Transfers

moggs3 · Jan 9, 2021

I want Ayodele Adeoye and have known the last 2 weeks he was likely entering the portal. I also believe we land Ayodele Adeoye. Was more worried about Mizzou with Mookie than I am Ayodele.

Based on Twitter followers it looks like ILL, Oregon, or FSU for Houston Griffith. Griffith was committed to FSU and they worry me a bit.

Title · Jan 9, 2021

moggs3 said:
I want Ayodele Adeoye and have known the last 2 weeks he was likely entering the portal. I also believe we land Ayodele Adeoye. Was more worried about Mizzou with Mookie than I am Ayodele.

Based on Twitter followers it looks like ILL, Oregon, or FSU for Houston Griffith. Griffith was committed to FSU and they worry me a bit.

Unless he improved a lot, Ayo wasn’t a good ball player. His actual play wasn’t anywhere near his projection. There are much better options out there.

moggs3 · Jan 9, 2021

Title said:
Unless he improved a lot, Ayo wasn’t a good ball player. His actual play wasn’t anywhere near his projection. There are much better options out there.

He was also always hurt. I'm sure you are right and there are better but we need A LOT of LBs and will we get better? I would not me the least bit upset if we got Dele

Positive illini fan · Jan 9, 2021

Title said:
Unless he improved a lot, Ayo wasn’t a good ball player. His actual play wasn’t anywhere near his projection. There are much better options out there.

You dislike anyone from stl who didn’t attended esl. Noticing a trend here.

Title · Jan 9, 2021

Positive illini fan said:
You dislike anyone from stl who didn’t attended esl. Noticing a trend here.

Negative. Show the trend you speak of. There are kids that can play and there are some that are more hype. Including some kids from ESL. But hey, you will find out the same thing Texas did.

Lexis20 · Jan 9, 2021

A lot of talented guys are making themselves available....BB will have an opportunity to greatly upgrade the roster in one recruiting season...this is unlike anything we have seen...not waiting for 17 yr old kids to mature physically..immediate help is out there

kyillinifan · Jan 9, 2021

We need guys on def. BB was good with walk on at Wisc. I wonder with all our walk ins which one will really improve Uber his coaching.

Illinivek23 · Jan 9, 2021

kyillinifan said:
We need guys on def. BB was good with walk on at Wisc. I wonder with all our walk ins which one will really improve Uber his coaching.

I've been thinking the same thing - Meade, McEchern seemed to play really well when they got their opportunities.

Positive illini fan · Jan 9, 2021

Title said:
Negative. Show the trend you speak of. There are kids that can play and there are some that are more hype. Including some kids from ESL. But hey, you will find out the same thing Texas did.

You’ve been constantly critical of anyone from STL who didn’t attend ESL. And what did texas find out? Kid started 10+ games for them. He was injured.

FT35 · Jan 9, 2021

Title said:
Unless he improved a lot, Ayo wasn’t a good ball player. His actual play wasn’t anywhere near his projection. There are much better options out there.

Are there better options out there? Probably. Are those guys going to come here? Probably not.

You do realize that Tolson, Barnes and Cooper all had season ending injuries, right? Those are the only scholarship LBs that are returning from last year, and Cooper was getting as many reps as some of the walk-ons when he was healthy. The two incoming Freshmen LBs are massive projects and it's unclear how the new staff will even use Villaneueva since no one else was recruiting him as an LB.

Whether or not Ayo is living up to his ranking is not the issue. If he's healthy then he can contribute here and would be a fantastic addition to this roster, along with Hart.

CheifKeith91 · Jan 9, 2021

Title said:
Unless he improved a lot, Ayo wasn’t a good ball player. His actual play wasn’t anywhere near his projection. There are much better options out there.

Can’t you make that same case for pretty much every other Texas defender?

FT35 · Jan 9, 2021

moggs3 said:
I want Ayodele Adeoye and have known the last 2 weeks he was likely entering the portal. I also believe we land Ayodele Adeoye. Was more worried about Mizzou with Mookie than I am Ayodele.

