Illinois Football Recruiting Thread (February-April 2021)

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#2      
GilThorpe
can someone with insight to the numbers help with
a. what recruits we signed in Dec have enrolled early
b. with all the allowed dating “games “ we can take advantage of , what number of remaining spots we still have towards the 25 new faces allowed for this 2021 class ?

we have need for quality players almost everywhere , but doesn’t it seem we are still in need of another experience WR ?
 
#3      
OffseasonFanatic
Interested to see what final additions we add to the 2021 class this Wednesday and what other (if any) transfers we add to the roster.
 
#4      
illini80
GilThorpe said:
can someone with insight to the numbers help with
a. what recruits we signed in Dec have enrolled early
b. with all the allowed dating “games “ we can take advantage of , what number of remaining spots we still have towards the 25 new faces allowed for this 2021 class ?

we have need for quality players almost everywhere , but doesn’t it seem we are still in need of another experience WR ?
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I can’t answer your questions, but BB said there are 2 already on campus in his press conference and that they expected to sign another couple guys on signing day.
 
#5      
mhuml32
Illinois continue to creep into Southern Wisconsin and make offers to '22 prospects. Today was Isaac Hamm. Before Bielema, who was the last Wisconsin recruit offered by Illinois? Not sure how much interest we'll garner from these recruits but it sure feels like we'll continually be a thorn in Wisconsin's side as long as Bielema is here. I'm more just hoping Illinois can become more successful in the Northern Illinois area (Hello Lake Zurich) instead of each of those solid recruits heading to Madison.
 
#6      
GilThorpe
mhuml32 said:
who was the last Wisconsin recruit offered by Illinois?
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Austin Roberts in like 2014. he was a FB/TE/LB. a three star recruit that didn't do a whole lot for us.
that was like our only recruit out of Wiscy last decade that I can remember.

traditionally we get just about NO ONE from Wisc, Iowa , Minn or Nebraska. Michigan and Penn are good for like 1 every 2 or 3 years.

Besides Indiana and Missouri, the fact we recruit so terribly with bordering states or those within 200 miles of our border is hard to comprehend other than we have been so terrible as a program. I suppose if you are going out of state, best to focus on the southern states where there is a bunch more talent.
 
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#7      
bluemountain
mhuml32 said:
Illinois continue to creep into Southern Wisconsin and make offers to '22 prospects. Today was Isaac Hamm. Before Bielema, who was the last Wisconsin recruit offered by Illinois? Not sure how much interest we'll garner from these recruits but it sure feels like we'll continually be a thorn in Wisconsin's side as long as Bielema is here. I'm more just hoping Illinois can become more successful in the Northern Illinois area (Hello Lake Zurich) instead of each of those solid recruits heading to Madison.
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We recruited a few decent players out of WI in the pre-Alvarez days - Wagner Lester and Chris Koerwitz come to mind. Since then we have been completely shut out
 
#8      
OffseasonFanatic
GilThorpe said:
can someone with insight to the numbers help with
a. what recruits we signed in Dec have enrolled early
b. with all the allowed dating “games “ we can take advantage of , what number of remaining spots we still have towards the 25 new faces allowed for this 2021 class ?

we have need for quality players almost everywhere , but doesn’t it seem we are still in need of another experience WR ?
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a. I think 4 of the 2021 signees have enrolled early
b. I expect 2 more signees and add another transfer
 
#9      
pvaughn8
I remember last spring, a few people here were saying that recruiting was going to be unlike any other year with decommitments happening all over the place. Didn't really seem to work out that way and it feels pretty much like any other year.

The hope was "yes Lovie is missing out on all the recruits, but a lot of currently committed players will be available later."
 
#10      
Simeon Rice
pvaughn8 said:
I remember last spring, a few people here were saying that recruiting was going to be unlike any other year with decommitments happening all over the place. Didn't really seem to work out that way and it feels pretty much like any other year.

The hope was "yes Lovie is missing out on all the recruits, but a lot of currently committed players will be available later."
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Or when, around that same time, we had a resident message board hero (Twangers??) insisting that Lovie was going to land a slew of highly-ranked Texans. And then Lovie went on to produce just about the worst 3-4 month recruiting stint without landing a single commit....from anywhere
 
#11      
Deleted member 747671
pvaughn8 said:
I remember last spring, a few people here were saying that recruiting was going to be unlike any other year with decommitments happening all over the place. Didn't really seem to work out that way and it feels pretty much like any other year.

