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From my point of view, it's mostly because he never got the chance. He was fired 2.5 seasons in. Spurrier was offered an NFL head coaching gig seemingly every year from 1995-2002, and yet he didn't jump until 2002. Why 2002? Because he knew the cupboard was getting bare. Zook came in...

I'm witcha D. Turner didn't really ever "recruit". The difference between Zook's staff and Turner's staff is more than just "much better" - it's Jessica Alba versus Kathy Bates. Turner was one of the worst recruiters in the Big Ten in the last 20 years, Zook is proving he can be one of the...

Leman and Mitchell were Turner recruits. And they're right in line with most Turner recruiting classes - a couple late-round picks here and there. Mendenhall was a Zook recruit (although he committed that fall under soon-to-be-fired Turner, Zook held on to him, kept the wolves at bay, and got...

Touche'. The Wisconsin win was beatdown-ish, (they scored with 1 minute left to make it interesting), but the Penn State win was definitely a squeaker. Thankfully, Penn State had Anthony Morelli come to our rescue with 4 (yes, four) 4th quarter turnovers (three picks and a fumble). But I will...

While the post you are referring to is certainly kool-aid laced, the stats you list are misleading as well. The players drafted during those 10 season were all Lou Tepper and Ron Turner recruits - arguably two of the worst recruiters in the history of our great conference. Not only were they...

Neither team has recruited like Ohio State or Michigan before, but both have seen a drop in recruiting over the past few years. From 2003 to 2005, Iowa pulled in 14 blue chippers (4 and 5-star players). From 2006 to 2008, they pulled in 7, including zero this past recruiting season. Combine...

I recently researched some interesting recruiting numbers. Thought I'd share them over here. All of these are using Rivals rankings, FWIW. First, I looked at how much Ron Zook has improved Illini recruiting. Here's a comparison of Ron Turner's '02, '03, and '04 versus Ron Zook's '06, '07...

... There's been a huge upgrade in the facilites this decade. First was the new indoor practice facility built 4, maybe 5 years ago. Before that, during inclement weather, we practiced in the old National Guard Armory, or, during the early spring, in an inflatable bubble. :blush: Next was...

Long time reader, first time poster Thought I'd join the fray over here. I'm a 1996 Illinois grad, football season ticket holder, and OCD Illini fan. This place has long been one of top recruiting information sources, and for some reason, today, I decided to join the discussion. I bring...