Illinois Football Recruiting Thread

#326      
Virtue4
madillini4 said:
My cousin is the head coach at oconomowoc. Man did they get screwed with playoff seeding. Still should’ve beaten case in the first round, but winning the classic 8 and having to play a first round playoff game on the road is crazy.
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I was at the game between them and Arrowhead, great hs football.

The seeding makes zero sense.
 
#327      
Illini-Rule
#328      
Battle89
RockfordIllini said:
Also, highly ranked = NIL dollars, and it seems like the strategy is devote the bulk of NIL to player retention and portal needs.

To me it’s a really smart strategy given where we are at NIL wise. We can’t afford many misses on big NIL offers, and there’s just to much variance with outcomes for high school recruits to make those investments worthwhile at this point. And O Line probably presents the biggest variance. Better to go after the lesser ranked O Line recruits that have the frame you like and try and develop them.
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Agree Rockford but I still worry that the development angle might be a bit outdated. Might still be our best chance but nothing stopping a situation where we have developed (and paid NIL, and increased NIL each year to retain) a player and a bigger school swoops in with a bigger offer Jr or Sr year.

I'd hate to be a 'feeder' school in that respect, though again I don't have any better answer.
 
#329      
mhuml32
Battle89 said:
Agree Rockford but I still worry that the development angle might be a bit outdated. Might still be our best chance but nothing stopping a situation where we have developed (and paid NIL, and increased NIL each year to retain) a player and a bigger school swoops in with a bigger offer Jr or Sr year.

I'd hate to be a 'feeder' school in that respect, though again I don't have any better answer.
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It could be outdated, or the less desirable approach. But similar to playing golf at a municipal course or becoming a country club member, you can only live the latter if you have the requisite funds.


Illinois doesn't have the necessary funds to spend a sizable portion of their budget for prep recruiting to get involved in that game. There's higher risk spending money on high school preps than transfer portal. Illinois couldn't get a player like Jacas in the transfer portal because he would get interest from better programs with more money than Illinois, so the only chance Illinois gets a player like that is from prep recruiting.
 
#330      
Indy Illini Fan
Virtue4 said:
Fellow Illini,

My nephew, Brendan Foley, is up for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel football player of the year award. I'd really appreciate the Board's help in bringing this home. He is definitely a kid that should get a look as at least a PWO.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/spor...football-player-of-the-year-poll/75897379007/

https://twitter.com/x/status/1849457327910404318
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Voted …

Sent his film to a few of my contacts …

What’s his schedule looking like for Saturday ??? Asking for a friend … 😁
 
#331      
NashvILLe05
Virtue4 said:
Fellow Illini,

My nephew, Brendan Foley, is up for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel football player of the year award. I'd really appreciate the Board's help in bringing this home. He is definitely a kid that should get a look as at least a PWO.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/spor...football-player-of-the-year-poll/75897379007/

https://twitter.com/x/status/1849457327910404318
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1. I love that you posted about your nephew on this board where there are a few people with connections.

2. Brendan is fast, has good instincts, and can tackle. Can he start at LB this Saturday against the Gophers?😎
 
#333      
Virtue4
NashvILLe05 said:
1. I love that you posted about your nephew on this board where there are a few people with connections.

2. Brendan is fast, has good instincts, and can tackle. Can he start at LB this Saturday against the Gophers?😎
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I've tried and failed to share his info on X so hopefully this gives it some traction!
 
#335      
therealmiket86
mhuml32 said:
This seems like partially a "map" problem that I've mentioned before. The areas that often produced the best in-state OL recruits have historically been the least successful recruiting areas for UI.

2025 - No offensive line recruits ranked in the state's top-18! McDonough is the second-best lineman in the state. Top ranked kid is #20 from Glen Ellyn.
2024 - Marques Easley #5 - Kankakee (staff has tried but hasn't been successful). Will Nolan #7 (Arlington Heights). Lucas Austin #12 - very late bloomer (Sterling, Illinois never offered). Body McCaslin #16 (St. Charles, staff was on early but backed off)
2023 - Jagusah #1 - had no chance. Miles McVay #3 (ESL - long and spotted history here), Anthony Birsa (Joliet Catholic, who has not been Illinois friendly beyond Anderson), Paris Patterson #8 (ESL - looks like a bust), Henderson #12 (ESL - got him), Christopher Derek #15 (Glen Ellyn)
2022 - Deuce McGuire #10 (Marist), no other top-20 lineman.


Going by this list, there hasn't been any top-20 in-state offensive lineman in strong Illinois recruiting areas since Bielema took over (CPL or outside of suburb area). That's both a bad break for Bielema and fairly aligned with historical trends. It becomes a question of whether Illinois can break into the closer ring of Chicago 'burbs for recruiting or if they are going to have to over-emphasize recruitment on 1-2 in-state options and hope for out-of-state help or late bloomers. The 2026 class provides two options that help tip the scales for Illinois

Claude Mpouma #8 - Phillips Academy (CPL)
Gene Riordan #16 - Hinsdale (not a good area but seems interested)
Tony Balanganayi #17 - Palatine (some success)
Casey Thomann #18 - Olney (Central Illinois)
Owen Fors #20 - Barrington (not a good area but recruit seems genuinely interested)

Mpouma is perfectly aligned with Illinois' recruiting area, but he's originally from Cameroon and a Trieu article said he doesn't care about location, so that advantage is diminished or gone. The good Illinois start does seem to be making an impression on Riordan and Fors. I wouldn't say that getting an in-state recruit ranked in the 15-20 range is a difference maker, but could show future opportunities to go into the Chicago suburbs and winning recruiting battles that previous staffs could not.
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Not ol specific but it hurts recruiting when so many top players have moved out of state

Donovan starr - Auburn commit
Seal Reyes - SMU commit
Carson Boyd - UI commit
DJ Miller - multiple sec offers
Donovan Olugbode - Miz commit
 
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