Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

#251      

Simeon Rice

S
Simeon Rice
Mr. Tibbs said:
It’s just that it makes it easier for the coaches come summer camp and the season if more of your players are super quick or super large & strong .
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While I directionally agree with your premise, I don't think we can ignore the fact that the premise held a lot more weight when BB was hired and long before that. This is a new age where $$ legally buys recruits (hi, Mizzou) and the transfer portal drastically reduces the average recruit's time on campus

Give BB and staff 4+ years to shape AJ Dennis, Calvin Smith, Zach Tobe, J. Knight, etc. and we'd feel pretty good. But, it's near impossible to be a developmental school these days, so if you aren't landing big time prep talent, you are at a significant disadvantage.
 
#253      

Old.Edgy

O
Old.Edgy
Mr. Tibbs said:
obviously , we all want a roster loaded with 5* & 4* talent as opposed to just having one or two

BUT

it’s not like teams are destined for 5-7 or 4-8 seasons if they are not . It’s just that it makes it easier for the coaches come summer camp and the season if more of your players are super quick or super large & strong .

we need to give the process time .
I have faith in BB . As a team , we are better now than every year since 2007. Good things will start happening soon .
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Over this past 3 year span, we are better than we've been since the 1990's....
 
#254      

Dkayak

D
Dkayak
poor dirt farmer said:
We are so fortunate that Coach Bielema was willing to take this extremely difficult job. The long game and laying the foundation is more important than individual recruits. We have to be patient myself included. We need to do everything we can to Support this coach and this program. Josh and coach Bielema are doing are great job building a program we can be proud of. Better days are ahead.
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I much prefer gradually building a sound foundation to another flash in the pan. Patience. Enjoy the ride in this phase . . . competitive games and no blowouts, whether we go 7-5, 6-6, or even 5-7.
 
#255      

Fly Illini Fly!

F
Fly Illini Fly!
Everyone thinks Derek Simmons is going to MSU?

Don't know much about him...unranked in the composite...but the Illini Inquirer guys were raving about him so...🤷‍♂️
 
#262      

Fly Illini Fly!

F
Fly Illini Fly!
illinidarrin said:
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1802785623771639847
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This guy might be a little bit underrated tbh. Don't sleep on him as a "oh just a typical 3 star..."

We thought Malik Elzy was the guy that sort of fits the mold of "big WR" - he's 6"2, 200 - this guy's 6"4 200...

He's got great speed as well: "Ran junior 200-meter times of 23.00 and 23.10, per MileSplit. Added a 53.38 400-meter rep", according to 247 sports. Terrific in the physical tools department.

We seem like the frontrunner...right? Certainly Hope so. Would be a terrific add IMO to an already good WR room...
 
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#263      

KingWolf11

KingWolf11
KingWolf11
Saw a clip of Bret saying were at a huge disadvantage vs the rest of the country when trying to admit guys into school who have played multiple years elsewhere.

Is this why he didn't go all in on the portal right away?
 
#265      

IllinoisssssssVarsity

I
IllinoisssssssVarsity
Fly Illini Fly! said:
This guy might be a little bit underrated tbh. Don't sleep on him as a "oh just a typical 3 star..."

We thought Malik Elzy was the guy that sort of fits the mold of "big WR" - he's 6"2, 200 - this guy's 6"4 200...

He's got great speed as well: "Ran junior 200-meter times of 23.00 and 23.10, per MileSplit. Added a 53.38 400-meter rep", according to 247 sports. Terrific in the physical tools department.

We seem like the frontrunner...right? Certainly Hope so. Would be a terrific add IMO to an already good WR room...
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Those times aren’t indicative of great speed…
 
#266      

therealmiket86

T
therealmiket86
Fly Illini Fly! said:
This guy might be a little bit underrated tbh. Don't sleep on him as a "oh just a typical 3 star..."

We thought Malik Elzy was the guy that sort of fits the mold of "big WR" - he's 6"2, 200 - this guy's 6"4 200...

He's got great speed as well: "Ran junior 200-meter times of 23.00 and 23.10, per MileSplit. Added a 53.38 400-meter rep", according to 247 sports. Terrific in the physical tools department.

We seem like the frontrunner...right? Certainly Hope so. Would be a terrific add IMO to an already good WR room...
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Clayton lakatos ran a 21.51 200m
 
#269      

Indy Illini Fan

Indy Illini Fan
Indy Illini Fan
KingWolf11 said:
Saw a clip of Bret saying were at a huge disadvantage vs the rest of the country when trying to admit guys into school who have played multiple years elsewhere.

Is this why he didn't go all in on the portal right away?
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It’s part of it …

To just be very honest … If you win games … You also get more of a pass sometimes on academic standards …

TJ wasn’t going to get in here until Brad and Josh pushed the issue …

Some may remember Josiah Knight ? He wound up getting to campus and getting removed from the team due to academic issues that weren’t a big deal at all but academic people weren’t willing to negotiate on it … Sometimes that’s just how it goes … 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
#270      

FloridaMan

F
FloridaMan
Indy Illini Fan said:
It’s part of it …

To just be very honest … If you win games … You also get more of a pass sometimes on academic standards …

TJ wasn’t going to get in here until Brad and Josh pushed the issue …

Some may remember Josiah Knight ? He wound up getting to campus and getting removed from the team due to academic issues that weren’t a big deal at all but academic people weren’t willing to negotiate on it … Sometimes that’s just how it goes … 🤷🏻‍♂️
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Yep, the academic "elitists" have been our own worst enemy through the years. Kudos to JW for breaking through some of that recently.