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Can Illinois pull a Michigan in 2014?

  • After several down years at Michigan, Brady Hoke came to Ann Arbor in 2011 and rejuvenated the program. He won 11 games his first year, including a Sugar Bowl victory, and has created a significant national buzz surrounding the program. His on-field success in year one has enabled the Wolverines to excel beyond most peoples' imagination on the recruiting trail.

    So here's my question:

    Perhaps on a smaller scale, but can Illinois do something similar? Let's say the Illini win 8-9 games in 2012 under the new coaching staff, and finish the 2013 class strong. Can Illinois make a significant leap up the recruiting rankings with the 2014 class?

    What do you all think?

    Recruiting Analyst for Voice of the Hawkeyes. Email: tworly@yahoo.com; Twitter: @ToddWorly247

    Todd Worly

  • Todd Worly said...

    After several down years at Michigan, Brady Hoke came to Ann Arbor in 2011 and rejuvenated the program. He won 11 games his first year, including a Sugar Bowl victory, and has created a significant national buzz surrounding the program. His on-field success in year one has enabled the Wolverines to excel beyond most peoples' imagination on the recruiting trail.

    So here's my question:

    Perhaps on a smaller scale, but can Illinois do something similar? Let's say the Illini win 8-9 games in 2012 under the new coaching staff, and finish the 2013 class strong. Can Illinois make a significant leap up the recruiting rankings with the 2014 class?

    What do you all think?

    Illinois has to start locking down their home state. If they can do that they should be able to land top 15/top 20 classes fairly easily.

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    WillyWolverine ●

  • As long as I recall and this is taking it back to Jeff George, Illinois has never been a real player in the B1G. They'll jump up like Sparty and have a good season here and there, but for whatever reason, can never put it all together consistently.They had great classes under Zook. I just dont see it happening in the window you are sampling

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    RicoX19

  • I wont believe a team is fully ready to turn it around until they have a 247 site. Sorry Illini

    UMPat

  • Todd Worly said...

    After several down years at Michigan, Brady Hoke came to Ann Arbor in 2011 and rejuvenated the program. He won 11 games his first year, including a Sugar Bowl victory, and has created a significant national buzz surrounding the program. His on-field success in year one has enabled the Wolverines to excel beyond most peoples' imagination on the recruiting trail.

    So here's my question:

    Perhaps on a smaller scale, but can Illinois do something similar? Let's say the Illini win 8-9 games in 2012 under the new coaching staff, and finish the 2013 class strong. Can Illinois make a significant leap up the recruiting rankings with the 2014 class?

    What do you all think?

    Yes. Their division is relatively weak and they are as good or better than every team on their OOC schedule. They play both us and Wisky on the road and I don't see them winning either. They also play Ohio on the road and if Urbie is having growing pains on offense Illinois could pull the upset. Even if they lose that game, they have a very manageable home schedule. I see them winning no less than 8 games and possibly more. If they can pull off a 9-10 win season, that would be a nice boost for their program. Will it lead to top 5 ranked recruiting classes? No. But they have the potential to be in the top 25 regularly.

    This post has been edited 2 times, most recently by MrWoodson on 7/16/2012 at 12:54 PM

    MrWoodson

  • WillyWolverine said...

    Illinois has to start locking down their home state. If they can do that they should be able to land top 15/top 20 classes fairly easily.

    But they CAN'T lock down the State, so they WON'T land highly ranked classes easily.

    I was at a wedding last weekend talking college football with a bunch of Chicago residents. They were all like "yeah, there's a ton Michigan fans out here in Illinois". Basically, that's who they all root for, despite having grown up in Chicago.

    Illinois football players don't grow up dreaming of playing for the Illinois or Northwestern the way Michigan or Ohio kids grow up dreaming of playing for UM/OSU. Michigan will always have the upper-hand for the elite Illinois kids, and Illinois/Northwestern will get the rest.

    MichiganFan

  • WillyWolverine said...

    Illinois has to start locking down their home state. If they can do that they should be able to land top 15/top 20 classes fairly easily.

    This, they have the population/talent base to do it, but they don't have the brand loyalty to keep that talent from going to regional powers.

    xxmgobluexx

  • MichiganFan said...

    But they CAN'T lock down the State, so they WON'T land highly ranked classes easily.

