Jeff Samardija is absolutely terrible.
Word of wisdom to Hendry and his 3 chins: Before you start giving players $10m guaranteed contracts & no trade clauses make sure they know how to throw more than one pitch.
Freaking terrible.
THIS JUST IN
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GYBE
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I think the Illini need to win more than 2 games in a season before they're allowed in a college football conversation.
And as for Michigan...well, you'll probably be better than us next year. But Weis has won virtually every recruiting battle against Carr (#1 class yo!), so it shouldn't be that way in the future.
And as for Michigan...well, you'll probably be better than us next year. But Weis has won virtually every recruiting battle against Carr (#1 class yo!), so it shouldn't be that way in the future.
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2poor
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treyZz
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2poor wrote:Illinois will actually be decent next year I think. Their young guys showed flashes last season, and with a year under their belt I could see them being a .500+ squad that might get a bowl bid at the end of the year.
Should have beaten Wisconsin & Penn St last year & gave tOSU a scare.
And just added one of the best recruiting classes.
Illinois going to blow up huge!!! Bet your children's children on it!
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GYBE
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Illinois will never be more than mediocre.
Ron Zook can't coach. He's had way more talent at Florida and had awful results. One decent class (one of the best classes? Are you high? Rivals ranked it 20th) won't change anything. Benn can't help when the QB can't throw.
And this class will be worse, as ND has already raided the state for it's three best players in Filer, Fleming and Cwynar. When your home state doesn't produce many good players AND the best ones are going elsewhere, there's a problem.
The best Illinois could ever aspire to is a middle of the pack Big 10 team. And hey, maybe they'll get there in time. But tOSU and UM are too entrenched as the B10 leaders to let another school consistently win. Iowa and Wisconsin can get close, but they'll always be second-class.
If any school is going to come out of nowhere to be a good football program, my money is on North Carolina. They had a better class last year, a better coach and an easier conference. But it's really difficult for schools without success to become consistently good. And Ron Zook is not a saviour by any means.
Ron Zook can't coach. He's had way more talent at Florida and had awful results. One decent class (one of the best classes? Are you high? Rivals ranked it 20th) won't change anything. Benn can't help when the QB can't throw.
And this class will be worse, as ND has already raided the state for it's three best players in Filer, Fleming and Cwynar. When your home state doesn't produce many good players AND the best ones are going elsewhere, there's a problem.
The best Illinois could ever aspire to is a middle of the pack Big 10 team. And hey, maybe they'll get there in time. But tOSU and UM are too entrenched as the B10 leaders to let another school consistently win. Iowa and Wisconsin can get close, but they'll always be second-class.
If any school is going to come out of nowhere to be a good football program, my money is on North Carolina. They had a better class last year, a better coach and an easier conference. But it's really difficult for schools without success to become consistently good. And Ron Zook is not a saviour by any means.
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2poor
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Big10 took a step back though, so a lot of those conference games will be winnable. Pretty much everyone but Michigan lost key players (particularly OSU), with Illinois being young last year to the point that they are returning pretty much their entire roster.
I'm not talking a BCS Bowl or anything close, but I could see them making the Alamo Bowl or those other insignificant/corporate bowls.
I'm not talking a BCS Bowl or anything close, but I could see them making the Alamo Bowl or those other insignificant/corporate bowls.
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treyZz
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GYBE wrote:Illinois will never be more than mediocre.
Ron Zook can't coach. He's had way more talent at Florida and had awful results. One decent class (one of the best classes? Are you high? Rivals ranked it 20th) won't change anything. Benn can't help when the QB can't throw.
And this class will be worse, as ND has already raided the state for it's three best players in Filer, Fleming and Cwynar. When your home state doesn't produce many good players AND the best ones are going elsewhere, there's a problem.
The best Illinois could ever aspire to is a middle of the pack Big 10 team. And hey, maybe they'll get there in time. But tOSU and UM are too entrenched as the B10 leaders to let another school consistently win. Iowa and Wisconsin can get close, but they'll always be second-class.
If any school is going to come out of nowhere to be a good football program, my money is on North Carolina. They had a better class last year, a better coach and an easier conference. But it's really difficult for schools without success to become consistently good. And Ron Zook is not a saviour by any means.
Juice can't throw? Are you judging him off his true freshman season? He was an 18 year old with barely any time on campus stepping in and playing in the B10 with terrible talent around him.
His low completion % can be attributed to not having an OL & having WRs drop passes one after the another.
Rashard Mendenhall averaged 8.2 yards per carry last year. Between Mendenhall, Juice, Benn & some of the other play makers the offense will be able to do some damage.
The defense is already good. J Lehman is one of the best LBers in the country undoubtedly. Vontae Davis (Vernon Davis's bro) is already on his way to stardom.. Check out what he did to Teddy Ginn Jr in the tOSU/Illini game. He flat out **** on Ginn and he was only 18 years old at the time. Now add in Martez Wilson, DAngelo McCray, Jerry Brown (RS-F), Josh Brent, and the defense has the chance to be really really good.
One decent class? You might want to check out the class Zook put together in '06 as well. Juice, Vontae Davis, Cumberland, Duvalt, etc..
