences, they want guys that have played college football and have game reps. They will look for guys that have actually played at the G5 and FCS level.

The two tackles that won 19 games the last two years were transfers from Grambling State and New Mexico, the two tackles slated to start this year are transfers from Idaho and Colorado State. All four actually played at their last stops.
 
#255      
therealmiket86
genevaillini39w said:
I doubt it.

Looking at their portal strategy this past year, and what Bret has said in press conferences, they want guys that have played college football and have game reps. They will look for guys that have actually played at the G5 and FCS level.

The two tackles that won 19 games the last two years were transfers from Grambling State and New Mexico, the two tackles slated to start this year are transfers from Idaho and Colorado State. All four actually played at their last stops.
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You’re nuts If you don’t think BB would try to get Wagner. Martin was horrible at Colorado state. They took him based off potential.
 
#258      
mhuml32
therealmiket86 said:
Martin had a 55.4 pff grade allowing 41 pressures.
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If Martin is successful then I'll question my statistical sanity. An argument that "his coaching was awful" could make sense but Illinois was also interested in the coach. The biggest counter for my beliefs is a handful of other good programs were also interested in him, so there's something on that tape.
 
#259      
mhuml32
Illiniam1984 said:
We were never in the lead at any point during the recruiting….
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I'm not sure if folks are saying Illinois never led for a 4-star offensive lineman from Central Illinois prep prospect that visited Illinois more than any other school back in 2024 early in his recruiting process and was mentioned many times as a priority prospect in paywall articles is to soothe the fan base, but it's not working for me.

It's one prospect and that's meaningless in the big picture, but it will stings that he's going elsewhere (likely to a team that Illinois will face a couple times in his career).
 
#260      
lstewart53x3
mhuml32 said:
I'm not sure if folks are saying Illinois never led for a 4-star offensive lineman from Central Illinois prep prospect that visited Illinois more than any other school back in 2024 early in his recruiting process and was mentioned many times as a priority prospect in paywall articles is to soothe the fan base, but it's not working for me.

It's one prospect and that's meaningless in the big picture, but it will stings that he's going elsewhere (likely to a team that Illinois will face a couple times in his career).
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Not sure Illinois is in a place resource-wise, prestige-wise, and in fans in attendance to beat Oregon head to head for a recruit they want, regardless of where they’re from.
 
#261      
therealmiket86
mhuml32 said:
If Martin is successful then I'll question my statistical sanity. An argument that "his coaching was awful" could make sense but Illinois was also interested in the coach. The biggest counter for my beliefs is a handful of other good programs were also interested in him, so there's something on that tape.
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All I heard is that he has the physical tools to be good but he’s a project
 
#262      
kmunt09
lstewart53x3 said:
Not sure Illinois is in a place resource-wise, prestige-wise, and in fans in attendance to beat Oregon head to head for a recruit they want, regardless of where they’re from.
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Agree. Look at where the Dunlap Tight-Ends ended up; Alabama and Ole Miss (LSU now).

Having either of those TE's would have had a huge impact on this fall's team.
 
#264      
Mr. Tibbs
true freshmen rarely have a large impact, regardless of ranking (operative word: rarely)
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agree . maybe they do at WR or RB or QB . a big maybe

but hardly ever on either side of the line or at LB.
 
#266      
IlliniFanHere
We were never in the lead at any point during the recruiting….
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Kids knows how to play the fanbase.......why insist Illinois was in the picture, when it was never there. Cheap disrespectfull
 
#269      
Red77sng
Agree. Look at where the Dunlap Tight-Ends ended up; Alabama and Ole Miss (LSU now).

Having either of those TE's would have had a huge impact on this fall's team.
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Disagree I don’t think either would of played much this year
 
#275      
mhuml32
therealmiket86 said:
Watch JC Andersons hudl film. He’s not an instant impact guy. He does have a ton of potential.
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If you put JC Anderson on the 2026 Illinois roster, is he even getting many snaps? I would be shocked if he got more than garbage time. I'm fully expecting him to be in the transfer portal in Winter 2027 (hot take).
 
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