Football

Football Recruiting Spotlight on Calvin Smith

Football Recruiting Spotlight on Calvin Smith

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

July 8, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Calvin Smith's Twitter page)

I hope you've all looked at the articles or film on Mason Muragin before you read up on Calvin Smith, because checking out Muragin before you look into Smith will make you appreciate just what Illinois has in Calvin Smith.  Smith's production as a high school junior is impressive, though not as impressive as Muragin's, yet he accomplished all of that with only a small fraction of the skill that Muragin demonstrates.  Yet, Illinois was Muragin's only power five offer, while Smith counted at least 20 when the committed.  The difference is Smith's athleticism, because Muragin's skill can be taught yet there's no way to duplicate Smith's God-given talents.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

I'm sure anyone can see that Calvin Smith is an elite athlete. 

Read
Football Recruiting Spotlight on Mason Muragin

Football Recruiting Spotlight on Mason Muragin

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

July 2, 2022

Thirty-one tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks, as a junior playing in Michigan's second toughest playoff division.  That should get anyone's attention right?  Well, Mason Muragin also only held one high major offer, from Illinois.  Muragin also had high major interest that would likely have materialized into another high major offer, but the fact is he was not fending off Big Ten recruiters and he was not likely to be doing so.  So, why the lack of interest?

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

Read
Recruiting: Illini Get Commitment From 2023 Florida DB Kenari Wilcher

Recruiting: Illini Get Commitment From 2023 Florida DB Kenari Wilcher

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting 

July 4, 2022

Illinois assistant defensive backs coach Aaron Henry goes deep for another recruiting touchdown in his home state as today Illinois received a verbal commitment from Kenari Wilcher, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound athlete from Clewiston, Florida.

Illinois has done very well as of late entering the rich state of Florida for talent.

Wilcher is a great start for help at the DB position, but after meeting with Coach Henry on his recent visit, it all seemed like a done deal early. 

Read
Tales from Behind the Camera with Mark Jones, the University of Illinois Official Sports Photographer

Tales from Behind the Camera with Mark Jones, the University of Illinois Official Sports Photographer

Mike Cagley, IlliniGuy July 4, 2022 All photos in […]

Read
Heat Checks and Hail Marys - Underwood Sets a Precedent

Heat Checks and Hail Marys - Underwood Sets a Precedent

Mike Cagley, IlliniGuy July 4, 2022 Happy 4th of […]

Read
New World Order: How The Big Ten Leads College Sports Into The Next Era

New World Order: How The Big Ten Leads College Sports Into The Next Era

By Larry Smith/IlliniGuys Staff July 3, 2022 We've all […]

Read
Football Recruiting Spotlight on Jaheim Clarke

Football Recruiting Spotlight on Jaheim Clarke

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

June 29, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Jaheim Clarke's Twitter page) 

You know how Bret Bielema has been stocking up on Illinois players?  There's one very large exception.  At cornerback, Illinois has added nothing but Floridians under Assistant Coach (and Florida native) Aaron Henry.  In fact, when Jaheim Clarke arrives on campus in 2023, the entire cornerback room might just be filled with native Floridians. Do I have a problem with that?  Absolutely not, because Florida has large pockets of the type of athlete who succeed at skill positions and Clarke is yet another cornerback addition from the area that I just love.  Clarke is listed as a safety under both main recruiting services and he played there for much of 2021, but Illinois looks at Clarke as a cornerback and I'm fully behind that decision.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

Read
Pac-12 Powers USC, UCLA Will Join The Big Ten in 2024

Pac-12 Powers USC, UCLA Will Join The Big Ten in 2024

According to multiple publications, USC and UCLA are in […]

Read
Illini AD Josh Whitman Isn’t Sure NCAA Should Be Governing College Sports: “We have a credibility problem”

Illini AD Josh Whitman Isn’t Sure NCAA Should Be Governing College Sports: “We have a credibility problem”

Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman suggests that modern-day college athletics has a nationwide public credibility problem and needs massive innovation.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

June 28, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois’ athletics director isn’t committed to the idea of the NCAA being the national governing body going forward. 

