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Illinois Football Recruiting Thread
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Illinivek23
- Gurnee
Really like this pickup and coming from the far NW suburbs that has drifted up or out to WI or IA.
This staff has done a great job - solid year of defensive improvement will help build some momentum going forward to stack a few classes together. Super excited for this season!
This staff has done a great job - solid year of defensive improvement will help build some momentum going forward to stack a few classes together. Super excited for this season!
For those who still question, 0440 posted at 11:59. BB’s official tweet was at 12:33.
He has sources. Lay off the man.
He's my go to also...I thought he was saying he didn't know. Pretty ambiguous.
Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
Brian Allen Jr. isn't listed on the state of Illinois rankings on 247 composite for some reason (Link to 247), but he would be the 5th player in the top 20 of 2022 that BB has snagged.
For reference here is the list of top 20 Illinois kids we've grabbed the last 5 seasons:
2021: 0
2020: 0
2019: 1 (Randolph)
2018: 2 (Coran, Slaughter)
2017: 4 (Smalling, Green, Oladipo, Kendall Smith)
For reference here is the list of top 20 Illinois kids we've grabbed the last 5 seasons:
2021: 0
2020: 0
2019: 1 (Randolph)
2018: 2 (Coran, Slaughter)
2017: 4 (Smalling, Green, Oladipo, Kendall Smith)
He’s no longer playing in IL, but rather CT.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Joel Goodson
- dawgville
Very, very clearly, recruiting is a work in progress. But you’d be borderline nuts to not be pretty encouraged by the staff’s initial foray. Definitely something to build on. Gotta have some success on the field.
Yep, two of the staff’s top goals going in were recruit Illinois and get some O-linemen into the system. Certainly have hit the ground running in those areas. A year to build relationships and hopefully some success on the field, and things could get interesting next year and beyond for recruiting.
It was meant like a Jordan shrug haha
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
This staff has as much recruiting momentum now as they will ever have, the data is unambiguously crystal clear on that.
Luckily, they are doing very well, no caveats, no qualifiers.
It's all a coherent plan. A sight for sore eyes.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Getting an instate recruit from the Chicago suburbs over Iowa and having him phrase it as “staying home” is more valuable than just his on-the-field attributes!
Let’s keep changing the perception!
Let’s keep changing the perception!
These early returns are equally impressive seeing that the staff was coming together through the recruiting cycle. They started at disadvantage but have still accomplished a lot. Excited for the returns after a full season, clearer vision of the teams offensive/defensive philosophies, and hopefully wins/competitive play!!
I’m not sure if I should be sad or optimistic. Wins will go a long way.
Are we bigger than everybody right now or kinda average? Basically are we being boosted by raw numbers at the moment?
Yes, we are being boosted a bit by raw numbers. Our average rating on 247 is last in the conference, and we have more commits than everyone except Penn St. and MSU. That being said, our average rating is slightly higher than the last two recruiting cycles, and a lot of our more recent recruits are also our higher rated recruits in this class.
Edit: I'll also note that there are 5 Big Ten teams, including Indiana(!!), whose average rating is higher than our highest rated recruit (Shawn Miller). That's not an especially fun stat, but I think just kind of illustrates how tough a recruiting situation BB inherited.
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mhuml32
- Cincinnati, OH
For comparison, here is the AVG scores for each Big Ten team's 2022 recruiting class and their equivalency of the average individual recruit in the class (also included their overall class ranking for context):
Penn State (#1 recruiting class): ~260th ranked recruit
Ohio State (#3 recruiting class): ~156th
Michigan (#15 recruiting class): ~386th
Rutgers (#17 recruiting class): ~431st
Michigan State (#19 recruiting class): ~618th
Indiana (#25 recruiting class): ~440th
Northwestern (#33 recruiting class): ~657th
Purdue (#39 recruiting class): ~859th
Illinois (#40 recruiting class): ~1035th
Maryland (#42 recruiting class): ~641st
Wisconsin (#46 recruiting class): ~573rd
Minnesota (#47 recruiting class): ~867th
Iowa (#59 recruiting class): ~601st
Nebraska (#65 recruiting class): ~730th
Good stuff. Thank you.
Illinivek23
- Gurnee
As others have said - give this staff a couple years to form some relationships + on-field performance. No reason why we can't be up there behind the Top 3 in any given year
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
WOW! Sure makes you wonder how we can ever compete against the likes of OSU and PSU. That's quite a talent differential.
It's not happening overnight, that's for sure. But look at the classes Rutgers and Indiana
have put together. There is hope yet.Yeesh, the gulf between the B1G East & West is quite apparent.
Looking at 247 a little further, it looks to me like Selah Brown is the only outstanding recruit we have a legitimate chance at who would raise our average rating. Unless I'm missing some people, our current commits rise in the ratings, or there are some big surprises come signing day, I think it's likely the average rating will end up right around where it has the last couple years under Lovie.
I'm not saying that's bad. Ratings aren't the whole story. And BB doesn't really have a winning program or a ton of playing time to sell at this point. I think from an expectations standpoint, BB isn't the Zook type who is going to recruit his way to wins. Some on-the-field signs of improvement are going to have to come first, and the recruiting is going to have to follow.
I'm not saying that's bad. Ratings aren't the whole story. And BB doesn't really have a winning program or a ton of playing time to sell at this point. I think from an expectations standpoint, BB isn't the Zook type who is going to recruit his way to wins. Some on-the-field signs of improvement are going to have to come first, and the recruiting is going to have to follow.
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