skyIdub
Illinois Football Recruiting Thread (February-April 2021)
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May have already been answered (haven’t read through whole thread yet), but avg rating with all signees is last in BIG — and currently lower than any of Lovie’s full classes. I know ratings don’t mean everything, Covid ratings may not be dependable, staff identifying who they want and getting them, great to see IL guys targeted, etc. — but still gives me some pause. But I’m more than willing to put my faith in BB and staff, and still believe we’re on to something good here.
Right now the ratings are suspect at best. If camps are going to happen this spring and summer, there will be a lot of movement between now and December.
I’m also going to trust the staff’s evaluations. Okla was our first commit. I believe we were also his first offer. He is currently our highest rated commit.
Leary recently had a performance at a regional camp with rave national level reviews. Per 24/7, he’s currently our second highest rated commit.
Maybe this string of commits will attracted some higher ranked guys? New coach, topnotch facilities, great academics, what’s not to like?
Illini92and96
- Austin, TX
Quality running below last years average. Hopefully a couple are underrated.
It also makes a huge difference that (perception for now) this staff can coach. The last staff was (proven over time) built around nepotism, old friends, and nap time.
Whats that, we’ve got 2 timeouts left and 67 yards to go with 45 seconds left in the half? That’s ok, I’ve got a nap to take, we’ll pick it up again in the second half.
Now it's time to coach them up and develop them
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
Who's next?
illini80
- Forgottonia
I think it’s important to remember that BB’s MO is not bringing highly ranked kids. It’s developing kids that fit his system and winning. I’ll take it.
altenberger22
- South Carolina
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
Love that we've made inroads WRT in-state recruiting. Love our targeting and closing. Now, for a bit of a step up: can we get Badie, Laughery and Pugh? Anderson is helping with Badie and Pugh, evidently. If we can get them, staff gets an A.
Obviously, next year expectations will be a little higher. But this is how good programs get built.
Obviously, next year expectations will be a little higher. But this is how good programs get built.
I remember Allen Trieu (sp?) was on werner's podcast a couple months ago and commented how BB was making the recruiting services look bad during his days at Wisconsin.
Hopefully that's still the case today. I would rather land highly rated recruits and feel confident now. Seems like we will have to wait several years to evaluate the approach.
217sports
- Springfield
Another huge thing is getting kids to recruit other kids. With Lovie, kids had to be the first and basically were walking into a wasteland. Now, kids will be talking to each other in group chats daily for 1.5+ years where they make real connections to stay together as a group and make other kids, who may be higher rated, join them. The best influence are kids your own age when you're16-18
Deleted member 747671
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Agreed. I was just answering the question lol.
In all honestly, the average player ranking being low is at least a little concern. I think this will be a rare occasion where the average will actually go up as more players are added. The commits so far are mostly OL and TE, guys where development and fit are far more important than raw prospect ranking. I think there's a good chance the current commits will be re-ranked, but even if they aren't, I don't see it as much of an issue, as these guys are clearly targets for development. Now, if on signing day, the class average is where it is now, I'd be a bit concerned, but as we add more skill and defensive players, I think it will inevitably go up. Also, I haven't even mentioned the weirdness of the year. We're dealing with probably the most under-analyzed and inaccurately rated player class in a long time.
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
Agreed. A lot of our commits were NRs when they committed. When they received ratings, those ratings reflect pretty good quality. Looks like our staff knows how to ID talent. I love that they close on kids they want. Obviously, the lower hanging fruit is going to be easier, but still.
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
Following up on my previous comment, if one was going to choose a phase 1 of a recruiting strategy, this would be it. Our execution is very encouraging. Tougher sledding ahead, but this staff gives us a fighting chance.
Deleted member 747671
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Guest
Agree with both your posts. These linemen are somewhat the "low hanging fruit" based on their initial ratings/offers. Identify the guys they want to develop and land them. I think the turning point will be coming soon, in terms of higher rating/ceiling guys. If BB and staff can pull in Pugh and Badie, then we're really cooking.
Illinivek23
- Gurnee
Pugh would be a flip from Cincy?
Deleted member 747671
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Guest
Yes. Those are 2 instate targets that are definitely a step up in terms of rating and offers from the current commits.
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
Low hanging fruit can mean several things. In my context, it was simply about these guys are easier gets than the vast majority of our future commits will be.
I'm particularly dubious about OL rankings. The OL commits seem like they belong.
Very stoked about talent ID and our closing ability, thus far. Our momentum is great. Tougher sledding ahead. It'll be interesting to see our results.
illini80
- Forgottonia
I‘d have to try to find it, but someone (maybe Werner) listed off his class rankings at Wisconsin. There were no top 25 classes in there and i believe 35 was his best. Again, I’d have to do some looking to find that and I could be off by a few.
I’m not too too worried about the average stars. Can’t say I have any knowledge of new staff’s ability to find diamonds in the rough, but it’s not like we’re loading up with guys in the 1600-2000 range. These young men we’re getting are jumping on board quick, before any OVs and showing enthusiasm already about recruiting others. Sometimes that lack of star power comes without egos, which probably translates to being coachable.
And we have to be realistic in year one about which programs we can hope to out-recruit.
I think there’s great reason to be stoked, even with tempering that new-car feeling.
And we have to be realistic in year one about which programs we can hope to out-recruit.
I think there’s great reason to be stoked, even with tempering that new-car feeling.
Looked it up earlier today and I think his top was 32, with most being in the 40s. I also think he was consistently in the 7-9 range in conference. So clearly his skill set is identifying and developing talent rather than recruiting the highest rated guys. Thst does make me feel way better about the relatively low ratings of these recruits.
I’d say he did a pretty good job of developing a few of his walk-ons at Wisconsin too…
Deleted member 747671
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Agree with all this. I was thinking along those same lines. The low hanging fruit in my eyes were the relatively local OL/TE guys that had few/no offers. They identified them as guys they wanted and were able to close with relative ease.
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