Based on Twitter followers it looks like ILL, Oregon, or FSU for Houston Griffith. Griffith was committed to FSU and they worry me a bit.

Not sure if this helps us or not but Houston Griffith, Ayodele Adeoye, Brian Hightower, Verdis Brown and Tre Riggins were all at the IMG Academy in 2017:

IMG Academy Football Roster (2017-18) - MaxPreps.com

View the 17-18 IMG Academy varsity football team roster. Tj Pledger, Houston Griffith, Dominic Mcafee, Josh Delgado, Artur Sitkowski and more.

www.maxpreps.com

Title · Jan 9, 2021

Positive illini fan said:
You’ve been constantly critical of anyone from STL who didn’t attend ESL. And what did texas find out? Kid started 10+ games for them. He was injured.

No I haven't been critical however you are dead set on an ESL narrative. Whether it is the coach not liking Illinois or this current statement. In football, there are kids that have an impact and there are kids that don't. It's not theory, its facts. List one kid that I was critical of that proved me wrong. I will wait.

The question I have is do we want to be a good football team or chase names that for the past several years have not amounted to good football players. I give an observation from inside knowledge having seen the kids actually play in person. There are several kids from STL and the metro east that are doing well. You will see one start WR for Ohio State on Monday night. I am just not a hype person. Did you know James Knight was rated higher than Stanley Green? Which one produced for Illinois and which one didn't? It is not about who I like, its about who can help Illinois become a consistent good football team. He played in 13 games and had 45 total tackles at LB. That's 3 tackles a game. Is that really the kind of production you are looking for? If so, I stand corrected. I would want and expect more. Just my opinion.

Positive illini fan · Jan 9, 2021

Title said:
No I haven't been critical however you are dead set on an ESL narrative. Whether it is the coach not liking Illinois or this current statement. In football, there are kids that have an impact and there are kids that don't. It's not theory, its facts. List one kid that I was critical of that proved me wrong. I will wait.

The question I have is do we want to be a good football team or chase names that for the past several years have not amounted to good football players. I give an observation from inside knowledge having seen the kids actually play in person. There are several kids from STL and the metro east that are doing well. You will see one start WR for Ohio State on Monday night. I am just not a hype person. Did you know James Knight was rated higher than Stanley Green? Which one produced for Illinois and which one didn't? It is not about who I like, its about who can help Illinois become a consistent good football team. He played in 13 games and had 45 total tackles at LB. That's 3 tackles a game. Is that really the kind of production you are looking for? If so, I stand corrected. I would want and expect more. Just my opinion.

You were hyping up this guy during the summer and complaining that we took sedarius McConnell over him. You said that they were the same level player, well this guy is still unsigned. https://247sports.com/Player/Daine-Hanson-46096652

And for your comment about the texas LB, we can’t expect much more then a junior from another P5 team with 10+ starts. He has 55 tackles, 3 TFL, 2.5 sacks and a pick for his career. We have currently 3 healthy LB’s for spring ball. Turning our noses up at a player who has started games at a much more successful program then ours seems ridiculous.

Title · Jan 9, 2021

Positive illini fan said:
You were hyping up this guy during the summer and complaining that we took sedarius McConnell over him. You said that they were the same level player, well this guy is still unsigned. https://247sports.com/Player/Daine-Hanson-46096652

And for your comment about the texas LB, we can’t expect much more then a junior from another P5 team with 10+ starts. He has 55 tackles, 3 TFL, 2.5 sacks and a pick for his career. We have currently 3 healthy LB’s for spring ball. Turning our noses up at a player who has started games at a much more successful program then ours seems ridiculous.

so you point out a kid from Chicago who didn’t sign early to prove what point? I am confused. Is the other kid from STL?

yes he played for Texas. Are we looking to duplicate the previous years? My thought is we are looking to be a lot better. Taking Texas left overs who hasn’t really produced is not the way in my opinion. I can respect your opinion and I see your point but I disagree.

