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Our recruiting is getting railed on the sports radio up here in Chicago. They were stating that the coaching transition is no excuse as Ohio State and UCLA both have top 10 recruiting classes and are going through the same thing.
Who was saying Beckman and his staff were dynamite recruiters? Do we even have a 3 star recruit in the whole group?
Beckman already out of his league
#2
SoCal Illini Fan 
Posted 02 February 2012 - 12:14 AM
According to Rivals, 14 of them are three stars. There's more to life than the number of stars by a recruits name. That said, how in God's name is this recruiting class on Beckman? The guy has had his staff in place less than a month. 
Wow. Simply stunning.
Wow. Simply stunning.
#3
Sharpie
Posted 02 February 2012 - 12:43 AM
SoCal Illini Fan, on 02 February 2012 - 12:14 AM, said:
According to Rivals, 14 of them are three stars. There's more to life than the number of stars by a recruits name. That said, how in God's name is this recruiting class on Beckman? The guy has had his staff in place less than a month.
Wow. Simply stunning.
Wow. Simply stunning.
This. And comparing our recruiting to tOSU is nothing short of laughable. Yes, I know Meyer had a short time just like we did. But let's be honest, selling tOSU is a whole lot easier than selling Illinois as far as football is concerned. A monkey can put on a tOSU shirt and get a top 25 class. tOSU sells itself.
Let's give the guy a chance, he might just surprise us.
#4
Truth
Posted 02 February 2012 - 01:02 AM
It was a terrible class but he only had 1 month on the job and most of the 4 or 5 star players had already committed before he got here.
What concerns me the most is there only 4 lineman in this class (and Teko Powell probably wont qualify) so i have no idea what they were doing there.
Another thing with the 2013 Illinois class is that even though its loaded - Beckman is putting his lesser known recruiters (Butkus, Ward, Clinksales) in charge of Illinois and to me that is a big concern.
Bottomline is that Ron Zook should have been fired after the 2009 seasons. Illinois had 3 straight poor classes and its due to Ron Zook/Ron Guenther. If 2013 isnt a home run, this program is going to be at the bottom of the Big 10 for a long time..i'm talking Ron Turner 1997, 2003 level years..
What concerns me the most is there only 4 lineman in this class (and Teko Powell probably wont qualify) so i have no idea what they were doing there.
Another thing with the 2013 Illinois class is that even though its loaded - Beckman is putting his lesser known recruiters (Butkus, Ward, Clinksales) in charge of Illinois and to me that is a big concern.
Bottomline is that Ron Zook should have been fired after the 2009 seasons. Illinois had 3 straight poor classes and its due to Ron Zook/Ron Guenther. If 2013 isnt a home run, this program is going to be at the bottom of the Big 10 for a long time..i'm talking Ron Turner 1997, 2003 level years..
#5
peoriaillini
Posted 02 February 2012 - 07:35 AM
Can we give Beckman a break! Lets wait and see what happens over the next year. OK you may not like/want Coach Beckman but he is who we have.
As far as Teko Powell how do you know he will not qualify? He says he wants to study EE. Don't bad mouth a kid unless you have the facts!!
As far as Teko Powell how do you know he will not qualify? He says he wants to study EE. Don't bad mouth a kid unless you have the facts!!
#6
gullit
Posted 02 February 2012 - 08:36 AM
MistakenJ, on 02 February 2012 - 12:10 AM, said:
Our recruiting is getting railed on the sports radio up here in Chicago. They were stating that the coaching transition is no excuse as Ohio State and UCLA both have top 10 recruiting classes and are going through the same thing.
Who was saying Beckman and his staff were dynamite recruiters? Do we even have a 3 star recruit in the whole group?
Who was saying Beckman and his staff were dynamite recruiters? Do we even have a 3 star recruit in the whole group?
Ok, thanks for letting me know.
#7
superscal23
Posted 02 February 2012 - 09:13 AM
It wasn't a great class, but I don't know how anybody in their right mind would've expected it to be. I like that he was able to retain 5 commits from Florida. That's a pipeline that I would love to see remain open.
Comparing it to Zook's first class in 2005, that class did include Mendenhall, but he had been committed for over a year before Zook was hired. So Zook's big gets were Derrick McPhearson, who caught all of 24 passes in 2 years before getting kicked off the team for burglary, and a DT named Ismail Abdunafi who never put on an Illini uniform. After that the classes are pretty comparable and Beckman's class this year arguably has better depth.
Zook's second class included Juice, Vontae, Cumberland, and Asomoah, but the Benn-Tez-Brent class wasn't until his 3rd year, so let's at least give it some time before we freak out.
Comparing it to Zook's first class in 2005, that class did include Mendenhall, but he had been committed for over a year before Zook was hired. So Zook's big gets were Derrick McPhearson, who caught all of 24 passes in 2 years before getting kicked off the team for burglary, and a DT named Ismail Abdunafi who never put on an Illini uniform. After that the classes are pretty comparable and Beckman's class this year arguably has better depth.