Cwynar is not one of the top 3 players in the state. So, I find it hard to believe ND has already landed the top 3. And considering Goebel is most likely choosing between OSU/Michigan it's impossible. Zook will probably land the #5,#6,#7,#10 players and some other instate guys.
Also, it's still very early & Zook is leading for Flash Thomas (Ginn comparsions), Reggie Ellis who is just as good as Marvin Austin from last year and some other kids from Florida & the DC area.
Illinois will be going bowling next year.
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SportsWorld
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Juice=The next Michael Vick minus the dogfighting.
Okay that may be a bad comparison.
Juice=The next Dante Culpepper
Illinois is going to win 6-7 games this year and indeed they are going bowling.
GO MICHIGAN
I was at the Northwestern/Michigan State game last year where the Wildcats blew that 42 point lead and that was the largest comeback in Divison 1-A history.
When I left the stadium the town was dead quiet.
Okay that may be a bad comparison.
Juice=The next Dante Culpepper
Illinois is going to win 6-7 games this year and indeed they are going bowling.
GO MICHIGAN
I was at the Northwestern/Michigan State game last year where the Wildcats blew that 42 point lead and that was the largest comeback in Divison 1-A history.
When I left the stadium the town was dead quiet.
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GYBE
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treyZz wrote:Juice can't throw? Are you judging him off his true freshman season? He was an 18 year old with barely any time on campus stepping in and playing in the B10 with terrible talent around him.
Tons of freshman have come in untested and have much better seasons. Coming out of high school, accuracy was his main problem. His frosh year only exemplified that so I'm not sure what else we can judge on. At least we agree Illinois has terrible talent.
The defense is already good.
It was 33rd in the country. It's not bad.
One decent class? You might want to check out the class Zook put together in '06 as well. Juice, Vontae Davis, Cumberland, Duvalt, etc..
It was tied for 30th. I mean, there are worse classes. But in the context of the other schools in the thread (ND, UM), hardly anything to get excited over.
Cwynar is not one of the top 3 players in the state. So, I find it hard to believe ND has already landed the top 3. And considering Goebel is most likely choosing between OSU/Michigan it's impossible. Zook will probably land the #5,#6,#7,#10 players and some other instate guys.
The Chicago Sun-Times said ND had the top 3, I don't follow recruiting that much to know how true it is. In any case, ND offered three kids in Illinois and got all of them.
Reggie Ellis who is just as good as Marvin Austin from last year and some other kids from Florida & the DC area.
Dude, Ellis isn't even in the Top 100 players and he's just as good as the consensus top defensive player from last year? Give me a break.
The other thing is, a lot of recruits are busts. A lot of them. Schools that bring in loads of quality recruits can withstand these, but Illinois' list of great players is pretty thin. In your post you make it seem like all these guys who haven't played a down are going to carry the team, but probably half of them will never do anything significant.
I can't wait for football season.
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IlliniNRG
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GYBE wrote:Illinois will never be more than mediocre.
Ron Zook can't coach. He's had way more talent at Florida and had awful results. One decent class (one of the best classes? Are you high? Rivals ranked it 20th) won't change anything. Benn can't help when the QB can't throw.
And this class will be worse, as ND has already raided the state for it's three best players in Filer, Fleming and Cwynar. When your home state doesn't produce many good players AND the best ones are going elsewhere, there's a problem.
The best Illinois could ever aspire to is a middle of the pack Big 10 team. And hey, maybe they'll get there in time. But tOSU and UM are too entrenched as the B10 leaders to let another school consistently win. Iowa and Wisconsin can get close, but they'll always be second-class.
If any school is going to come out of nowhere to be a good football program, my money is on North Carolina. They had a better class last year, a better coach and an easier conference. But it's really difficult for schools without success to become consistently good. And Ron Zook is not a saviour by any means.
hehehe. I absolutely love reading posts like this. Domer fans are so scared that they're losing their turf...you can practically smell the collective disdain. I love a Domer's sense of entitlement.
The consensus from anyone in the know regarding college football is that Illinois is a sleeping giant. The Chicago area produces plenty of talent necessary for a top program, and the fan support would be great with a winner. Of course they aren't there yet...and I actually agree with GYBE that Zook probably won't get there by himself. I'm hoping he'll be our Bill Self to the next coach's Weber (who can hopefully recruit better).
And I too am worried a bit about Juice's accuracy. Our best offensive drives last year were when he or Thomas kept the ball on the ground...although a lot of that was the fault of the receivers letting Juice's rocket throws bounce off their hands. I think more improvement this year will come from the staff knowing Juice's strengths and weaknesses, rather than him actually improving upon them.
Illinois is certainly capable of a bowl game, but I wouldn't bet any grandkids on it yet...the passing game absolutely sucked last year, and as GYBE was quick to point out, Zook isn't Bear Bryant either. Juice should be handing 60% of his snaps off to Mendenhall, and scrambling a goodly % of the rest. The defense should keep us in the rest of the games. It was solid last year with zero Time of Possession from our offense, and should only improve.
