Quote:
Originally Posted by LordJeffBuck
With Filer and Goebel headed elsewhere, I think that Brandon Green would have to be near the top of the Illini "wish list", and Zook should have a good chance to land him.
DT Reggie Ellis would probably be #2 on the "wish list" - he's got a nice offer list, so landing him will be a challenge.
I also like TE London Davis, who has Illinois in his top five (probably near the top of that list).
QB MarQueis Gray out of Indianapolis would be a nice heir apparent to Juice Williams.
Illinois should have a reasonable chance to sign LB Justin Staples and RB Isaiah Pead out of Ohio. Maybe Glenville CB Donnie Fletcher as well.
Of the current verbals, Graham Pocic really stands out. I'd be kind of surprised if Jack Ramsey (5' 11", 182 lbs) stays at QB, regardless of what Zook has told him.
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Pocic, Hardeman, Ramsey, Palmer, Foster all stand out so far this year. Ramsey won't play QB. He may get a pass here and there a la Randel El (The Pittsburgh version), but he is a WR, and a explosive one at that. Brandon Green may get the hype as far as the best WR in the city, but it is Ramsey. He just hasn't played it. Green is a priority also though and I expect him to wear the Orange and Blue (Although there have been talks of Minny wit his teammate Johnny Johnson floating around before it was confirmed by my guy at Robeson. He says if Illinois offers Johnson, it's pretty much done but that is highly unlikely). Palmer is going to get some rave reviews when he's finally healthy...........believe me. He is a stud. Everybody knows my stance on Hardeman already with all the threads I've started on the Illinois scout site over the past few months. When you knock 5 guys out cold in practice..........yeah. Combine that with 4.5 speed on a 6'2, 220 frame and it has all the makings of a absolutely stupid S (In a good way though
).
Pocic has been compared to former Michigan T Jon Jansen. I could see that. Don't know how good he will wind up but all I know is he will be good. Besides Hardeman, Glen Foster may be my favorite recruit for this year, and that includes Filer, Ellis, etc. He can potientially be better than any player in the state this year and that includes his highly ranked teammate Steve Filer and Catholic League counterpart Darius Fleming. I've said this for the longest. I do hope Filer comes and Fleming reconsiders though and Illinois can just have them all.
Reggie Ellis is the #1 DT on the board, another thing I have been saying for months even with the emergence of Goebal. I don't think people really know how good this dude is because he's been hurt. But if the combines are any indication, he's fully healthy. I expect him to wear the O&B. Same with Flash Thomas. Don't ask how, just know. Especially with Ellis.
I like London Davis also. He has been described as a "top 5 talent" by scouts in Illinois. He needs to improve his grades though. He has a 1.8 GPA but he is improving so look for his ranking to go up. I hope he wears O&B but I'm not really sure. I doubt Gray is going to be in O&B, especially since Charest will be commiting soon. Add Patrick Nixon from Florida (Who will be a 4 star in the next rankings..........and I will also add that the DB talent will be absolutely sick) along with Tyler Sands from PA, David Young from Edwardsville, etc. and Illinois will have yet another good class and will continue building the talent necessary to compete year in and year out for Big Ten titles and eventually, National Championships. I personally think that will start to happen next year.
As far as '07, honestly, I am excited about the entire class. I'm kind of disappointed that two players who could be even better than Benn and Wilson, WR Anthony Morris and RB Deries Hodge, most likely aren't going to qualify. It looks like it's basically a done deal with Hodge. It's too bad though 'cause he would've REALLY made us forget about Robert Hughes very quickly. Talk is he'll be going to Milford Prep. The one positive, if there is one, is that he'll be a 4 or possibly even 5 star RB when he comes out. As I'm sure everybody knows, there was a LOT in why he wasn't ranked highly. I'm holding out hope for Morris though, as he is really a sleeper despite being a 4 star player. His coach, Coach Mosel at Thornton, describes him as "the best player he's ever coached" and the "most multi dimensional player he's ever coached". And that is impressive considering the over 100 D1 player he's coached including players like Antwan Randel El, Napoleon Harris, Tai Streets, Terrance Jamison, among others. He also said OL Craig Wilson (2006 recruit who had to go to prep school for a year) was the "best OL he's ever coached" and "will play in the NFL". Those same statements (Well the NFL part) were echoed by the Hargrave Military coach. So I really trust in what Mosel speaks. He doesn't say anything that he doesn't mean and he doesn't hype up his players just to get them attention.
Like I said I'm excited about everybody, but those two really stick out. With them I'd put Brian Gamble, Jack Cornell, the aforementioned Craig Wilson, Mark Jackson, Josh Brent, D'Angelo McCray, and Miami Thomas. Those would be the ones I'm most excited for in '07 but again, I'm excited about the whole class. They will all contribute in some way, some really big, some big, some on ST's, etc. They will contribute.
07-10-2007, 10:17 PM
) with Benn right there. Pocic is starting to get in really good with PA OL Tyler Sands and is really close friends with Goebal (Although you said your info says that Illinois isn't in it..........did I mention I hope it is wrong?