Lovie Smith . . . a good coach?
- Thread starter WaveJumper
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I’ll bet money this kid never sets foot on Illinois campus as a signed commitment. Any takers?
They might hang on to Beason, since he has a few HS teammates on the team. If the Fightining Lovie’s pull off another winless B1G then there could be problems. Either way, they need much more than this to move to the top half of the B1G.
I feel like they will be able to hold on to Beason, unless his two former HS teammates have a bad experience in Champaign. Last year was rock bottom for the Illini. I am not a believer in their athletic department (And their annoying fans are among the most over confident in the country), but I bet Lovie will get them to a bowl game within the next two years. They have solid fan support and a lot of money is coming into the program recently.
If you think last year was bad, wait until you see this season. They will be worse. They have 1 scholarship qb on campus right now and on half his throws he has no idea where the ball is headed. The few upperclassmen they had with any talent transferred after last season. They will have a difficult time fielding a competitive team by the end of next season after the normal attrition kills the limited depth they are starting off with.
Neither of these kids will ever make it to Illinois. The kid from dallas will continue is to be recruited by the big programs in the SEC/Big 12 and will bail as soon as Illinois’ record goes south, if not sooner.
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Agree that this year could be much worse than 2017 for the Illini. Rod Smith will help on offense, but they just don’t have the personnel. I’m wondering if Lovie survives (or wants to stay after) another 1- or 2-win season.
They will be challenged to win a conference game in 2018. They play at Rutgers. They do get Minny and Purdue at home, which might give them a shot.
They also start with home games vs Kent St. and Western IL. They likely will be 2-0 going into a game with USF at Soldier Field. Then I think the wheels come off.
They also start with home games vs Kent St. and Western IL. They likely will be 2-0 going into a game with USF at Soldier Field. Then I think the wheels come off.
While I don’t know much about their returning roster or the like, WIU is a legitimate FCS team and Charlie Fisher is a solid coach. Their only losses last year were to top 10/15 FCS teams. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they gave the Fighting Lovies a pretty solid test.
Agreed. I would not take anything for granted with this team. They should be able to handle a bad MAC team. Western should have their dander up for this game.
Well, that’s two top 60 recruits already for Lovie. Just secured himself extra time to show it’s working.
What extra time? ADs shouldn’t evaluate coaches based on verbal commitments. Let’s see what everybody is saying after they see Illinois play this season. They have not hit bottom yet.
Not many are expecting much from Illinois this coming season other than to show improvement. It is the next season that the expectations start to get a bit more ambitious. Lovie recognized he had to make some coaching changes and stepped out of his comfort zone to hire younger coaches that are more tapped in to youth/social media that relate better to kids. Couple that with a bunch of NFL guys, and we just might break through. So far so good.
Expectations aren’t high. They’re a 3-4 win team probably at most again in 2018. But he’s putting together his classes. More along the lines of you have to give him a full roster of his players, and a year or two for them to play meaningful snaps. No chance he is fired before the end of 2019. That’s all I’m saying. Zero.
I am not saying he’ll be fired, I am saying that these verbal commitments will seriously revisit their decision when they see how bad Illinois continues to be. They are primed for their worst season yet in my opinion. Not only do I think they will struggle to win even 3 games next year, I think they will get blown out in the majority of their games. Their commitments will be barraged with an unbelievable amount of negative recruiting from some of the top programs in the country. Like I said, I seriously doubt either of those kids ever suits up for Illinois.
Why? They KNEW we had been bad when they committed. They were sold on being part of the group that brought Illini football back to being competitive.
Because they'll no doubt have all the blue bloods in their ear saying "come on... seriously? You want to go play for a team that just got blown out at home by Purdue after getting wiped by South Florida at Soldier Field?" (Both of which I expect to happen, by the way. This is going to be a TOUGH year for the Fighting Lovies.) The recruits may have been sold on being part of the group that brings back Illini football , but it will become very clear just how much work needs to be done as this year drags on.
I also think Williams is a tremendous athlete that would be extremely successful as an "offensive athlete" and returner, but have serious doubts about his ability to play QB in the B1G given his stature, playing style, and arm talent. Seldom do you see him making the throws he will have to make at the P5 level, as he's mostly chucking the ball up to wideouts who are simply bigger, stronger, and faster than the kids trying to cover them. He doesn't have to fit the ball into windows, drive the ball downfield over the middle, shape throws, or do many of the other things he will be expected to do regularly as a P5 QB:
Williams is absolutely an elite athlete, but I see a lot more "transferrable" QB skills for success at the P5 level here:
(And yes, I am a raging homer... but that doesn't make me wrong.)