Zook's second class included Juice, Vontae, Cumberland, and Asomoah, but the Benn-Tez-Brent class wasn't until his 3rd year, so let's at least give it some time before we freak out.
#8
jdubbs14
Posted 02 February 2012 - 09:16 AM
Every coach staretd somewhere before they became successful. The great Urban Meyer started in the MAC as did Missouri's Pinkel and ND's Kelly. Give the guy a couple years. Why would a 4-5 star player go to Illinois this year. It is not like Illinois has a strong football tradition. This isn't OSU and UCLA
#9
dwc13
Posted 02 February 2012 - 10:46 AM
Truth, on 02 February 2012 - 01:02 AM, said:
It was a terrible class but he only had 1 month on the job and most of the 4 or 5 star players had already committed before he got here.
What concerns me the most is there only 4 lineman in this class (and Teko Powell probably wont qualify) so i have no idea what they were doing there.
Another thing with the 2013 Illinois class is that even though its loaded - Beckman is putting his lesser known recruiters (Butkus, Ward, Clinksales) in charge of Illinois and to me that is a big concern.
Bottomline is that Ron Zook should have been fired after the 2009 seasons. Illinois had 3 straight poor classes and its due to Ron Zook/Ron Guenther. If 2013 isnt a home run, this program is going to be at the bottom of the Big 10 for a long time..i'm talking Ron Turner 1997, 2003 level years..
What concerns me the most is there only 4 lineman in this class (and Teko Powell probably wont qualify) so i have no idea what they were doing there.
Another thing with the 2013 Illinois class is that even though its loaded - Beckman is putting his lesser known recruiters (Butkus, Ward, Clinksales) in charge of Illinois and to me that is a big concern.
Bottomline is that Ron Zook should have been fired after the 2009 seasons. Illinois had 3 straight poor classes and its due to Ron Zook/Ron Guenther. If 2013 isnt a home run, this program is going to be at the bottom of the Big 10 for a long time..i'm talking Ron Turner 1997, 2003 level years..
Let's give the newly-signed recruits 2 or 3 seasons in Beckman's system before grading this latest class. I might be in the minority, but I don't put much stock in mamy of the self-proclaimed "recruiting gurus" at various dotcom sites. IMO, if they were really good at evaluating/projecting talent, they'd be coaching at the college/pro level or scouting for a professional team. In addition, projecting how a HS kid will handle the college enviroment (on and off the field) is often a crap-shoot, which is the primary reason athletic scholarships are renewable on an annual basis at the school's discretion. It's a huge change, going from HS to college, much more so than college to the pros. That's why character, work ethic, and discipline are so important IMO, even though they are often overshadowed in the evaluation process. Those aspects are much more difficult to measure than a 40 time or how much weight a prospect can bench press.
#10
dwc13
Posted 02 February 2012 - 11:12 AM
MistakenJ, on 02 February 2012 - 12:10 AM, said:
Our recruiting is getting railed on the sports radio up here in Chicago. They were stating that the coaching transition is no excuse as Ohio State and UCLA both have top 10 recruiting classes and are going through the same thing.
Who was saying Beckman and his staff were dynamite recruiters? Do we even have a 3 star recruit in the whole group?
Who was saying Beckman and his staff were dynamite recruiters? Do we even have a 3 star recruit in the whole group?
If that's the rationale that was used by the on-air "talent", well, that was just laughable. OSU has a great football tradition (as Sharpie pointed out), top-notch facilities and fan support, and newly-hired head coach Urban Meyer has a proven track record of success at the FBS level (2 NCs at Florida, BCS bowl at Utah). Ohio also has Top-5 HS football talent. UCLA has...a beautiful campus with some serious, uh, talent, great weather year-round, and it's relatively close to the ocean/LA. What recruit wouldn't be attracted to those things? In addition, it's a great academic institution. But UCLA was able to put together a "Top-10" class primarily because it resides in a state with Top-3 HS football talent, and plenty of it. Los Angeles is home to several pretty good HS football teams.
#11
illinicalvin
Posted 02 February 2012 - 11:19 AM
I know we've gotten in the habit of bashing out-of-their-league coaches, but can we please give the guy at least a fighting chance to right this ship? A recruiting class takes like 2 years to build; you're going to crucify a guy for 1 month? Because he's not Urban Meyer at Ohio State and/or a former NFL coach at UCLA? Seriously?
I concede the class is Turneresque, but that's exactly what I expected when we fired Zook.
I concede the class is Turneresque, but that's exactly what I expected when we fired Zook.
