Illinois Football: 4 observations from the Illini loss to Iowa

4. The future is so bright

I have been hard on the Illinois quarterback situation. I think the Illini offense is about as ineffective as I have ever seen it. The roster isn’t anywhere near where I want it.

But with that being said, the future is so darn bright for the Orange and Blue.

Yes, for the past decade or more, it feels like Illinois fans have been on the Titanic. We are just riding the sinking ship until it is fully submerged. Every few years we try to find a new captain to help revive the ship, but nothing has worked.

I can’t say that anymore, though. For the first time in what seems like an eternity, Illinois football has found their man. Bret Bielema, along with some of his coaching staff, is captaining the ship in the right direction. He took some of that Flex Seal and slapped it on the Titanic, and we are full steam ahead at this point.

There is nothing but optimism for the future of Illinois football. Think about this, the Illini roster is nearly identical to last year, but this Illinois team is playing so much better. We don’t have a quarterback, but there is a great option in Donovan Leary coming in from the class of 2022.

With a pretty bare cupboard, the Illinois defense has managed to be one of the best in the Big Ten. Ryan Walters is a hidden gem. He can make chicken salad out of chicken you-know-what.

The first full recruiting class for Bielema is still ranked inside the top 50 at No. 45 for 2022. Leary is going to need playmakers out wide, and the top two players in the 2022 class are wide receivers both ranked inside the top 700.

Illinois is recruiting the state of Illinois again. Four of our top six recruits are in-state kids. Shoot, there were some recruiting classes in the previous regime that had four total state of Illinois kids, let alone four in the top six.

We are 4-7. While there is a chance we could still go bowling in December, our record isn’t where we want it to be. But, hallelujah, we have competence in key roles. The coaching staff is looking good, the talent is going to be bolstered, and the future is so bright. I have optimism once again.