The Deuce: Are things still bleak for us? Seems like we're doing ok.*

Football recruiting is looking pretty bleak right now - illini21 April 30, 2026, 8:35:29

new JUCO commit: 3* DL - ATL May 15, 2026, 15:07:34
- Still doesn’t play DL… err, um* - DocWalk20 May 15, 2026, 16:01:44
new commit: 3 star LB from St. Laurence - assassin May 15, 2026, 13:23:17
- Are things still bleak for us? Seems like we're doing ok.* - Warrin'_Illini May 15, 2026, 14:02:47
Indiana keeps rolling. - EffinIllini May 15, 2026, 13:10:06
- And I predict he picks Illinois.* - Warrin'_Illini May 15, 2026, 13:55:50
- I hate it so much* - illini21 May 15, 2026, 13:37:30
The new JUCO TE we brought in was just rated the #1 JUCO TE in the country - JacobRDaugherty May 14, 2026, 21:57:53
- He doesn’t play DL - bjl63 May 14, 2026, 23:15:51
- Will he be playing in 2026?* - assassin May 14, 2026, 22:16:14
  - Yes* - JacobRDaugherty May 14, 2026, 22:44:14
Apparently we offered Dez Bryant’s kid.* - bjl63 May 14, 2026, 18:44:59
Got another pretty solid OL - OB25 May 14, 2026, 9:03:59
- I think he will be a better college player than Wagner. * - JacobRDaugherty May 14, 2026, 10:06:53
- Only 3 commits but each one is top 600 composite. That's solid* - illini21 May 14, 2026, 9:25:59
  - Definitely, would love it more if we could find some defensive linemen* - OrangeSox May 14, 2026, 10:05:27
  - if we settle into something like 12-14 in the Big Ten with a small class I'm fine - ijustkrushalot May 14, 2026, 10:02:10
    - If we have 12-14 in this range, it's all good in my eyes... hate seeing the talent leave, but... - uofi1998 May 14, 2026, 10:28:02
- Nice.* - Warrin'_Illini May 14, 2026, 9:20:17
- Potters represent! - DocWalk20 May 14, 2026, 9:18:47
Signed a Juco TE - jdl May 13, 2026, 18:03:22
I’m officially starting to get nervous - snipes824 May 12, 2026, 10:51:28
- Is the juice from the recruiters or the size of the bag they can offer? Probably a bit of - voiceofreason May 12, 2026, 16:04:29
  - I think it’s certainly both - snipes824 May 12, 2026, 16:18:11
    - I've heard him speak at his press conference when hired and two radio interviews with local media - illini21 May 14, 2026, 7:28:42
      - I like Roger Cooper though* - JacobRDaugherty May 14, 2026, 7:44:07
- New to being an Illini fan??? - osklister May 12, 2026, 11:23:48
  - New to posting on this board without a * ?* - DocWalk20 May 12, 2026, 12:47:00
    - He puts a "*" on his posts that contain messages, because...well... osklister. - KingTalkyTiki May 12, 2026, 15:44:46
SJO lineman Cameron Wagner to Oregon* - illini21 May 11, 2026, 12:14:25
- Pretty sure he said "my home for the next 4 years..." How many people do NOT transfer today? - osklister May 12, 2026, 9:42:02
- Ben Miller continues to impress* - opossum jenkins May 12, 2026, 5:05:21
  - Bart? * - larue33 May 12, 2026, 10:53:00
    - Yes* - opossum jenkins May 12, 2026, 15:37:46
  - This really isn't because we didn't get him, I don't understand the ranking and offers - JacobRDaugherty May 12, 2026, 10:44:15
  - Meh. At least in this case. In no way do we measure up to Oregon* - bjl63 May 12, 2026, 10:26:15
We actually got a commitment and it looks like a pretty good one. - OB25 May 9, 2026, 11:49:44
- That looks solid… and presumably a fit for the new scheme * - uofi1998 May 9, 2026, 12:51:58
  - Nevermind. My brain is faulty. * - uofi1998 May 9, 2026, 12:52:55
- Nice. Thought he’d end up at Iowa* - illini21 May 9, 2026, 12:31:51
Bert’s long time chief of staff heading to Oklahoma. - uofi1998 May 4, 2026, 21:52:17
- He’s deputy athletic director at OU so seems like a step up - CanHartlebHireSnider May 9, 2026, 13:22:01
Bert on recruiting - illini21 May 1, 2026, 15:41:07
- While I agree that spending big on HS players in football seems awfully risky… - OB25 May 1, 2026, 15:51:06
- I can't imagine trying to be head ball coach in the NIL era. Basketball at least has much smaller - Warrin'_Illini May 1, 2026, 15:49:33
- I'm disappointed in in state recruiting this class - Poldark May 1, 2026, 15:43:37
  - This is the deepest in-state class in like forever. Pretty much confirmed we have no $$* - UofIL6 May 1, 2026, 16:17:38
- #InBretITrust* - ATL May 1, 2026, 15:42:17
On the flip side, I was just thinking this week about how we've gone 19-7 with two bowl wins - Blazer April 30, 2026, 16:44:32
- Hard to trust the plan on the defensive front, though - bjl63 April 30, 2026, 17:01:26
  - Definitely agree there is reason for concern - Blazer April 30, 2026, 17:17:46
    - I do have confidence the offense will be pretty good - bjl63 April 30, 2026, 17:21:37
  - IDK how good Angelo McCullom is, but... - uofi1998 April 30, 2026, 17:06:15
    - He went to Texas a&m - snipes824 April 30, 2026, 17:29:14
      - Lost another to S Carolina. I’m not as upset at losing these guys - bjl63 April 30, 2026, 17:39:08
        
