Illinois Fighting Illini Thread

[Bleacher Bums]

I figured we had to get at least 1 player because Beckman pushed hard to get players here

[BCB mwat15]

In other recruiting news, we are still pushing hard to get some WRs in this class. They are still in on Treadwell but he is extremely unlikely to end up here. Instead, Louisiana 3* WR Ronald Lewis is looking to visit this month. He has an impressive offer list including Texas A&M, TCU, and Nebraska. Also, Virginia 3* athlete DaeSean Hamilton was on campus a couple days ago for an unofficial visit. He also has an impressive offer list including Michigan St, Virginia Tech, and Miami.

Either one would be a great get for a team that is desperate for playmakers.

[BCB mwat15]

Make that 16 commitments for Beckman. 3* DC Safety Darwyn Kelly committed today.

http://247sports.com/Article/Darwyn-...g-Illini-83479

He is the type of player that Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan St built their program on. Like Mosely he doesn't have the 4th or 5th star but he was a target for a number of BCS programs including West Virginia, Colorado, UNC, and Purdue.

I think that makes 7 DBs in this class so I doubt we will take another.

[Bleacher Bums]

Really like Kelly and glad they got him. Now I'm still hoping Gibbs fully commits even though I have this feeling he ends up at Michigan with Treadwell

[BCB mwat15]

We could be adding another transfer OL; this time from Nebraksa.

Hearing 2011 SHG graduate & former 4 star OL recruit Ryan Klachko will be transferring to Illinois from Nebraska. NU has confirmed he's left

http://twitter.com/ZachKerker

Here is his Rivals profile: http://rivals.yahoo.com/nebraska/foo...Nv5mB5.ylbs5B4

He would be another great addition to the program and could help ease the sting of missing out on all of the OL in this class (Pocic, Tulley-Tillman, etc). Hopefully we hear something very soon on this.

[IlliniCubs]

Huge pickup today with Reggie Spearman committing!!!

[BCB mwat15]

Huge pickup today with Reggie Spearman committing!!!

While it is nice to keep bringing in playmaking LB prospects; there is no doubt that the biggest part of his commitment is that he is good friends with Treadwell. I still don't think we have much of a shot with him but it certainly won't hurt.

Also, Klachko was apparently seen at practice today. Nothing has been made official but it seems as though Illinois has a good shot at being where he transfers.

[haggis]

Report --- UW to play Illinois at Soldier Field in 2013

There's a report out of Chicago today that Washington's game at Illinois on Sept. 14, 2013 will be played at Soldier Field, the home of the Chicago Bears.

Here's the Tweet, from Ryan Baker of WBBM-TV/CBS2 in Chicago.

There's no official confirmation of this by either school (though as the home team, it would basically be Illinois' call).

Chicago is roughly two hours from Illinois' campus in Champaign. Illinois has not played at Soldier Field since 1994, interestingly enough against Washington State.

But Illinois officials mentioned in the spring being interested in playing one game a year at Soldier Field, preferably against a big-name non-conference foe. In particular, Illinois wanted to play at Soldier Field in odd-numbered years when it does not play at Northwestern, which is also located in the Chicago area, thereby giving the Illini a presence in Chicago every year. The UW game would obviously fit that desire.

Solider Field has one of the most storied traditions in football, and was renovated in 2003.

UW recently announced that it was moving its 2013 home opener against Boise State up to Aug. 31. UW would then have a bye before playing at Illinois.

Illinois opens the 2013 season with home games against Southern Illinois and Cincinnati before hosting UW.

Playing in an NFL stadium won't be anything new for UW after this season, when it will play all of its home games at CenturyLink Field while Husky Stadium is being renovated.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm..._illinois.html



I'll definitely go boo the **** out of the Huskies if they're bringing them that close to me.

[BCB mwat15]

Huge pickup today with Reggie Spearman committing!!!

I forgot about this report as well (I was reminded of it by a post on A Lion Eye). This is a tweet from Spearman about a month ago.

Lol just had a long talk with @CG340 we're going to the same school

CG340 is 2014 Plainfield South LB Clifton Garrett. He's already got an impressive offer list. He is going to be one of the top 15 players in the state in 2014. That would be huge if he ends up in Champaign.

[BCB mwat15]

Make that 18 commitments for Beckman. This time it is JUCO WR Martize Barr.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/illinois/foo...ze-Barr-139947

I don't know anything about him but we were pretty desperate for a WR in this class; especially since Jason Robertson didn't make the grades (he is still expected to end up on campus for the 2013 season btw).

[BCB mwat15]

We could be adding another transfer OL; this time from Nebraksa.

http://twitter.com/ZachKerker

Here is his Rivals profile: http://rivals.yahoo.com/nebraska/foo...Nv5mB5.ylbs5B4

He would be another great addition to the program and could help ease the sting of missing out on all of the OL in this class (Pocic, Tulley-Tillman, etc). Hopefully we hear something very soon on this.

I want to update this story. There has been a lot of buzz today that Klachko has enrolled at the U of I. I'm hoping we see something official on his transfer real soon. He could be a huge addition after missing out on all of the top OL talent in state this year.

[cubs1st]

Klachko to Illinois is now official.

[BCB mwat15]

19 commitments for Beckman. ATH Miguel Hermosillo of Ottawa committed today and it sounds like he will also play baseball for UI.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/illinois/foo...mosillo-137682

It is interesting too see that we are targeting tweener playmakers like Hermosillo and John Armstrong; maybe for a Percy Harvin/De'Anthony Thomas role. Anyways, we are starting to run out of available spots for this class. One will be held until Treadwell decides but we only have 6 slots left for this class (IIRC the class size rules). We still need to add playmakers on O and OL IMO.

[BCB mwat15]

LaQuon Treadwell and his teammate Nyles Morgan were supposed to be on campus today, but apparently they weren't able to make it due to practice; that is pretty disappointing.

Hopefully, Scheelhaase is alright. We are in a lot of trouble without him. Reilly's performance left a lot to be desired.

[bosox_mattyice3]

I'm friends with Hermosillo. He is tearing **** up right now.