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Can Illinois pull a Michigan in 2014?

  • pappy121 said...

    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.

    Thanks for the insight!

    I would think it could be a beneficial recruiting approach for Illinois to take as much advantage of Chicago as possible. Other than Northwestern, which generally attracts a different type of student-athlete than most of the rest of the conference does, no other school has as much access to such a major city. By building very close relationships with their alums in Chicago, I would think Illinois could really attract recruits by selling the internship and job opportunities that they could virtually walk right into in Chicago.

    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?

    I think it would help their recruiting, significant leap up i'm not so sure. I doubt they would pull a top 10-15 class but top 25 maybe top 20 should be achievable if they have that kind of success on the field. As rico said tho the illini have not been able to sustain any success even when they did well in recruiting. Suppose we will have to see what the new coach is able to do.

    signature image
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    Hoke Express

  • kylebennett7127 said...

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

    Duffy's flex

    buttesnake

  • Hoke Express said...

    I think it would help their recruiting, significant leap up i'm not so sure. I doubt they would pull a top 10-15 class but top 25 maybe top 20 should be achievable if they have that kind of success on the field. As rico said tho the illini have not been able to sustain any success even when they did well in recruiting. Suppose we will have to see what the new coach is able to do.

    I think that, in general, it'll be tough for anyone to crack the top-3 (Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State) in the B1G year in and year out. There are certainly periods where one or more of those programs struggle, but they're generally going to be very good. Of course, the scandal in State College may shake that up quite a bit as it continues to unfold.

    But beyond that, I think it's wide open in the conference when it comes to recruiting. If a school can consistently produce top-4 recruiting classes in the B1G, that should translate to consistent contention for the conference title with quality coaching. I'm not saying it'll necessarily happen, but this seems like a prime opportunity for Illinois to make that leap if it's ever going to happen.

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

    Todd Worly ●

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