Title · Jan 9, 2021

Positive illini fan said:
You were hyping up this guy during the summer and complaining that we took sedarius McConnell over him. You said that they were the same level player, well this guy is still unsigned. https://247sports.com/Player/Daine-Hanson-46096652

And for your comment about the texas LB, we can’t expect much more then a junior from another P5 team with 10+ starts. He has 55 tackles, 3 TFL, 2.5 sacks and a pick for his career. We have currently 3 healthy LB’s for spring ball. Turning our noses up at a player who has started games at a much more successful program then ours seems ridiculous.

The kid also hasn’t played a senior season yet considering what is happening in Illinois. Really not sure your point on this one. He also had an offer from the hottest DC in college football. So Freeman and I see things the same I guess!!

mikeyo · Jan 9, 2021

russell wilson fighting GIF by Team Coco

PackofIllini12 · Jan 9, 2021

Title said:
so you point out a kid from Chicago who didn’t sign early to prove what point? I am confused. Is the other kid from STL?

yes he played for Texas. Are we looking to duplicate the previous years? My thought is we are looking to be a lot better. Taking Texas left overs who hasn’t really produced is not the way in my opinion. I can respect your opinion and I see your point but I disagree.

It may be “Texas’s leftovers” but if you are that thin at a position, beggars can’t be choosers...

Positive illini fan · Jan 9, 2021

Title said:
The kid also hasn’t played a senior season yet considering what is happening in Illinois. Really not sure your point on this one. He also had an offer from the hottest DC in college football. So Freeman and I see things the same I guess!!

Yes a non committable one by the looks of it. He’s plummeted in the rankings and doesn’t seem to have the ability to commit to any of his offers as he would have already done so. This was the kid you were pumping we should take over McConnell so maybe it’s fair to question your eye for talent....

And “texas leftovers” are better than anything we got on the roster. Who else should we be looking for? Please provide a name that is realistic instead of crapping on a solid player that is showing us interest

Joel Goodson · Jan 9, 2021

Positive illini fan said:
You were hyping up this guy during the summer and complaining that we took sedarius McConnell over him. You said that they were the same level player, well this guy is still unsigned. https://247sports.com/Player/Daine-Hanson-46096652

And for your comment about the texas LB, we can’t expect much more then a junior from another P5 team with 10+ starts. He has 55 tackles, 3 TFL, 2.5 sacks and a pick for his career. We have currently 3 healthy LB’s for spring ball. Turning our noses up at a player who has started games at a much more successful program then ours seems ridiculous.

If I could like this a million times, I would.

Title · Jan 9, 2021

Positive illini fan said:
Yes a non committable one by the looks of it. He’s plummeted in the rankings and doesn’t seem to have the ability to commit to any of his offers as he would have already done so. This was the kid you were pumping we should take over McConnell so maybe it’s fair to question your eye for talent....

And “texas leftovers” are better than anything we got on the roster. Who else should we be looking for? Please provide a name that is realistic instead of crapping on a solid player that is showing us interest

Time will tell my friend.

WeWillWhen · Jan 9, 2021

We need a lot of depth at LB. We don’t even have a LB a position coach yet unless I missed it. At this point “marginal LB who started at Texas” looks a lot better than what we’ve got.

illini0440 · Jan 9, 2021

jjniner said:
Mizzou!

Naw

O&BInsider · Jan 10, 2021

If Bellamy is retained, Houston will come to illinois. That’s Houston’s godfather! Didn’t work out at ND. Playing time will happen, as i posted in coaching search thread I expect Bellamy to be retained. Waiting for some other things to fall in place behind the scenes. I was told yesterday Ayodele will be coming to Illinois and may even make it public in the coming days

altenberger22 · Jan 10, 2021

O&BInsider said:
If Bellamy is retained, Houston will come to illinois. That’s Houston’s godfather! Didn’t work out at ND. Playing time will happen, as i posted in coaching search thread I expect Bellamy to be retained. Waiting for some other things to fall in place behind the scenes. I was told yesterday Ayodele will be coming to Illinois and may even make it public in the coming days

Now this is a really interesting post. Didn't realize that H. Griffith and Bellamy were such good friends. Anxious to see how this one plays out. Lots of moving parts....