        I think we’re gonna get a really good education on how our success in 2024 and 2025… - opossum jenkins May 12, 2026, 15:45:04
        
        I fear you may be right to some degree - bjl63 May 12, 2026, 15:49:41
        
        I think we screwed up and had used all our budget by the time those guys started jumping ship. - OB25 April 30, 2026, 18:22:17
        
        Then we didn't have much budget (which is a different issue)* - UofIL6 April 30, 2026, 18:35:40
        
        100p* - UofIL6 April 30, 2026, 17:57:59
        
        Agreed* - snipes824 April 30, 2026, 17:50:39
    - The secondary will be rendered useless - bjl63 April 30, 2026, 17:18:41
- I was kind of thinking about our lack of draft picks - CanHartlebHireSnider April 30, 2026, 16:47:08
- He's earned a ton... - uofi1998 April 30, 2026, 16:46:53
  - Agreed this offseason has been a real head scratcher - Blazer April 30, 2026, 17:19:44
real quick roster glace... I have 92 players who could be back next year (with a 5 in 5 rule) - ijustkrushalot April 30, 2026, 14:25:54
- put another way, we have 73 guys that could have 2+ years with the program after this year - ijustkrushalot April 30, 2026, 14:30:19
  - The argument would be received a better if our top targets weren't (seemingly) all going elsewhere* - uofi1998 April 30, 2026, 16:36:27
Let's see how it goes this year. I was a much bigger Aaron Henry defender - JacobRDaugherty April 30, 2026, 8:44:12
- It's easier to apply hindsight a few months removed - OrangeSox April 30, 2026, 10:00:06
  - Also the “first 3 games” included western Michigan and western Illinois - snipes824 April 30, 2026, 12:46:27
    - The score belied the actual run of play in the Duke game.* - uofi1998 April 30, 2026, 12:47:56
      - 100% - snipes824 April 30, 2026, 12:50:04
        
        In fairness, I think the defense generally got better as the season went along... - uofi1998 April 30, 2026, 12:51:42
        
        Not sure there will ever be a season where we face a gauntlet of QB’s like we did in the first 8 gms - OB25 April 30, 2026, 13:21:17
        
        We faced 2,7,9,13,19,20 in SP+ offense last year - CanHartlebHireSnider April 30, 2026, 14:47:54
        
        I honestly thought the offensive and special teams were worse in the Wisconsin game* - JacobRDaugherty April 30, 2026, 18:27:45
        
        I can’t complain a bit about what Bret has done to make us relevant again - bjl63 April 30, 2026, 14:37:00
        
        I feel like 1 bad year in the current climate hurts a whole lot worse than it used to... - uofi1998 April 30, 2026, 16:37:47
        
        This. EXACTLY. Prior to Bertie-Bert: Zooker, Beckhead, Cubit, Lovie. - osklister April 30, 2026, 16:31:57
  - For the record, I was a bigger defender of Henry than the board then. I thought he was fine - JacobRDaugherty April 30, 2026, 11:57:09
  - I also don’t really think Aaron Henry is going to be the difference in our recruiting. - OB25 April 30, 2026, 10:16:46
    - None of this makes any sense to me except that our resources are being diverted to basketball. - uofi1998 April 30, 2026, 10:32:30
      - as it should be...money goes further in bball and we actually have a chance at a chip - digs April 30, 2026, 16:48:28
      - Doesn't seem like something Josh would do * - jdl April 30, 2026, 11:47:23
        
        I don't disagree... but donors put their money where they want to. - uofi1998 April 30, 2026, 12:23:39
        
        I'm sure there's some built in historical bias there - jdl April 30, 2026, 12:39:54
        
        I could also see it as in basketball, it feels like your money has more of an impact - IlliniOllie April 30, 2026, 12:54:15
        
        So are we just bad at recruiting? - AintHatin April 30, 2026, 11:50:31
        
        Last year's class was the best in a long time - jdl April 30, 2026, 11:59:43
        
        I have to think the significant amount of staff turnover had some impact. - uofi1998 April 30, 2026, 12:12:31
        
        I think I heard Bret say the coaching assistants do less recruiting now - jdl April 30, 2026, 12:41:37
        
        JMHO, but closers-people who negotiate the final NIL deals. Eh. Here we are. - osklister April 30, 2026, 13:21:30
        
        Maybe we can convince Mark Cuban to enroll at Illinois* - uofi1998 April 30, 2026, 13:22:08
        
        Hey, all he's got right now is some kind of certificate from a Juco in Indiana. - osklister April 30, 2026, 16:33:51
        
        we've all forgotten with how mostly disappointing the portal and this class so far are - assassin April 30, 2026, 11:57:38
- Don't think this new defensive staff is going to help with recruiting at all - illini21 April 30, 2026, 8:46:39
  - IMO the scheme change is 100% out of desperation - bjl63 April 30, 2026, 11:29:06
    - Bret doesn't exactly hide his disdain publicly for the amounts others get to spend... - uofi1998 April 30, 2026, 12:15:17
  - I think Thomas and Bradford can be plus recruiters. I am still high on Archie and Parker. I think - JacobRDaugherty April 30, 2026, 9:53:59

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