Illinois Football: Recapping Illini National Signing Day press conference

The Illinois football press conference to end National Signing Day 2019 was interesting, to say the least.

Lovie Smith took the podium to recap the great class of 2019. He mentioned a few names from the class like the signings of Shammond Cooper and Tarique Barnes. Those were the only two scholarship players to sign with the Illini on Wednesday. He also mentioned how excited he was about the speed they are adding to the team. He pointed out Kyron Cumby and Marquez Beason.

This was all standard post-National Signing Day talk. The coaches can finally talk about the recruits they have signed. Lovie also talked about how he is excited for the incoming transfers as well. Richie Petitbon and Luke Ford are already on campus for the Illini. One slightly surprising note was when Lovie said AD Miller isn’t on campus yet. He still has to clean up some academic issues, I guess.

One point Lovie also mentioned that some people are forgetting about is the fact that Illinois will have some players eligible who were on the team last year but couldn’t play. The main player he pointed out was Verdis Brown. I believe there is strong chance Brown is a starting defensive tackle for the Illini this season. He is essentially another four-star player we are adding to the mix.

To finish off the recruiting talk, Lovie also went into the areas that have been good to Illinois when it comes to recruiting. He gave a shout-out to Trinity Catholic High School which produced Isaiah Williams and Cooper, two big Illini commits this year. He says Chicago, St. Louis and Texas have been big for the Illini. He also wants to dive more into the Atlanta and Tampa areas as well.

And then Lovie got to the part that has made some fans very upset. He talked about the coaching situation on both sides of the ball. While he will have input on the running backs coaching hire, he seemed to kind of leave that up to offensive coordinator, Rod Smith. I believe that is a good call.

Lovie broke down what the defensive coaching staff will now look like. Lovie is going to move into the full-time role as the defensive coordinator. His son, Miles, will take over as the linebackers coach. Illinois hired Keynodo Hudson as the cornerbacks coach. The No. 2 voice on defense is going to be Gill Byrd, who is also the passing game coordinator and safeties coach. So, that is how the coaching staff will shake out.

I will talk about the coaching staff in a different article. There are too many thoughts to continue on in this one. The press conference helped clarify how everything is going down, though. I do agree with what Lovie said. He said, “We are a whole lot better right now.” This team is on the rise and the class of 2019 will accelerate everything. I trust the process.