Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

[Joel Goodson]

When a donor like Gies gives $100M, why does the program think that money is better spent on the stadium and not on NIL?

it wasn't the program's call. the donor (or mega donors, anyway) dictate how their donation is allocated. in this case, the vast majority was allocated to infrastructure.

FWLIW, allowing mega donors to choose where their money is going is a good call. Josh knows what he's doing

 

[JBfor3]

it wasn't the program's call. the donor (or mega donors, anyway) dictate how their donation is allocated. in this case, the vast majority was allocated to infrastructure

Thanks. That's interesting. I have no idea what would have had the most impact so I was more curious than anything else. I don't know how big NIL budgets are at blue bloods but it makes you wonder if Bret got a $25M check to go spend next offseason, could we immediately enter the following year ranked in the top 5.

 

[therealmiket86]

McCullom was the biggest surprise for me. I think he was a solid player and had a chance to be a team leader as a senior. The surprise was (a) he hadn't taken the leap yet but was showing good signs and (b) he's taking a pay raise to not start at TAMU. I don't understand that. It feels really short-sighted by him to already harm his pro prospects for a short-term increase in compensation. Olano? I understand. He's getting the same opportunity but much more pay, at a position that is very hard to be an NFL draft pick. Might as well cash those checks while you can.

I heard he was offered double. McCollum is also very young he was only 18 last year as a sophomore. With 5 for 5 passing he still has a lot of time time to improve his pro stock

 

[Joel Goodson]

Thanks. That's interesting. I have no idea what would have had the most impact so I was more curious than anything else. I don't know how big NIL budgets are at blue bloods but it makes you wonder if Bret got a $25M check to go spend next offseason, could we immediately enter the following year ranked in the top 5.

top 5? no chance

10-20, probably. there's going to be a lot of uncertainty about our new starting, inexperienced QB. and getting the stank off the Illinois brand is akin to turning an ocean liner around. anyway, preseason rankings are virtually worthless

 

[the juiceman cometh]

When a donor like Gies gives $100M, why does the program think that money is better spent on the stadium and not on NIL?

The only "NIL" the program can spend is the revenue share which is capped at a set amount for the entire Athletic Dept., and which I am assuming is being fully spent. NIL is for deals between third parties and players. So the program can't just take that $100 million and buy players.

What the program can do is use that money on other things which frees up AD funds to max out the revenue share without putting the balance sheet in the red, and frees up other donors to focus on NIL and not other expenses and projects.

 

[Mr. Tibbs]

Thanks. That's interesting. I have no idea what would have had the most impact so I was more curious than anything else. I don't know how big NIL budgets are at blue bloods but it makes you wonder if Bret got a $25M check to go spend next offseason, could we immediately enter the following year ranked in the top 5.

no

 

[Grandpa]

TE coach Jared Elliott was a great hire, Cade Newman's a super wellspoken young man

Erudite?

 

[bleedorange and blue]

If the kicker is your biggest loss then in this day and age of the portal I think you're doing just fine on retention.

I think the bigger question is whether we hit on the eval for the players we brought it, and whether the new defensive philosophy will work out. And there's no way to know that yet.

But he is a NFL kicker. Gonna suck on Sundays when his school isn't Illinois

 

[IlliniUnited]

Olano was very good and definitely won us a couple games but that’s 1 player. To say we lost some great players is meaning we lost several great players

Won a couple of games is a bit of a stretch. It was not like he was hitting a 60 yarder at the horn. Luke and the offense got him into some comfortable distances and he did his job.

 

[therealmiket86]

Won a couple of games is a bit of a stretch. It was not like he was hitting a 60 yarder at the horn. Luke and the offense got him into some comfortable distances and he did his job.

Yes but how many walk off field goals did he have last year? That is not easy for a college kicker. That’s exactly why he got paid a ton. The thing that hurts his nfl future is leg strength

 

[genevaillini39w]

When a donor like Gies gives $100M, why does the program think that money is better spent on the stadium and not on NIL?

The roster doesn’t say GIES on it.

 

[therealmiket86]

When a donor like Gies gives $100M, why does the program think that money is better spent on the stadium and not on NIL?

