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April 13, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Purdue Athletics)

The thing about recruiting and the transfer portal...things can change in a snap.

Some interesting stuff posted a few hours ago by IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy.  Inside details on what led to Brandin Podziemski's decision, Terrence Shannon, and - maybe the biggest surprise of all - the latest on Andre Curbelo.

Let's get to it!

By Larry Smith - IlliniGuys Staff 

April 12, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

There are no games being played on the court at the moment - of course! - but work continues at Ubben both physically and on paper.  The renovation of the Illinois basketball facility is clearly obvious, while the roster construction for the 2022-23 season is also constantly in motion.

You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you that IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy and IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting Kedric Prince were constantly working the phones, but it's true!  It's not unusual for them to put their cellphones down for a few hours while on the day job and pick it up with 100+ text messages waiting.  I've sat next to them on press row and at dinner and it is non-stop!

The cool thing for US is...they only share their knowledge on IlliniGuys.com!

I'll share a true story with you:  we recently had a new subscriber sign up and a couple of days later send us an email asking to cancel his subscription.  Naturally, we'd rather that not be the case, but we obliged and gave him instructions on how to do.  A day later, he wrote back: "hey, is it too late to change my mind?  You guys have better info!"

Now, please know this:  we have tremendous respect for our competitors.  But we take great pride in what we do and receiving emails like that lets us know we're on the right track.

Just like the workers who are shaping the future look of Ubben AND of Illini basketball, we are also always building.  100+ new members in the past month - 15 on Monday alone! - and an ever expanding staff and platform, we're excited to see what each day brings.

Our members got the very latest scoop on Illini basketball today from Mr. Sturdy and his notes are below.  If you can't see them, we invite you to click the orange bar above and sign up for a free 7-day trial.   Access to all of our feature stories and analysis awaits and be sure to check out our Multimedia section for our latest podcasts and episodes from the IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular syndicated radio show that's heard on 25 stations in six states every weekend.

Three generations of Illini coaching eras were represented at the Gordyville Coaches vs. Cancer event in Rantoul with the return of Lon Kruger & Bill Self to Central Illinois. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

April 12, 2022

GIFFORD, Ill. -- The past, present and future of the men’s basketball program at the University of Illinois were honored Tuesday night at the Gordyville USA event hall. 

Three eras of head coaching for the Illini program were the honored as current Illini coach Brad Underwood wanted to bridge the gap for fans, produce some history and make some money for the American Cancer Society in a National Association of Basketball Coaches event by bringing back Lon Kruger and Bill Self to Central Illinois for one night. 

“We don’t get to do that nearly enough anymore,” Underwood said Tuesday night. “For the three of us to be able to connect with other people in something that isn’t basketball related is really special.”

The evening, which was the first University of Illinois Coaches vs. Cancer dinner and auction since 2019, allowed the public to see three men who have combined for 253 all-time total wins, eight all-time NCAA Tournament appearances and four regular season Big Ten Conference championships. 

The event was held just eight days removed from Self’s Kansas program winning the 2022 national championship in New Orleans after the Jayhawks took down North Carolina 72-69 in the title game. 
For Kruger, who hasn’t been the leader of the Illini program since 2000, the temporary return to Champaign brought back some nostalgic memories as he noted he was around when the Ubben Practice Facility was being built and during a campus tour, he was able to see the construction of the new renovations of the building this spring. 

After one season at Illinois, Brandin Podziemski has reportedly […]

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 12, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Matt Stevens/IlliniGuys)

CHAMPAIGN -- Despite being moved inside last season, photographic evidence has suggested Alex Palczewski has been seeing playing time this spring. These photos provided by the Illinois athletics department suggest the sixth-year veteran is getting looked at again for the right tackle spot at least to avoid an issue if injuries arose in the upcoming 2022 season. It also suggests another obvious idea that was confirmed by the comments following the team’s 10th spring practice of the season.

“Palcho is having a phenomenal spring. He’s probably one of the guys on this roster who is as game-ready as you can be now,” Illinois offensive line coach Bart Miller said Tuesday. “He’s able to move better than he has in a long time and since I’ve seen him. Look, he’s healthy for the first time in a long time. You can see it on the backside cutoff (blocks). You watch the scrimmage and he’s able to get to landmarks now that he was never able to get to last year because of health.”

