Writing Illini
Fansided

Illinois Football: 3 reasons to not worry about the Illini class of 2021

By Rees Woodcock

LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini walks on the field before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini walks on the field before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
Illinois football
EAST HARTFORD, CT – SEPTEMBER 07: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lovie Smith during the game between the UConn Huskies and the Illinois Fighting Illini on September 7, 2019 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT. (Photo by Williams Paul/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. Lovie is on the right trajectory

The final note I wanted to point out is the trajectory of the program on both the winning side and the recruiting side.

A recruiting point I wanted to mention was the fact Lovie continues to bring in solid recruits despite the lack of numbers. The class of 2020 featured two top 500 players at skill positions in Reggie Love (RB) and James Frenchie (WR). The class of 2019 featured three top 500 players at important positions in Marquez Beason (DB), Isaiah Williams (QB) and Shammond Cooper (LB).

So, while we aren’t bringing in 25 new freshmen each season, we still are bringing in top guys who can compete for starting jobs right away. The quality of the talent that is on this team continues to rise with each recruiting class.

And now I want to get to the winning side of the right trajectory. Lovie entered this program in 2016. He took over a team that was coming off firing two head coaches in a six-month span. Massive departures occurred after the season. The culture of the program was decaying by the day. We were an embarrassment to the college football world. And he didn’t have a chance to recruit the class of 2016, so he got the scraps that were leftover.

dark. Next. Illini rise in final class of 2020 rankings

The first couple of years were rough as Lovie was building a program and the right culture of winning. Going 3-9 in 2016 followed by 2-10 in 2017 was rough. But 2018 brought us four wins and a couple of Big Ten victories. And then last year, Illinois got over the hump and made it back to a bowl game with a 6-6 record.

Home/Illinois Football