The last three eras of Illinois football have been up and down, to say the least.
Ron Zook took this Illinois program to a place we have rarely seen in history. That Rose Bowl season was magical and I will never forget the feeling of defeating No. 1 Ohio State. That era came crashing down when he finished the 2011 season with six straight losses, and athletic director Mike Thomas decided to fire him before the bowl game.
Enter the Tim Beckman era. This was a period in Illinois football history most of us want to forget. Bad press conferences, poor recruiting classes and then you add in player mistreatment, everything seemed to be going wrong for this era. Beckman soon floundered out of the role and Bill Cubit took over the reins for a brief period of time. Thomas was fired, though, and Josh Whitman was hired to be the new athletic director. Along with the new appointment of Whitman came the swift exit of Cubit.
Enter the Lovie Smith era. In March 2016, Illinois fans had a chance to celebrate for once. No, we weren’t coming off a national championship victory, but there was hope once again for the future. Lovie hit the recruiting trail hard and did a great job year one. Despite having a bad season, Lovie landed a top 50 recruiting class for 2017, and in that class came some talented players who will suit up for the Illini this fall.
Through these three eras of Illinois football there were successes and failures, especially in recruiting. When looking at the recruiting class over the last three eras something stands out to me. You can see a pattern of success based on how well the coaches recruited the wide receiver position. Full disclosure, the sample size is small, but there are some oddities in the mix.
There isn’t an argument who has had the most success out of the three head coaches. Zook took this Illinois team to the Rose Bowl and two other bowl games in only seven years with the program. That is a pretty solid resume. He also recruited the wide receiver position well.
The top four rated wide receivers who committed to Illinois size the class of 2006 all came under Zook’s watch. Arrelious Benn is the highest rated coming in as a five-star recruit who had a rating of .9933 according to 247Sports. He was the leading wide receiver on the Rose Bowl team.
Terry Hawthorne was the next highest rated wide receiver. He came from the class of 2009 and was a four-star recruit who had a rating of .9645. While Hawthorne switched over to defense, he was one of the best defensive backs on the team, led the program to two bowl games and was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.
Those are just two examples of how much of an impact recruiting talented wide receivers has on a program. Zook was a tremendous recruiter and accounts for 7 out of the top 10 highest rated wide receivers since 2006. Let’s now look at the Beckman era of recruiting wide receivers.
Beckman never finished a season with a winning record. He was 6-6 his final year as the head coach but lost the bowl game to drop to 6-7. His losing was exhausting and so was his lack of recruiting wide receivers.
The highest rated wide receiver Beckman landed in his time with the Illini was Sam Mays. He was a three-star recruit who had a rating of .8588. He ranks as the 10th highest rated wide receiver for the Illini since 2006. You then have to drop down to Mike Dudek at No. 14 who was a three-star recruit with a rating of .8422. He was a freshman sensation and still has a chance to be special, though.
Beckman couldn’t recruit elite wide receivers and that hurt him in the winning department. Out of the top 15 rated wide receivers Illinois has recruited since 2006, Beckman was only able to snag two of those 15. That isn’t good and the results showed.
The Lovie era could be different, though. Year one was rocky but Illinois didn’t have Lovie’s players in there. He now has a solid recruiting class under his belt where he landed some talented players, including a few wide receivers.
Already in Lovie’s short year and a half career and only one recruiting class, he has landed two of the top six rated wide receivers for the Illini since 2006. That is an impressive feat. Ricky Smalling is the highest rated as a three-star with a rating of .8869. Carmoni Green is right behind him as a three-star, as well, who has a rating of .8680.
Lovie also managed to snag another top 12 wide receiver since 2006. Kendall Smith is a three-star recruit who has a rating of .8444. So, in just one recruiting class, Lovie has managed to secure more top wide receivers than the entire Beckman era combined. This type of recruiting will make an impact on this program now and into the future.
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So, if you are ever feeling down about the Illinois football program just think, the future is bright and Lovie continues to secure top wide receivers. As long as there are playmakers on the field, Illinois football will be competitive.