After trying to quickly recover from a serious knee injury that required reconstructive surgery during the 2020 season, Palczewski started the first seven games of Bret Bielema’s first season as the Illini head coach last season at tackle. It was clear in those seven games that Miller wasn’t thrilled with Palczewski’s lack of explosion coming off this injury and some of what he called “bad habits” he’d learned during his previous years at Illinois that didn’t translate to the fundamentals of what Bielema’s staff wanted to implement.

“Someone has told me that I’m officially the old man now around here,” Palczewski said on March 22. “I already love playing for (Barry Lunney Jr.) because he’s a player’s coach. He looks us in the eyes and tells us what we’re going to do.”

Vanderbilt defensive tackle Raashaan Wilkins Jr., who has one year of eligibility left, announces he’ll be “going home” by transferring to Illinois. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 12, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy George Walker IV/Nashville Tennessean)

CHAMPAIGN -- After a long and nationwide journey in his college experience, Raashaan Wilkins Jr.says he’s “going home” with an intention to transfer to Illinois. 

The 6-foot-3, 310-pound multi-year starter at Vanderbilt, who entered the transfer portal in February, confirmed via his Instagram page that he's committed to playing his final season of eligibility at Illinois.

In the last two seasons at Vanderbilt, Wilkins has started 19 of 21 games at defensive tackle and recorded 21 tackles, two tackles for loss. He signed with Vanderbilt out of Monterey Peninsula College in California when Illinois cornerbacks coach Aaron Henry was on the Commodores staff in 2020. When Wilkins arrives for fall camp at Illinois, he’ll be expected to compete for instant playing time at the nose tackle position along with Northwestern transfer TeRah Edwards, senior-to-be Calvin Avery and junior-to-be Verdis Brown. 

Zain Bando, IlliniGuys Student Correspondent

April 12, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, IL – Bret Bielema met with reporters Saturday afternoon in the foyer of the Irwin Indoor Practice Facility to discuss a variety of topics, which included Josh McCray’s growth and development, recruiting, a young offensive line, and Ryan Johnson.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

April 11, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)

When the staff at IlliniGuys.com told you Illinois head coach Brad Underwood was looking to change his team's look, he wasn't kidding!

Last season, Illinois broke through more than a decade of futility and won the Big Ten tournament. This year they won the Big Ten conference title for the first time since 2005. All of that is nice, but to Underwood it's also water under the proverbial bridge. It's time to push the needle and win more in the NCAA Tournament.

How do you do that? Upgrade your roster. The biggest omission from the Illini this season was more of the uber-athletic 6-foot-6 to 6-foot-8 range wings who are very common in the top program and blue bloods.

April 11, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Chicago Sun-Times)

The dead recruiting period ended with a bang for the Fighting Illini staff and players with the commitment of 5-star guard Skyy Clark and a weekend visit from potential LSU transfer Brandon Murray.

But it didn't stop there.  Sunday evening brought a fresh Kofi Cockburn rumor and questions about other possible future Illini.

So - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy put heads together with IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting Kedric Prince to compare notes...and Brad then posted this Sunday night.

For this premium info and access to more than 1,400 stories and features, subscribe to IlliniGuys.com.  Click the orange bar above this and sign up for a free 7-day trial!

In a lot of ways, Illinois tailback Josh McCray outperformed his own expectations for his freshman season and now, he wants a lot more in 2022. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 10, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Harry Figiel/Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN -- In the time period between early August and early September, Josh McCray had doubt - a lot of it. 

As a true freshman tailback prospect and one of the first players signed by then-new Illinois head coach Bret Bielema, McCray still had what he describes as a “voice of doubt” that was telling him all that was unknown about his situation with the Illini. For the first time in his life, McCray was hundreds of miles away from his hometown of Enterprise, Ala. He was behind several experienced players on a depth chart of a Power Five Conference program. Illinois was the only power program who believed he could handle being a tailback at this level of football. 

“I would agree it’s underrated how you question everything about yourself as a first-year guy at this level. I did that,” McCray said. “I mean, I didn’t see myself being the tailback here as a freshman. I think I told people that. I was trying to get on special teams and just keep getting good practice grades when I got chances.”