#12
dwc13
Posted 02 February 2012 - 11:28 AM
illinicalvin, on 02 February 2012 - 11:19 AM, said:
I know we've gotten in the habit of bashing out-of-their-league coaches, but can we please give the guy at least a fighting chance to right this ship? A recruiting class takes like 2 years to build; you're going to crucify a guy for 1 month? Because he's not Urban Meyer at Ohio State and/or a former NFL coach at UCLA? Seriously?
I concede the class is Turneresque, but that's exactly what I expected when we fired Zook.
I concede the class is Turneresque, but that's exactly what I expected when we fired Zook.
former NFL coach for a reason.
#13
TheRealJeffFrank
Posted 02 February 2012 - 02:53 PM
MistakenJ, on 02 February 2012 - 12:10 AM, said:
Our recruiting is getting railed on the sports radio up here in Chicago. They were stating that the coaching transition is no excuse as Ohio State and UCLA both have top 10 recruiting classes and are going through the same thing.
Who was saying Beckman and his staff were dynamite recruiters? Do we even have a 3 star recruit in the whole group?
Who was saying Beckman and his staff were dynamite recruiters? Do we even have a 3 star recruit in the whole group?
Perfect example of how idiocy in our fan base does not get stamped out when there is a coaching change. It is always flickering away ready to pounce at any moment.
#14
dwc13
Posted 02 February 2012 - 04:00 PM
TheRealJeffFrank, on 02 February 2012 - 02:53 PM, said:
Perfect example of how idiocy in our fan base does not get stamped out when there is a coaching change. It is always flickering away ready to pounce at any moment.
I'd rather have someone express his/her dissatisfaction (in a constructive manner) than sit by idly if he/she thinks something is wrong/needs attention/can be improved. That doesn't mean he/she is right on all, some or even any of the points of contention, but at least it signifies he/she has an interest in what is going on. Apathy and indifference from the fan base will negatively affect a program. That being said, one should give the newly-hired head coach (and his staff) reasonable time, opportunity, and resources/support to do the job he was hired for. Demanding (or even expecting) a miracle from the get-go is unrealistic at best. Even Urban Meyer missed on a few recruits from Ohio this round.
#15
O & B
Posted 02 February 2012 - 05:45 PM
dwc13, on 02 February 2012 - 10:46 AM, said:
Let's give the newly-signed recruits 2 or 3 seasons in Beckman's system before grading this latest class. I might be in the minority, but I don't put much stock in mamy of the self-proclaimed "recruiting gurus" at various dotcom sites. IMO, if they were really good at evaluating/projecting talent, they'd be coaching at the college/pro level or scouting for a professional team. In addition, projecting how a HS kid will handle the college enviroment (on and off the field) is often a crap-shoot, which is the primary reason athletic scholarships are renewable on an annual basis at the school's discretion. It's a huge change, going from HS to college, much more so than college to the pros. That's why character, work ethic, and discipline are so important IMO, even though they are often overshadowed in the evaluation process. Those aspects are much more difficult to measure than a 40 time or how much weight a prospect can bench press.
ABSOLUTELY agree
athleticism is one thing, but HEART and work ethic are very important.........not to mention Character! The last thing I'd want to see is ESPN headlines about Illini players in serious trouble because they were thugs! All in the name of winning a game! 
#16
BoulderIllini
Posted 02 February 2012 - 05:59 PM
Bozo the Clown could recruit football players to tOSU and UCLA. When Coach K hangs it up at Duke, you think their pipleline will immediately dry up?
#17
Illini1956
Posted 02 February 2012 - 08:04 PM
SoCal Illini Fan, on 02 February 2012 - 12:14 AM, said:
According to Rivals, 14 of them are three stars. There's more to life than the number of stars by a recruits name. That said, how in God's name is this recruiting class on Beckman? The guy has had his staff in place less than a month.
Wow. Simply stunning.
Wow. Simply stunning.
Give him a chance. 14 three stars and knowing what to do with them is better than 14 4 stars and not having a clue.
#19
Oklegend
Posted 02 February 2012 - 09:34 PM
The "worst" class Zook had from a rankings standpoint in 2010, might turn out to be one of his best. Conversely, there was an article about the heralded 2007 class that was supposed to be the greatest ever in school history. Of the 24 players, it's shocking how many of them didn't pan out at Illinois. It was over half. The moral of the story is there just is no way to base a class's rank in February; let the kids play first.
#20
ritster
Posted 02 February 2012 - 10:28 PM
MistakenJ, on 02 February 2012 - 12:10 AM, said:
Our recruiting is getting railed on the sports radio up here in Chicago. They were stating that the coaching transition is no excuse as Ohio State and UCLA both have top 10 recruiting classes and are going through the same thing.
Who was saying Beckman and his staff were dynamite recruiters? Do we even have a 3 star recruit in the whole group?
Who was saying Beckman and his staff were dynamite recruiters? Do we even have a 3 star recruit in the whole group?
I lost you when you said you listened to Chicago Sports Radio. Those guys a Douche Bags
