Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
#826      
Chukwuwumba
I don’t understand the whole transfer/prep recruiting...
Prep recruiting is a marathon. Apparently staff tells recruits to wait to see campus, facilities, people. Wait for senior year tape also. Staff is slow, doesn’t do as well relative to big ten.

However, transfer recruiting is a sprint. Name in the portal, have to reach out right away, lots of effort, commit happens soon. Relationships not as strong (probably). Sometimes players are backups, not much college tape. Staff does well here.

Does the staff just not want prep recruits??? Take a dozen each class, ones with high potential (IW, Beason) or body potential projects (big frame and athletic)? Mix in a few depth/fit pieces like brown and Witherspoon.

Transfers had some time in college, used to environment? Less prep recruits, more opportunities for transfers?
 
#827      
ROFOIllini
Jguede said:
Um I think you might of missed a couple....Peter's and Eifler our leading passer and 3rd leading tackler and what about Navarro not counting him?
Click to expand...

I agree about Navarro's contribution and this isn't meant to diminish him, but I'm not sure he fits into the "Transfer U" narrative. While he's obviously a transfer, he came in as a walk-on. It's not like the staff prioritized him over a high school player at the time he came aboard.
 
#828      
illinoistradition
pvaughn8 said:
I'm only complaining about recruiting here. My concern is that his recruiting has already peaked (Beason and Williams class) due to a combination of new coaching regime and CP hire. Last year got off to a really slow start and low and behold, resulted in a small underwhelming class. Now this year another ridiculously slow start and nothing to show yet for the 6-7 season.
Click to expand...

It might have been small because there is something called scholarship limits. They had a small senior class, thus it is leading to a small freshman class. It’s not rocket science.
 
#829      
pvaughn8
illinoistradition said:
It might have been small because there is something called scholarship limits. They had a small senior class, thus it is leading to a small freshman class. It’s not rocket science.
Click to expand...
Well aware of the limit, but we weren't even able to fill to the limit. And besides the quantity, very underwhelming. Zero 4 star and a significant step down from the class prior.
 
#830      
thunderwear
ILL_INI said:
Express any sort of doubt as to the direction of the program, question any action of the head coach or reflect on his performance and get labeled a hater. What a testament to public discourse in these times!

I'm curious, what new excuses will the Lovie-lovers give if the squad finishes below average? And when will the Lovie-lovers finally start a Lovie Loyalty board? There, they can discuss their love of nepotism and how Lovie can do no wrong, and anyone who disagrees can be labeled a troll, and, of course, a hater.
Click to expand...

i think his argument, or at least mine. Is that Lovie isn’t being lazy. He has a way that he believes it should be done. MOst of it is based on being a pro. If Lovie doesn’t qualify for a bowl this year, he should be fired. And, the team was competitive last year. It’s not too much to expect and believe the same this year. Whether his non traditional vision for NCAA football works, is yet to be determined. Although our prep recruiting leaves a lot to be desired, our transfer recruiting has been exceptional. So has our scouting. We have pulled players that are very good, that were not even on radars and there has been quite a bit of success (witherspoon, brown, Barnes, etc.) . The notion that Lovie isn’t on par with expectations is arguable, but a dislike for his style doesn’t mean he is doing poorly. We are trending up with wins and our roster is improving Lovie has had success in the nfl and I believe deserves the benefit of the doubt. And, if we don’t qualify for a bowl, this is a different conversation
 
#831      
Deleted member 656517
Jguede said:
Um I think you might of missed a couple....Peter's and Eifler our leading passer and 3rd leading tackler and what about Navarro not counting him?
Click to expand...
Lol I was drunk commenting give me a break. I stand corrected
 
#832      
Jguede
ILL_INI said:
Don't even try. No, you cannot give Smith a Mulligan for the first year. That's ridiculous. Kansas State was winless the two seasons prior to Snyder, and he led them to 7 wins (no bowl back then) in year three, and 9, 9 and 10 wins in years five through seven. Look, we all understand rebuilding a football program is difficult, but don't bother trying to compare Smith to Snyder.
Click to expand...
Oh how dare I show optimism on this board...and by the way your the one comparing I'm just reporting the records, I figure data is better than your opinion...by the way 5 through seven dont count in this situation because Lovie hasn't coached those yet.
 
#833      
Jguede
ILL_INI said:
Express any sort of doubt as to the direction of the program, question any action of the head coach or reflect on his performance and get labeled a hater. What a testament to public discourse in these times!

I'm curious, what new excuses will the Lovie-lovers give if the squad finishes below average? And when will the Lovie-lovers finally start a Lovie Loyalty board? There, they can discuss their love of nepotism and how Lovie can do no wrong, and anyone who disagrees can be labeled a troll, and, of course, a hater.
Click to expand...
No one said you weren't entitled to your opinion and when it is expressed on a public board expect folks to disgree respectfully with it.
 
