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By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

July 20th, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Sports Illustrated)

(EDITOR'S NOTE: We asked our Football Writer/Analyst Matt Stevens and Director of Recruiting Kedric Prince to offer a point/counterpoint on Illini football recruiting in the 2023 class.  Kedric's view posts today after Matt's went up yesterday.)

To say the Illini football program has traditionally struggled to win consistently would be an understatement. Over the years, there've been some great teams and unbelievable players, but again not a program where opponents feared yearly.

The Illinois athletic director made a splash hire when he first arrived on campus when he announced Lovie Smith as the new man in charge. Like Smith or not, he had a very good NFL resume and most Illini fans remembered him as the coach who led the Bears to the Super Bowl and who was eventually fired after a 10-win NFL season.

The Smith hire was such big news that it was the lead story on ESPN's SportsCenter. College football analysts everywhere believed he gave the forever-struggling Illini a glimmer of hope.

In a high school signee class Bret Bielema stressed would be smaller in numbers, several of the 15 verbal commits in the Illini’s 2023 recruiting class haven’t received another Power Five offer. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

July 19, 2022

(EDITOR'S NOTE: We asked our Football Writer/Analyst Matt Stevens and Director of Recruiting Kedric Prince to offer a point/counterpoint on Illini football recruiting in the 2023 class.  Matt's view posts today, followed by Kedric's tomorrow.)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- It should be noted Bret Bielema is actually on a pace right now to overdeliver on the one promise he made about the 2023 recruiting class not being of high quantity. 

With already 15 verbal pledges by Independence Day to this upcoming signing class, the second full class of Bielema’s tenure with the Illini, Illinois may actually be close to wrapping up the high school portion of this class. 

All intel from Bielema’s program to IlliniGuys.com is suggesting that short high priority four-star in-state prospect Kankakee cornerback Jyaire Hill, the Illini coaching staff has already pivoted its focus to begin its homework on the transfer portal, 2024 and 2025 classes. 

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst July 18, […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

July 18th, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Davius Loury's Twitter page)

The state of Illinois is always rich in basketball talent, the class of 2023 and 2024 will be no different. The Fighting Illini men’s basketball staff is traveling the country to find the next big time target, but Illinois remains a hotbed.

Here’s my list of the top ten targets in 2023-24.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

July 17, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Kenari Wilcher's Twitter page)

Kenari Wilcher of Moore Haven, Florida committed to the Illini on July 4 and became the 6th Florida recruit in the Class of 2023 for the Illini.  Illini nation should be especially excited about this particular addition though, because Wilcher is an NFL-level athlete that Illinois was very wise to grab while they could.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

Despite putting a higher priority and emphasis on building relationships with elite, in-state recruiting talent, Bret Bielema’s effort with local prospects still not producing high-level results.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

July 16, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The foundational piece of the Bret Bielema hire nearly 20 months ago was his promise to not only his new bosses at Illinois but also in-state high school programs that the Illini would win recruiting battles on their elite-level talent.

Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman executed an efficient, seven-day search from the day Lovie Smith was terminated (Dec. 13, 2020) to the day Bret Bielema was hired (Dec. 20, 2020) and on his checklist of goals for the new hire was the desire and skills to attract the best high school talent inside the state of Illinois to stay in their home state for college football. More importantly, it was a much-needed quality to keep rival Big Ten Conference programs such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Purdue and Minnesota from consistently poaching the state’s highest ranked players. 

“I can’t control anything Illinois has done or been a part of in the past, (but) I can control is what we do in the future. There isn’t going to be a program in the country that’s going to recruit you harder to come to your home state,” Bielema said in his introductory media conference in 2020. “I really believe this. For Illinois to be successful like they've never been in the past, they have to recruit the state of Illinois better than they have in the past.”

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

July 15, 2023

Illinois made an unusual addition to its recruiting class when Vero Beach tight end Nathan Guinn committed to the Orange and Blue.  What makes this addition unusual is that Guinn has never played tight end before.  He was primarily a defensive end for Vero Beach and played only wide receiver on offense.  However, this Spring the 6'5, 220 pound Guinn started working out at tight end for prospective college teams and the offers started rolling in.  Illinois was Guinn's first power five conference offer and he jumped on it.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

By Kedric Prince – IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

July 14, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Prep Hoops)

Jackson Kotecki is a 6-foot-9, 210 pound forward from St. Ignatius High School who has battled hard this summer and may have turned a few heads.

Class: 2023

Why Illinois:  Looking for players to maybe backup others would be what Kotecki is; he is not going to make you spill your popcorn, but he would be a nice piece to add to the rotation that will give you some size. He is not weak, he is not a "project," but has good footwork and is a willing passer. He battled big men all weekend at the Riverside Brookfield Shootout last month and Illinois coaches took notice.

By IlliniGuys Staff

(Cover photo courtesy Shaw Local)

The busy recruiting/evaluation period of July is underway and nobody has his eye on the ball like IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy.

For anyone who wants to know where Illinois basketball stands in recruiting, this is a must-read:

For the first time since taking the job, Illinois head coach Bret Bielema was able to show what sets his June football camps apart from his competition and it’s the one-on-one instruction of his staff.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

July 13, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Following his performance over the last two hours at the Illinois prospect camp last month, Ryan Kerscher spent over 15 minutes talking with the Illini offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. 

Did the conversation result in a scholarship offer to the 2023 quarterback prospect from Walsh Jesuit High School near Cleveland? No. 

Was a preferred walk-on offer made? No. 

And maybe the important part of the ordeal, does Kerscher, who enters this 2022 season as the starting quarterback of a proud program that has gone from losing 27 of its last 30 games from 2017-2019 to an 11-3 season that is coming off a 2021 playoff run to the Division 2, Region 5 Final appearance, feel his time was wasted? No. 

"I was actually talking to (Lunney Jr.) a long time after this was all over about what I need to do in order to get a walk-on opportunity at the college level and he spoke with me for a long time about the process and what that would entail for any prospect like myself.”

By Zain Bando - IlliniGuys Student Correspondent July 12, […]

Connor Cagley, IlliniGuys Staff Writer July 11, 2022 Thanks […]

Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman says a complete overhaul or “dream house scenario” regarding the east and south sides of Memorial Stadium would cost around $200 million. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

July 6, 2022

Photos courtesy of Craig. Pessman/University of Illinois athletics department

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Fans should not expect any major renovation projects around Memorial Stadium to start anytime soon. 

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst

July 10, 2022

(Cover phot0 courtesy @DFritzphotos)

The Illini coaching staff and head coach Brad Underwood have long coveted Amani Hansberry and how he produces on the court and other coaches and evaluators are beginning to catch up after a big weekend in Kansas City for the 6’8 power forward. 

His height has been much debated but he set the record straight for us. 

“I’m 6’8 now. I grew.”