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Lovie brings a certain amount of professionalism and dignity to the dumpster fire caused by our boy Becks. If he can get them to .500 and keep his players out of jail I say it counts for something. Illinois needs stability and that's what Smith provides. They just signed a grad transfer from USC so that didn't hurt.
Lovie is off to a blazing start for 2019. I like both these verbals better than anything he has brought in up to this point. I think everyone expected Lovie to bring in better talent at some point. I was not impressed at all with his first two classes. There is still a ton of work to do here. As several have mentioned, next year on the field could be very ugly. I believe lasts years freshmanB1G players were the result of having them all over the field, while the better programs had their freshman on the bench as reserves to upperclassman.
The next verbals they likely are to get from STL or the CPS don’t seem to be game changers to me. Talk of the Fighting Lovies winning the West in 2 years seems silly to me. Maybe this can be a rivalry with NU again, they should probably start with that expectation before they grab the Natty.
The next verbals they likely are to get from STL or the CPS don’t seem to be game changers to me. Talk of the Fighting Lovies winning the West in 2 years seems silly to me. Maybe this can be a rivalry with NU again, they should probably start with that expectation before they grab the Natty.
What does that tell you?
Guy would be a stud at WR, not so sure about him being the next Russell Wilson for the Illini.
Not saying they won't use him there if it shakes out that way. New OC is a West Virginia guy, coached Pat White. That is the comparison I have been hearing the most. Watch his film if you get the chance. Absolutely electric athlete. Reminds me of Randal-El.
So... you didn't notice where his Hudl film is posted above. Absolutely electric as an athlete, yes. Many many more questions about his ability to play BCS/P5 QB at a high level.
Pat White had the arm talent to be at least considered a QB by NFL teams, even getting drafted in the mid-Second Round before taking a particularly nasty shot to the head and concussion. I don't see that "arm talent" out of Williams, not by a long shot.
Agree, superior athlete. Very elusive.
Going to cause a lot of problems with his legs. Just think he is better suited for WR for his own good. He is on the smaller side and his instincts are going to be to take off and run. He is going to take a boatload of hits at QB.
Won't be a good thing for him if he gets lined up by, say, a certain 6-4 245 Mike linebacker.
Fair enough, but elusive enough to avoid a lot of big hits. Comparable in size to Pat White, Denard Robinson, Randle-El, and they all survived.
Wow BK - didn't realize that. For your team's sake, hope he ends up out wide soon - that kid can move. Definitely don't want him holding your team hostage at QB (unless you are 100% run option or wildcat
)His tape reminds me a bit of watching Kain Colter's HS tape (not meant as a slight to ILL fans), except an even better athlete and arm, just less developed as a QB.
Similar to Randle-El in size, not to the other two who were considerably bigger. Probably 2-3 inches and 20-30 lbs.
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Not even a comparison. Hell, at NU, those two would be two of our all-time best recruits.
Feels a bit like the Mid-2000s class at Illinois with Benn and Wilson, just without the payments...the talent from that class alone led them to (without checking) probably one of their best four-year runs in football (all relative of course).
I mean, we had clearly better four-year runs in the 1980s and obviously MUCH better 1960s and earlier (we owned the ‘20s!! LOL), but those players injected life into an absolutely dead program ... hoping Lovie’s boys can do the same.
He's got a lot of work to do if he wants to be "comparable in size" to those guys. Pat White was 6002 197. Denard Robinson 5104 199. Antwaan Randle-El 5095 191.
Those guys were all pretty "thick," which I don't see out of Williams, who's a self-reported 5-11 170 while 247 has him at 5-10 160 and ESPN at 5-11 165. Don't know that I've seen any combine/verified height/weight on him either.
Moral of the story: he's a guy that the Illini should be objectively thrilled to have on board, because he's enough of an athlete that ANY program should be thrilled to have him on board. But I would have serious reservations if Lovie really intends to keep him at QB full-time.
Posted above, but while Randle-El was only 5095 he was 191 pounds. A classic "short, not small" kind of guy.
Well, Verdis Brown would have also been an "all-time best" recruit for NU if you believe the recruiting rankings. You probably know how I feel about that one.
Fair point - though like you, not referring to recruiting rankings, more tape. Athleticism is off the charts for both. Don't know who would be a better offensive skill position recruit from NU perspective in recent memory (talking tape, not actual results).
You clearly don't remember that college football only started in 1995, huh?
Not quite on the same level as Williams, but this is still some of my favorite tape:
Riley was slowed by injury and his transition to full-time WR, but still hoping he can put it together and break out as the gamebreaker he showed he could be during high school.
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