    I was at a wedding last weekend talking college football with a bunch of Chicago residents. They were all like "yeah, there's a ton Michigan fans out here in Illinois". Basically, that's who they all root for, despite having grown up in Chicago.

    Illinois football players don't grow up dreaming of playing for the Illinois or Northwestern the way Michigan or Ohio kids grow up dreaming of playing for UM/OSU. Michigan will always have the upper-hand for the elite Illinois kids, and Illinois/Northwestern will get the rest.

    Michigan hasn't recruited well in Illinois the last couple of years. 2013 is solid but the top talent is spread out over many schools. 2012 Michigan didn't land any of the top guys from Illinois.

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    WillyWolverine ●

  • WillyWolverine said...

    Michigan hasn't recruited well in Illinois the last couple of years. 2013 is solid but the top talent is spread out over many schools. 2012 Michigan didn't land any of the top guys from Illinois.

    2013 makes up for any lull in '12

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    Awink2

  • Awink2 said...

    2013 makes up for any lull in '12

    The guy said Michigan dominates Illinois. It's not true. The top 2013 Illinois recruits are spread out over many schools.

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    WillyWolverine ●

  • You are kinda messing with my head here, cause I was going to post something about Gibbs missing out on a good thing if he decommitted from Illinois (for anybody other than Michigan).

    I'm pretty sure that I didn't post it, so the only conclusion I can reach is that you are stealing my thoughts and publishing them as your own!

    What the heck, Todd? Not cool.

    bkp1883

  • I like what Beckman has done thus far at Illinois. His supposedly relentless recruiting has received praise.

    But for him to consistently pull in top 20 recruiting classes and establish a perennial top 20 program, he must win games against teams like Penn State, Wisconsin, and Ohio S.

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    Frank C ●

  • NS and Ferguson will make a solid one two punch. Couple that with better coaching and less dumb coaching mistakes and they should be better. 9 games is a lot though, 8 would be a great season.

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    kylebennett7127

  • I think whats happening here is that Noah approached Todd and said Hey You wanna run Illini247? Todd weighing his options. Stay Blue Todd! Those who stay will be Champions

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    RicoX19

  • bkp1883 said...

    You are kinda messing with my head here, cause I was going to post something about Gibbs missing out on a good thing if he decommitted from Illinois (for anybody other than Michigan).

    I'm pretty sure that I didn't post it, so the only conclusion I can reach is that you are stealing my thoughts and publishing them as your own!

    What the heck, Todd? Not cool.

    lol You caught me!

    Recruiting Analyst for Voice of the Hawkeyes. Email: tworly@yahoo.com; Twitter: @ToddWorly247

    Todd Worly

  • RicoX19 said...

    I think whats happening here is that Noah approached Todd and said Hey You wanna run Illini247? Todd weighing his options. Stay Blue Todd! Those who stay will be Champions

    roflmao No, was just observing some similarities, and figured it'd be fun to discuss. A new coach comes in, creates a buzz around the program on the recruiting trail, etc. If they can exceed expectations on the field in 2012, much like Michigan did in 2011, I think they could have an outstanding spring with the 2014 class. Obviously, Illinois doesn't have the academics or the tradition to sell that Michigan does, so I'm not saying the Illini will reel in the top class in the B1G. But I do think a successful 2012 season could give them a major boost on the recruiting trail.

    Recruiting Analyst for Voice of the Hawkeyes. Email: tworly@yahoo.com; Twitter: @ToddWorly247

    Todd Worly

  • MichiganFan said...

    But they CAN'T lock down the State, so they WON'T land highly ranked classes easily.

    I was at a wedding last weekend talking college football with a bunch of Chicago residents. They were all like "yeah, there's a ton Michigan fans out here in Illinois". Basically, that's who they all root for, despite having grown up in Chicago.

    Illinois football players don't grow up dreaming of playing for the Illinois or Northwestern the way Michigan or Ohio kids grow up dreaming of playing for UM/OSU. Michigan will always have the upper-hand for the elite Illinois kids, and Illinois/Northwestern will get the rest.

    Well, I grew up in the Chicagoland area and must say you are spot on correct. I've been a UM fan since I was a little kid. When I was 10 Michigan had an All American O-Lineman from my home town so it was hard not to like the Wolverines.