The donation was for the stadium.

 

[IlliniUnited]

Yes but how many walk off field goals did he have last year? That is not easy for a college kicker. That’s exactly why he got paid a ton. The thing that hurts his nfl future is leg strength

He made a great kick to beat USC. The bowl game was a chip shot.

 

[therealmiket86]

He made a great kick to beat USC. The bowl game was a chip shot.

Go back and look at the last 2 years. He played a big role in a lot of wins. With our style of play having a clutch kicker is huge. With bb we haven’t blown out many teams

 

[From the cheap seats]

Go back and look at the last 2 years. He played a big role in a lot of wins. With our style of play having a clutch kicker is huge. With bb we haven’t blown out many teams

Yep. Some of the better teams in the country have been done in by lack of a consistent FG kicker. It’s why Texas A&M paid so much. That said, I trust our staff to continue to fill that position with a kicker they can trust.

 

[kyillinifan]

Hated to see Olano go. The guy we. Have now holds the Illini field goal record for the longest kick for a good fg.

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

Yep. Some of the better teams in the country have been done in by lack of a consistent FG kicker. It’s why Texas A&M paid so much. That said, I trust our staff to continue to fill that position with a kicker they can trust.

TAMU has taken 3 players from us: Olano, McCollum, and top 100 recruit Victor Singleton when he was committed here.

If it continues in that manner, won't be long until they're atop our SEC hate list (not that they could care less).

 

[Fly Illini Fly!]

Won a couple of games is a bit of a stretch. It was not like he was hitting a 60 yarder at the horn. Luke and the offense got him into some comfortable distances and he did his job.

He made a great kick to beat USC. The bowl game was a chip shot.

I remember Cal's team two years ago -- Mendoza's final year there.

Fairly certain their kicker cost them 3 or 4 games, with missed "chip shots" just like that.

With as many close games we play, a guy as dependable as Olano is a treasure. It just sucks to lose that over cash.

 

[and 69 others]

He made a great kick to beat USC. The bowl game was a chip shot.

 

[Mr. Tibbs]

I remember Cal's team two years ago -- Mendoza's final year there.

Fairly certain their kicker cost them 3 or 4 games, with missed "chip shots" just like that.

With as many close games we play, a guy as dependable as Olano is a treasure. It just sucks to lose that over cash.

I agree Olano did a great job for us
I wish we could have him this year and maybe even one more next year

But I’m not worried at all about our FG kicking game going forward .
maybe I should be ?

He did what was best for him . Chasing a huge payday can’t be held against him

 

[PleaseMakeABowlGame]

I agree Olano did a great job for us
I wish we could have him this year and maybe even one more next year

But I’m not worried at all about our FG kicking game going forward .
maybe I should be ?

He did what was best for him . Chasing a huge payday can’t be held against him

I think worry is reasonable. None of the kickers on our roster, have previously held FG kicking job elsewhere full time.

There's just lots of unknown there. Right in line with the defense.

 

[pvaughn8]

I agree Olano did a great job for us
I wish we could have him this year and maybe even one more next year

But I’m not worried at all about our FG kicking game going forward .
maybe I should be ?

He did what was best for him . Chasing a huge payday can’t be held against him

We play a ton of close games so a good field kicker is a must. We replaced Olano with the former backup who barely got any chances when he was last with us. Last year for Washington he attempted 0 FG.

 

[Dkayak]

We play a ton of close games so a good field kicker is a must. We replaced Olano with the former backup who barely got any chances when he was last with us. Last year for Washington he attempted 0 FG.

FG kicking is much easier to practice than other positions, so real game experience with 22 on the field matters less.

 

[pvaughn8]

FG kicking is much easier to practice than other positions, so real game experience with 22 on the field matters less.

Less concerned about actual game reps, rather why hasn't he been given the opportunity?

 

[therealmiket86]

A

FG kicking is much easier to practice than other positions, so real game experience with 22 on the field matters less.

Yeah because kicking field goals in practice is the same as doing it when the games on the line with a full stadium. Everyone looks good when theirs no pressure.