“It’s going to be very different and there’s two parallel issues that we all know at some point will intersect,” Whitman said. “One, what is the future of the NCAA? What is the future of the Power Five Conferences? The second is what are the benefits? What are we providing to our student-athletes? We need to find more ways to financially benefit our student-athletes.” 

In his two-hour, annual roundtable session with local reporters Tuesday, Whitman echoed his support for the ideas stated directly from the Supreme Court in the recent 9-0 ruling against the NCAA as a governing body in the Alston case and the continually rising revenues from media deals. 

With the current era of college athletics including the legality of name, image and likeness deals along with player movement via the transfer portal, Whitman stated Tuesday he isn’t convinced his school’s athletics department should be governed by the NCAA office in Indianapolis any longer. 

Read
COLUMN: Whitman’s Evasive Answer on Divisions Creates Questions

COLUMN: Whitman’s Evasive Answer on Divisions Creates Questions

Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman clearly doesn’t want to currently lose the one thing that gives his football program a shot at national relevancy - being in the Western Division of the Big Ten.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

June 27, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- When asked if he had a stance on whether the Big Ten Conference eliminating football divisions, Josh Whitman chose six words and one line. 

“Not one I want to share,” the Illinois athletics director said on June 2 at the grand opening of Atkins Golf Club in Urbana.

The six-word comment was another sign of Whitman showing his strong talent of being strategically dismissive of a simple question. It was also a sign that Illinois is on losing side of a fight that will be stopped by technical knockout sooner than later. It was impossible to believe the Illinois athletics director doesn’t have an opinion, so “no” was off the table. He couldn’t have said “yes I do, no comment” because Whitman knew the reporters, including yours truly who asked the question, believed he’d just spent spring meetings in Arizona, less than two weeks prior, discussing such a topic. 

In case you have been living under a rock for several months, divisions in Power Five Conference college football are going into the extinct category along with ties, the triple option offense and coaches wearing suits on sidelines. 

Read
Recruiting: 2023 TE Nathan Guinn Turns June Illini Camp Visit Into June Illini Verbal Commitment 

Recruiting: 2023 TE Nathan Guinn Turns June Illini Camp Visit Into June Illini Verbal Commitment 

A few weeks after attending a showcase camp at Illinois and less than 48 hours from his official weekend weekend in Champaign, 2023 tight end prospect Nathan Guinn is committed to the Illini.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

June 27, 2022

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- One year ago, Nathan Guinn was an overlooked defensive edge rusher.  Fast forward to today and he's a prep athlete who parlayed a productive month of June to become a tight end committed to a Big Ten program.

Guinn, a 2023 prospect who stands 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, elected to give a verbal commitment to Illinois just a few days removed from his official visit weekend in Champaign. 

The Vero Beach (Fla.) High School product traveled over 1,000 miles to attend the first Illini Showcase Camp on June 11 and it was fairly obvious from the first few minutes of drill work at the camp why Guinn was willing to make this gamble.

Read
Recruiting: 2023 Florida WR Lott Pledges To Illinois

Recruiting: 2023 Florida WR Lott Pledges To Illinois

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

June 27th, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Kedric Prince/IliniGuys)

The class of 2023 continues to be good to Illinois. Today they received a verbal commitment from speedster Teremun Lott, a 6-foot-0 170-pound wide receiver from West Palm Beach, Florida, who has decided the Midwest is where he wants to play college football.

Read
Football Recruiting Spotlight - David Olano

Football Recruiting Spotlight - David Olano

Steve Sturm, IlliniGuys Football Analyst

June 26, 2022

Are you a glass half full or a glass half empty type of person? 

Read
Football Recruiting Spotlight - Pat Farrell

Football Recruiting Spotlight - Pat Farrell

Steve Sturm, IlliniGuys Football Analyst

June 17, 2022

The second of four commitments in the big weekend recruiting bonanza was Edge player Pat Farrell.

Read
Where Does Illinois Stand In Football Recruiting?

Where Does Illinois Stand In Football Recruiting?

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

June 25, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

Some may not want to admit it, but Illinois head football coach Bret Bielema is recruiting at a high-rate for Illinois standards.

The Fighting Illini always seemed to be behind the 8-ball in this category. They have yet to play a game in year two but Illinois is now being talked about with the other teams in the Big Ten's West Division.

Read