The hope was "yes Lovie is missing out on all the recruits, but a lot of currently committed players will be available later."
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I think that was just speculation. This year's recruiting was unlike any other. The idea was that kids were jumping on offers early to "reserve" their spot so as not to be recruited over or lose a chance at a scholarship because there was so much unknown about how Covid would affect class sizes, transfers, etc. So the follow up thought was that once things settled down some kids would start looking around more, while still being committed to their original school. That seems to have never really materialized. My guess is because the recruiting hasn't actually changed yet. There's still no actual visits, still limited film, etc.
 
#12      
pvaughn8
WINTer said:
I think that was just speculation. This year's recruiting was unlike any other. The idea was that kids were jumping on offers early to "reserve" their spot so as not to be recruited over or lose a chance at a scholarship because there was so much unknown about how Covid would affect class sizes, transfers, etc. So the follow up thought was that once things settled down some kids would start looking around more, while still being committed to their original school. That seems to have never really materialized. My guess is because the recruiting hasn't actually changed yet. There's still no actual visits, still limited film, etc.
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Yeah that sounds right. I wasn't holding out any hope that it would happen at the time. It would be nice for BB of that were the case however
 
#13      
Deleted member 747671
Lots of '22 offers going out. Interesting group so far from what I've seen on twitter. 4 star DT committed to Michigan and 4 star QB committed to Tennessee.
 
#14      
EyeoftheIllini
Also a 3-star OL from Memphis — also 2022. Looks like he might be DT. 247 has him listed as OL at top of his profile, but DT elsewhere in profile.
 
#15      
Deleted member 747671
Lots of 3 star offers out there too. Was just mentioning a couple notables as they're very highly rated and already committed to high level programs. Will be exciting to see how the next year progresses. I don't want to read too much into these offers at this early of a stage but did find it interesting that the QB from Georgia had previously been offered by App State. Petersen must be heading that one.
 
#16      
CheifKeith91
It’s refreshing to see offers just going out. Biggest problem I had with Lovie was we’d have 1/4 the offers as other programs. Putting all our eggs in a few baskets, and having no planB killed us
 
#17      
Deleted member 747867
CheifKeith91 said:
It’s refreshing to see offers just going out. Biggest problem I had with Lovie was we’d have 1/4 the offers as other programs. Putting all our eggs in a few baskets, and having no planB killed us
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Don't put too much stock in how many offers go out. There is a balance to be struck. Some schools (including big name programs) regularly put out 200 or even upwards of 300 or more "offers," knowing they only have 25 +/- scholarships to give each year. That borders on unethical to even the most liberal ear (and completely crosses the line, if you ask me!). So, I'm not concerned if the Illini only offer 1/4 the number of offers Screw-you U offers.

I would be more focused on recruiting the right talent AND mentality of player to fit the program you want to build. Sure, offers need to be made to more than 25 players, because no school is likely to get all of its top recruits (Alabama being the possible exception, ha!). But there is a prize aspect of these offers to be valued. They represent tens of thousands of $$$ worth of education, including room and board. Illinois coaches need to be selective who they offer and build a reputation for being genuine in their recruitment and serious in their offers to the players they have targeted to be a part of their TEAM.
 
#18      
BRucks
pvaughn8 said:
I remember last spring, a few people here were saying that recruiting was going to be unlike any other year with decommitments happening all over the place. Didn't really seem to work out that way and it feels pretty much like any other year.

The hope was "yes Lovie is missing out on all the recruits, but a lot of currently committed players will be available later."
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It ain't over till the fat lady sings. Expect more movement after spring ball, assuming spring ball happens. Some guys are going to find themselves buried on the depth chart at that point and look for greener pastures.
 
#19      
pvaughn8
BRucks said:
It ain't over till the fat lady sings. Expect more movement after spring ball, assuming spring ball happens. Some guys are going to find themselves buried on the depth chart at that point and look for greener pastures.
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I was talking high school recruits, not transfers
 
#21      
Dandy1
Who are the 2 commits that signed today?
 
#22      
Dan

Josh McCray - 2020-21 - Football - University of Illinois Athletics

Josh McCrayRunning back - • Three-star recruit by 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals • Position ranks: #103 (247), #125 (ESPN) • State ranks: #35 (Rivals), #75 (ESPN),
fightingillini.com fightingillini.com

Dwayne Johnson - 2020-21 - Football - University of Illinois Athletics

Dwayne JohnsonLinebacker - • Three-star recruit by 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals • Position ranks: #89 (247), #171 (ESPN) • State ranks: #114 (247), #184 (ESPN) •
fightingillini.com fightingillini.com
 
#24      
New Creation
All the guys Lovie brought on.. if you look at their offer list.. ouch.. Recruiting was going the wrong direction. We can see with the 2 recruits and the transfers coming in with BB, the uptick in talent will come fast and quick because roster spots are open for the taking.
 
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