No, wheels are being rebuilt from the ground up by those who know how.
Transfers Thread
No, wheels are being rebuilt from the ground up by those who know how.
Hard to say the wheels are falling off when they have already fell off.
To me Gab leaving is pretty telling as to whats going on. Our OL is all coming back, and we are adding 3 young guys who are better then Gab plus another who just needs to put on some weight and strength. This is happening all over the field
Having 11 FR named ALL BIG TEN or HONORABLE MENTION for the FR teams says to me Lovie and the staff know talent, and if I was going to be a JR or SR and haven't been getting on the field, I wouldn't be expecting to be on there.
To me making room to have a class of roughly the same size as the last class is a great thing. We need to add talent, rather then have guys sitting in the bench who are not going to see the field. I do think you will see us add more JC or transfer guys then we did last year to try to fill in some holes
Having 11 FR named ALL BIG TEN or HONORABLE MENTION for the FR teams says to me Lovie and the staff know talent, and if I was going to be a JR or SR and haven't been getting on the field, I wouldn't be expecting to be on there.
To me making room to have a class of roughly the same size as the last class is a great thing. We need to add talent, rather then have guys sitting in the bench who are not going to see the field. I do think you will see us add more JC or transfer guys then we did last year to try to fill in some holes
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
+1 to all points.
Glory Days
- Palmetto, FL
I think that before the first practice next fall, you will see 10 or more transfers of the dead weight on this football team. Half the non-starters had no business on the squad, and I have no idea how bad the player evaluations were on these guys in high school to allow them to get a Big Ten offer.
Horrendous. A bunch of those kids won't start in the Valley. The sooner we can get those guys another destination, the better.
Horrendous. A bunch of those kids won't start in the Valley. The sooner we can get those guys another destination, the better.
Illiniaaron
- Geneseo, IL
Yeah, this thing has been up on blocks and sitting in the driveway for a few years now. And the neighbors are getting upset.
Most of the players not playing didnt have power 5 offers, sure we have a few like Gab who everyone wanted that just isn't what this staff thinks is good enough. Saying they wouldn't play in the valley is a bit over the top though, that is where most should have and will be playing.
This staff is recruiting kids no other power 5s are as well, the difference being this staff seems to have a much better idea of talent . getting 11 guys on the all big ten FR teams kind of shows that
Tito Odenigbo almost quit the team mid-season - was suspended i believe for a game - so no surprise there.
As for the RS Juniors not playing much - you have to question a few things with them - what school would take them? Do they like football that much to go play for nowhere state? Will they even be invited back for their 5th year?
Do we really need to get nasty? Can we just accept the transfers and wish them well? We have no idea how they will fair elsewhere and it is a bit classless to bash guys that wanted to make Illinois successful whether they had enough talent to make that happen or not. I'm sure many of them are great people that deserve a bit more respect.
Yeah some of my insider friends say that this staff is great evaluators. They aren't going off of big names or numbers of stars. I by and large trust them in that respect, at least for another couple classes.
But how much do we think that 11 guys on the All-B1G FR team is a result of the mass amount of reps they got vs. actually being the better freshman players? Not trying to take anything away from them, as the honor is much deserved on their part. But in terms of judging how the staff evaluates recruits, we'll see if these same guys continue to develop and make some preseason lists in the future.
FeelYourPaign
- So Cal
I too have wondered just how to judge the 11 All-B1G FR result, as so few freshmen play in general. While it obviously beats the pants off of 3 All-B1G, I don't know enough about all of the other B1G teams to judge the exact number 11. Congrats for sure, tho
Actually, 5 BTN's 2017 All-Freshman Team and 6 honorable mentions.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Isaiah Gay is proof for me. Bennett Williams is a similar story.
DrewD007
- Woodridge, IL
Nate Hobbs as well.
Have to admit, these two leaving would be a concern, both from expected contributions and a worry of perhaps a bigger problem that a starter and a contributor would choose to leave. Nothing to base the feeling on, just wondering.
Those all big ten FR accolades are inflated. The vast majority of conference freshmen either redshirted or got little play because they were behind better veterans. They weren't considered for freshman honors. Our guys played out of necessity. There are many freshmen around the league who are better than some of our all conference guys.
Pat Nelson gone
https://247sports.com/college/illinois/Article/Illini-safety-Patrick-Nelson-to-transfer-111278028
https://247sports.com/college/illinois/Article/Illini-safety-Patrick-Nelson-to-transfer-111278028
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This is not good. For everyone making a big deal out of the All-B1G freshmen this year, he was one last year.
Him leaving is a bit of a shock, and he had a really good year last year, But I dont blame him for wanting to find a new home. If we land any of the SS/FS we are after odds are he wouldn't start next year. All of these guys are doing whats best for them and looking for a place they will play, Lovie and staff are or seem to be being honest with them and giving them the chance to move on
Oh I agree with you. It's just at some point, experienced starter upperclassman > true freshman recruit you promised playing time.
Tell me that Lovie isn’t our coach anymore, Josh isn’t our AD, or we have a few true freshmen transferring, then I’ll start to worry. We are going to play Lovie’s guys which happened to be a group of true freshmen. We will do the same next year plus sophomores.
We won two games this past year so I’m not fazed by any of this.
I am not worried or concerned either, this is just THE PURGE of guys the staff isnt going to play to make more room for guys they want here. We should look on the bright side we will go from having a small class to another big class . these guys Lovie and staff are recruiting, will have to deal with the same thing in there JR SR years if they aren't playing. I for one am glad to seethe staff doing what they think needs done to improve our talent. I will be shocked if JGJ is still here
The Nelson transfer is just different to me. The first 2 guys saw the writing on the wall, if it wasn't already blatantly obvious that they had been passed up by younger guys. Nelson is a trickier situation. He was a legitimate B1G capable starter (and was only a soph this year). Getting exciting skilled freshman is great, but they all don't need to play immediately. I think the staff must feel confident about landing a certain safety and linebacker from St. Louis.
Chieftain13
- StL
As many have said, I don't think any of these transfers and the ones to come should worry folks. IMO, there isn't a single player on the current roster that is a program defining talent and, outside of a few select freshmen, anyone leaving isn't going to be seen as any sort of setback to the rebuild. We are literally at the bottom and can't get much worse. Not to beat a dead horse, but this season was an eye opener for myself and many others that we really need a couple years to lay a new foundation before we'll see any progress. Let's appreciate the guys that want to stay, wish those well that want to leave, and let Lovie and company have another 2 or 3 years before we see real improvement.
I don't remember if it was on this board or on twitter, but I remember reading a comment from a HS coach that if he started mostly freshmen he'd be lucky to win a single game. That comment put things in perspective if I think back to my HS days and how poorly teams would do if that were the case, but also how much better your average player gets in 4 years time. We are on the right track.
I don't remember if it was on this board or on twitter, but I remember reading a comment from a HS coach that if he started mostly freshmen he'd be lucky to win a single game. That comment put things in perspective if I think back to my HS days and how poorly teams would do if that were the case, but also how much better your average player gets in 4 years time. We are on the right track.