Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

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Dan

Dan
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Dan
Welcome to the Illinois Football Recruiting Thread :illinois:


2027 Illini Football Commits

1) DB Justin Johnson (March 4th, 2026)
2) OL Mason Halliman (May 9th, 2026)
3) OL Soren Fifer (May 14th, 2026)
4) LB Sean Rice (May 15th, 2026)
5) TE Cade Newman (June 6th, 2026)
6) OL Gavin Ericson-Staton (June 7th, 2026)
7) DL Ryan Paulsen (June 8th, 2026)
8) QB Sladen Shack (June 9th, 2026)
9) LB Anthony James (June 13th, 2026)
10 WR Bennett Konkey (June 16th, 2026)
11) RB Steven Alexis (June 16th, 2026)
12) K Ulysses Morales (June 21st, 2026)
13) WR Brody Knowles (June 22nd, 2026)
14) DB Tyrone Howard Jr. (June 23rd, 2026)
 
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logjam
Rep Celebrate GIF
 
#14      
Ander1345
I feel like sub 300 is undersized for a NT in a 3-3-5 regardless of front, but 290 is about where you want your Ends. I guess I should have been more specific in do we *need* him to play NT?
 
#15      
aaeismacgychel
therealmiket86 said:
They want guys that can get up the field and be distributive. You won’t see the giant 2 gap nt in this defense
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That's an interesting take on NT in a 3-3-5 in the B10. There's a lot of strength at the IOL position in the B10. I can certainly see us getting more exotic with our LB and S schemes to try getting penetration, wreak havoc, and close gaps, but I would think in the NT you'd simply want a force that can hold the line of scrimmage while soaking a double team if not push them back. Seems difficult to speed and finesse B10 Centers and Guards at the NT spot. Usually that's more a raw power and burst role that finds success in the B10 as you're dealing with a lot of beef on the OL and athletic mauling beef at that.
 
#16      
therealmiket86
aaeismacgychel said:
That's an interesting take on NT in a 3-3-5 in the B10. There's a lot of strength at the IOL position in the B10. I can certainly see us getting more exotic with our LB and S schemes to try getting penetration, wreak havoc, and close gaps, but I would think in the NT you'd simply want a force that can hold the line of scrimmage while soaking a double team if not push them back. Seems difficult to speed and finesse B10 Centers and Guards at the NT spot. Usually that's more a raw power and burst role that finds success in the B10 as you're dealing with a lot of beef on the OL and athletic mauling beef at that.
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The rock long defense doesn’t have a big space eater. They want 1 gap players that will stunt and get up the field
 
#18      
genevaillini39w
aaeismacgychel said:
That's an interesting take on NT in a 3-3-5 in the B10. There's a lot of strength at the IOL position in the B10. I can certainly see us getting more exotic with our LB and S schemes to try getting penetration, wreak havoc, and close gaps, but I would think in the NT you'd simply want a force that can hold the line of scrimmage while soaking a double team if not push them back. Seems difficult to speed and finesse B10 Centers and Guards at the NT spot. Usually that's more a raw power and burst role that finds success in the B10 as you're dealing with a lot of beef on the OL and athletic mauling beef at that.
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The Rocky Long version of the 3-3-5 is aggressive, want to play in the backfield. This is not the Heacock version of the 3-3-5 which is much more passive and wants to tackle you for a 3-yard gain and make you nickel and dime down the field.

I think you'll see them have some guys that rotate between their version of a strong side tackle and nose guard, or what you would consider a 3T and a 1T in a 4 front. I think you'll see a lot of Carter Janki (6'5 295) and Pat Farrel (6'5 285) primarily at the "strong" tackle spot in a 3-front but also get some reps at the nose spot in a 3-front look. And Prater (6'3 305) will get say 60% of the snaps at the nose for 2026, but won't rep at tackle. I think King Liggins (6'3 295) will get 5 snaps a game at nose, but wont rep at tackle.

I'm sure in an ideal world Bret would be rolling out two guys that are 300 and can move and are studs at the nose spot, but I think this is a money-ball approach to get the best bang for their buck.
 
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