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The Devil Himself

Spring ball, other musings

Posted By:  Gary Zeeman 4/18/10

I've noticed one thing about Nathan Scheelhaase since he's arrived at Illinois-- he should be on the field and playing. He's gotten a chance to show what he has and there has been no disappointment.

This guy is far better than Juice, and he's a freshman (RS). How the Zooker got him is beyond me, but he HAS to be on the field this year. This guy can run and he's showed some signs of being able to pass the ball. He's not too consistent right now, but his arm will develop to gain some accuracy and improve his deep ball. He can be a star as soon as Zook is gone.

There was a rumor started that Mike LeShoure got in a little argument with Zook. If this is the case, I think the Zook should take a step back and realize that this was his best rusher last year. If it's not, then I'm glad we're not having problems this early in the year.

On another note, RSFr. Lendell Buckner was suspended indefinitely after being arrested for residential burglary. The rumors on campus say that he tried to steal some electronics (and possibly some other substances) from another student's dorm room.

My question is this: why is he only being suspended? Players have gotten kicked off of teams for much less. Who's to say he won't be back before the season actually starts. This is part of a long list of Illini football players getting in trouble with the law (most of them involve stealing alcohol from bars). Where is the discipline?

Does Zook honestly believe that he can control a team with a suspension that means almost nothing?

And what the hell was this guy thinking? I mean, honestly. He's getting a free ride here to play football. Let's just say he's getting $20,000 grand a year for that. Can this young man not afford an iPod?

If he's so strapped for cash, why does he have to resort to taking something from somebody's room? I'm sure he gets free meals and Late Night Points (students know what I'm talking about), why not use those points and buy lunch for somebody for cash exchange?

I read today that a Georgia QB was kicked off the team for alcohol problems over spring break and a couple other off-field issues. But, since this is a struggling program without discipline, Zook feels that the only course of action is to simply suspend the former 4-star player.

Discipline begins off the field. Under Zook, there's been none.

First '11 Recruit

Posted By:  Gary Zeeman 3/10/10

I would like to apologize for not updating the site very often. I know I said that I would, but I guess I'm just a liar.

Luckily, not a whole lot happened. The last few posts were me just complaining about the 2010 recruiting class and everything went as expected. We lost a 4-star recruit and got a bunch of 3 and 2-star guys as well as a handful of JUCO players.

But I did want to make a comment about the first '11 recruit, Hunter Wells.

Well, needless to say, I'm a bit skeptic to the news. I read about it when I saw a Daily Illini report of it. What you need to know is that this is a 6'4", 283lb guy that has good size and decent explosiveness.

This is a guy from Canton, Ill., who was on an 0-9 football team last year (so, he'll fit right in?). There were only three schools after him (NIU, Ill St.) and had a measly grade of 45 on ESPN's rankings. Sadly, he doesn't have a scout or rivals profile.

What does this tell us? This signing makes about as much sense as a Miley Cyrus song. Nobody thought that this kid was worth recruiting so nobody was after him. NIU (which I guess is actually a better program) decided to pass on the kid. (Please come save our program Jerry Kill!) If Illinois didn't bail him out with a scholarship, he would have likely landed at Illinois State.

I know it's a bit too early to make any real judgments on the kid, but this is not too promising. He better have one helluva year to justify this offer. And by that I of course mean, his team wins at least one game...

Help Wanted

Posted By:  Gary Zeeman 1/21/10

So the University of Illinois has an assistant coaching vacancy and those interested can apply online.  Seriously, check this out.

https://jobs.illinois.edu/default.cfm?page=job&jobID=1586&returnPage=searchResults

You can't rely on Zook to bring in his own coaching staff that you have to put out a job notice?  So Guenther, when you fired Zook after next season, are you going to do the same thing?  Can I apply for the job?

I'm seriously thinking about it, but I guess it's too late.  It closed on 1/19.  Maybe they put up a new post?  This is a joke.

Also, let's look in on recruiting.  We're up to 14 commits (according to Scout.com).  Man, we're doing great.  So great that Scout has us last in the Big Ten in recruiting.  If you're keeping track, that's two 4-star guys and four 3-star players.  Really great recruiting.

Two WRs (2 star, 1 star) and a TE (2 star) as well.

We may actually have to rely on scheme this year.  That wasn't part of the deal....

How About The Big Ten

Posted By:  Gary Zeeman 1/12/10

This post is a tad bit belated, but I wanted to break down the Big Ten's Bowl Performance Again.

Texas Tech def. Michigan St 41-31
Penn St. def LSU 19-17
Ohio St. def Oregon 26-17
Iowa def Georgia Tech 24-14
Iowa St. def Minnesota 14-13
Wisconsin def Miami (FL) 20-14
Auburn def Northwestern 38-35
BigTen overall:  4-3

That's not bad for the conference that is supposed to be one of the worst of the Power 6.

Keep in mind MSU was shorthanded multiple players (TT was shorthanded a coach) and battled Tech hard.  That was a very close game.

Iowa State barely beat Minnesota without the Gophers having Decker

And Northwestern blew it again in overtime.

This could have easily been 7-0 (although it could have just as easily been 0-7).

Perhaps this conference is better than what people believe it to be.  It's not the SEC by any means, but there is good football played here.

And don't forget, the Big Ten had 3 teams in the final Top Ten poll the most of any conference.  Wisconsin wasn't too far behind either, holding the 16 spot.