#834      
Jguede
bluemountain said:
Complete apples to oranges....Snyder was an unknown going into a school with zero football history, terrible facilities, no national brand name and next to nothing in terms of local recruiting. Not saying Lovie came into a great situation by any means, but he came in with strong name recognition to a school coming off 6 and 5 win seasons and a Rose Bowl appearance within the decade. UI is within a 2 hour drive of what, 15 million people? Face it, Lovie was in a great position to come in and effect a pretty quick turnaround and he squandered that opportunity. If he wins 7 or more this year he has earned some more time.
Click to expand...
A great situation...a lame duck coach and a medical scandal with Tim Beckman? Are you serious.
 
#835      
mikeyo
ILL_INI said:
So we're now blaming Dan for the recruiting failures of the staff? Do we really need to stoop this low looking for excuses? Seriously, some of you guys need to create your own board.
Click to expand...

1588542863611.png
 
#836      
KevinC
Jguede said:
A great situation...a lame duck coach and a medical scandal with Tim Beckman? Are you serious.
Click to expand...
And, the worst football facilities in the B1G. Even today, many of the guys currently being recruited have never seen the new facilities.
 
#837      
pvaughn8
Jguede said:
Oh how dare I show optimism on this board...and by the way your the one comparing I'm just reporting the records, I figure data is better than your opinion...by the way 5 through seven dont count in this situation because Lovie hasn't coached those yet.
Click to expand...
Cherry picked data. If you want to present data, just give it straight and you can comment on the side why you don't hold year 1 against him.
 
#840      
Deleted member 746648
“For me to be the first big commit in the Class of 2021, it’s an honor and I’m going to try to bring more guys in and get this class rolling,” Green said. “They say that we’re recruiting certain guys. We got to wait and see.”

Shots fired at Collier considering green is rated lower. 247 has him as a wr but evidently he's a DB which is definitely a bigger need for us at the moment.
 
#843      
thunderwear
A few thoughts, Keynodo is in on some DBs that are under the radar. I haven't see their tapes yet, but a few seem good. Not sure if I would say great. He is building it within his vision for what he needs to execute on Lovie's defense. Prince is a good example. Prince is a great athlete with exceptional speed and is raw. Having some depth pieces, like witherspoon and beason, he has some time to grow into the role. His tape doesn't jump at me like Witherspoons did (and he still has a year of growth). When I saw Witherspoons tape, I was blown away that he wasn't even in consideration (and got a lot of flack for my over-the-top adulation for a no star defensive back). Prince, has more growth to make, but his speed and athleticism make me think he will be a key contributor as he progresses in his career. He could probably step in at Safety sooner than cornerback. but he would likely be able to play either position and will be a key depth piece early and will take a role later.

We have had 6 commitments since the pandemic (5 transfers and 1 prep). As much as many do no like this, I do not think this suggests we are so far behind. Although we are unaware of any 4 stars that we are in on, there are many names that keep popping up for solid-high 3 stars that I was unaware. My bigest concern for the future is at DB and WR, so I hope we can make some moves. But overall, good WRs are not difficult to find on the transfer market.
 
#844      
ILL_INI
thunderwear said:
When I saw Witherspoons tape, I was blown away that he wasn't even in consideration (and got a lot of flack for my over-the-top adulation for a no star defensive back).
Click to expand...
I don't recall any flack for your adulation of Witherspoon. What I do recall was flack, from me, over your over-the-top adulation for the recruiting job Hudson and the staff did.
thunderwear said:
We have had 6 commitments since the pandemic (5 transfers and 1 prep). As much as many do no like this, I do not think this suggests we are so far behind.
Click to expand...
The five transfers counted towards the 2020 class. There is still one scholarship available for 2020 and twenty-one (21!) scholarships available for 2021. The staff is very much behind.
 
#847      
Jguede
pvaughn8 said:
Cherry picked data. If you want to present data, just give it straight and you can comment on the side why you don't hold year 1 against him.
Click to expand...
Bill Snyder hired end November Lovie hired end of March big difference in the ability to recruit and train for their first year makes a big deal.
 
#848      
bluemountain
Jguede said:
A great situation...a lame duck coach and a medical scandal with Tim Beckman? Are you serious.
Click to expand...
Lovie was a well known name nationally, had coaching contacts galore and plenty of PT to sell. It's not like the team had gone 0-12 in '14 and '15 - they went to a bowl game in '14 and went 5-7 in '15, and were very competitive in most of their losses. So yeah, he had an opportunity to come in and really have a big and quick impact on the program. I was jacked about the hire; pretty much the entire Illini nation was jacked. I guess he did have an impact, only it was in the wrong direction. He hired a crappy staff and blew a good two years in recruiting and we won 9 games the next 3 years.

I'd love for him to be successful and hope he can win 7 or 8 games this year while recruiting some decent talent. He has all his players and have a ton of experience, so no good excuse not to get there. My fear though is that the "expert" projections showing us last in the Big 10 West will be correct and that we will go ofer after winning the first 4 against a bunch of chumps.
 
#849      
wewillwint
Arguing with the Lovie haters is a waste of time. Anyone who wants to have optimism is entitled to all their orange koolade cup can hold.
 
#850      
Positive illini fan
I’m hearing some great things about a TE out of TX and a WR from Houston. Ben postma and Cameron Bonner are both guys that could be very real possibilities. I will also release a possible depth chart with the transfers included.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back