    I'm pretty sure if the U of I could put together a few good seasons in a row they would improve their recruiting dramatically. I'm not to sure how they could lock down Illinois though. Champaign is close to 3 hours from Chicago which makes it difficult. It always seemed like it was easier to watch UM or ND on the TV when I was there. If they could get a Chicago TV station to play all their games it would help them big time. I've always been disappointed in the Illini there is a ton of instate talent that they never capitalize on. indian

    pappy121

  • Illinois is becoming the # 2 talent state in the big ten. We need Michigan to become like Illinois because then we'd be unstoppable.

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    We are college football

    Brady Hoke

  • pappy121 said...

    Well, I grew up in the Chicagoland area and must say you are spot on correct. I've been a UM fan since I was a little kid. When I was 10 Michigan had an All American O-Lineman from my home town so it was hard not to like the Wolverines.

    I'm pretty sure if the U of I could put together a few good seasons in a row they would improve their recruiting dramatically. I'm not to sure how they could lock down Illinois though. Champaign is close to 3 hours from Chicago which makes it difficult. It always seemed like it was easier to watch UM or ND on the TV when I was there. If they could get a Chicago TV station to play all their games it would help them big time. I've always been disappointed in the Illini there is a ton of instate talent that they never capitalize on. indian

    I haven't spent much time in Chicago myself, so I'm curious to hear your answer to this. What sort of alumni presence does Illinois have in Chicago? I would think it would be pretty impressive, and the potential internship/job opportunities that go along with that could be enticing to recruits. What's your take on that?

    Recruiting Analyst for Voice of the Hawkeyes. Email: tworly@yahoo.com; Twitter: @ToddWorly247

    Todd Worly

  • Todd Worly said...

    I haven't spent much time in Chicago myself, so I'm curious to hear your answer to this. What sort of alumni presence does Illinois have in Chicago? I would think it would be pretty impressive, and the potential internship/job opportunities that go along with that could be enticing to recruits. What's your take on that?

    Illinois does not have the pull one might expect them to have in Chicago. There really is no Chicago team for college sports in much the same way as New York City. Chicago's loyalties are split up pretty well between all of the B1G schools and Notre Dame.

    UMPat

  • Michigan has a huge alumni base in Chicago. I haven't been to any, but aren't there michigan bars?

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    kylebennett7127

  • Todd Worly said...

    I haven't spent much time in Chicago myself, so I'm curious to hear your answer to this. What sort of alumni presence does Illinois have in Chicago? I would think it would be pretty impressive, and the potential internship/job opportunities that go along with that could be enticing to recruits. What's your take on that?

    I'm not a good one to ask. Two of my brothers, a sister in law, and a cousin all are alumni of U of I, so I would probably say it is extremely high based on the people I know. Taking family and friends out of the equation I'd still say the percentage of Illinois grads is still pretty high but lower than most would think. I doubt it is anywhere close to the percentage of UM grads in the Detroit metro area.

    Only one of my friends parents that I know of was a Illinois grad while growing up and he had an Ag degree. There just seems like a lot of other good choices in the area too with UIC, NIU, NW, EI, DePaul, and UC in the Chicago metro area.

    I guess to answer it better 5-10% Illinois grads would be it out of college grads.

    pappy121

  • UMPat said...

    Illinois does not have the pull one might expect them to have in Chicago. There really is no Chicago team for college sports in much the same way as New York City. Chicago's loyalties are split up pretty well between all of the B1G schools and Notre Dame.

    They have pull in basketball, but no pull in football.

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    We are college football

    Brady Hoke

  • UMPat said...

    Illinois does not have the pull one might expect them to have in Chicago. There really is no Chicago team for college sports in much the same way as New York City. Chicago's loyalties are split up pretty well between all of the B1G schools and Notre Dame.

    That is what I was trying to say biggrin

    pappy121

  • UMPat said...

    Illinois does not have the pull one might expect them to have in Chicago. There really is no Chicago team for college sports in much the same way as New York City. Chicago's loyalties are split up pretty well between all of the B1G schools and Notre Dame.

    I gotcha, thanks for the insight. I would've thought it'd have a more impressive alumni base there, but I guess it makes sense that there are so many different alumni bases there since it's such a big city.

    Recruiting Analyst for Voice of the Hawkeyes. Email: tworly@yahoo.com; Twitter: @ToddWorly247

    Todd Worly

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