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Contributor

April 9, 2022

(Cover file photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

What happened last year?

It's hard to believe looking back on things, but when Bret Bielema took over as coach of the Illinois football program the likely options for quarterback in 2021 were Isaiah Williams, Deuce Spann, Coran Taylor and Matt Robinson.  With Robinson's decision to leave the program, none of those players are still in the quarterback meeting room.  Coach Bielema transformed many things about the Illini football program after he took over, but no unit has changed more than quarterback.

When Brandon Peters agreed to return for 2021 and then Artur Sitkowski transferred in from Rutgers, it signaled that the Illini under Tony Petersen were going to focus on pocket passing rather than the athleticism that prior coordinator Rod Smith favored.  Then, Ryan Johnson joined the Illini program from Northern Michigan over the summer and the Illinois had effectively found a 1, 2 and 3 on the quarterback depth chart who all transferred in from other programs.   While this was happening, the Illini had Williams, Spann and Taylor at quarterback for spring practice, but soon thereafter they all saw the writing on the wall and switched to wide receiver, wide receiver, and safety, respectively.  The result was a fairly effective "two headed" quarterback rotation that resulted due to serious injuries to both Peters and Sitkowski. 

Texas Tech graduate transfer defensive end Devin Drew is on the Illinois campus this weekend for an official visit.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 9, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Michael C. Johnson/USA Today Sports)

CHAMPAIGN -- Illinois is hosting a Power Five Conference defensive lineman from the transfer portal this weekend. 

Multiple sources close to the Illinois football program have confirmed to IlliniGuys.com that Texas Tech defensive end Devin Drew is on campus this weekend for an official visit. Without naming the prospect, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema confirmed the Illini program is hosting an official visit this weekend and IlliniGuys.com is able to confirm Drew was on the sidelines as Illinois conducted its second scrimmage of the spring season on Saturday afternoon.

Drew, 6-foot-2 and 280 pounds, is a graduate transfer who had 34 total tackles (21 solo) and seven quarterback hurries last season for the Red Raiders.

CHAMPAIGN -- Asking Illinois head coach Bret Bielema about his program's offensive line depth can't come without him mentioning his biggest issue with the local media since he accepted the job in Champaign.
In the third week of October (Oct. 18th to be exact) leading into the game at Penn State, Bielema made this comment about his offensive line depth and the future of that position in the middle of his first season as the leader of the Illini program.
“I don't believe we have a player in the two-deep that they've recruited here over the last three years that is really significantly doing anything for us in the playing department,” Bielema said on Oct. 18. “That's a major concern.”
To this day in April 2022, Bielema still believes, and likely always will feel, that comment was taken out of context and the overall point he was trying to make was after this 2021 season, the experience and talent of that position group is likely to dip after the eligibility of Doug Kramer, Vedarian Lowe, Jack Badovinac and (at that time believing) Alex Palczewski would be running out. This comment by Bielema in mid-October led to him announcing a 2022 signing class less than a month later that included high school signees and two junior college transfers to that position group.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

April 9, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Shaw Local)

Jaydon Wright, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound running back from Kankakee finally took his visit to his home state university after seeing other places in the country.

Wright did a podcast with me (Ked's Recruiting Roundup). He sat there with his brand new orange t-shirt that read FAM1LLY on it grinning from ear to ear. I asked Jaydon why he was so happy.

Jaydon said, "It was awesome today, I could not believe all the great things I saw there today. It was everything I wanted it to be and more."

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

April 8, 2022

The Illini coaching staff is walking tall with a bit of a strut after 5-star guard Skyy Clark announced his commitment to the Orange and Blue Thursday afternoon on ESPNU.

With the recruiting class of 2022 now done, the Illini set sights on targets in the transfer portal.  First up is LSU guard Brandon Murray.

The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Baltimore native by way of IMG Academy has ties to Illini assistant Chester Frazier, who also hails from Baltimore and recruited Murray years earlier when he was an assistant at Virginia Tech.

CBS Sports analyst Jon Rothstein reported that Murray will visit Tennessee, Illinois, and Georgetown. Murray, who averaged 10 points and three rebounds a game as a freshman for LSU, is expected to make a decision as early as Monday.