'If he was on fire I wouldn't walk across the street to piss on him'

The offensive line edition...

*It's transfer portal season...

-Maybe it's the 'older’ in me....with all the transfer portal stuff going on both hoops and football...feel like saying, 'hey tell me who is on the team when practice starts'....all for players getting paid/having the ability to transfer… this spring has been crazy all the moving going on....following recruiting has always been 'soap opera's for men' with the transfer portal it's that on roids'.

-By the time you read this....Illini football likely will have 'lost' 15 players off the spring roster to the portal...wrote before....majority of those were not going to be in the two-deep did lose a highly touted recruit recently.

-Freshman offensive lineman Andrew Dennis announced he was leaving CU....originally committed to Michigan State….the Mt. Pleasant (Mich.) prep started looking around when Mel Tucker was fired 2023....Illinois beat Penn State and Clemson for Dennis...head coach Bret Bielema crowed about the recruiting win all winter so the transfer a dent to his fenders…..Dennis announced later he was transferring back to Michigan State....my information young man had discipline/maturity issues ….staff/his family decided it was best for him to move on...better to find out now.

-Had to laugh....Yale transfer defensive end Clay Patterson committed to Illinois last December...decided in January Bielema's program wasn't a fit...transferred to UNLV...after spring ball in Las Vegas....Patterson now back in the transfer portal....you figure it out....do agree with others that if you want to find a starter in the spring portal...going to have to over pay ....programs desperate making panic offers.

-Random thought…..Head coach/staff have tried so hard to get in-state recruiting going.…..it is me or does the Illini vibe for top prospects just seem.....not good....depth this class 25 deep with legit Big Ten types...'year of the defensive linemen'....Illini will be lucky to get one of the top seven-eight players at position....lost all the positive buzz off the 2022 season struggling last fall.....hard to get that ’mo’ back.

*Huge season in 2024 for Illini offensive line coach Bart Miller...

-Fourth year on the staff…..Miller the longest tenured Illini offensive line coach since Harry Hiestand.......Big fan of the hire when Bielema took over....Background....been following Miller's career since he was an offensive line recruit at Elk Grove (Ill.) High School class of 2003.……was tight with Jim Goranson Sr. (father of Illini 2001 recruit Jim Jr. from Elk Grove)....Senior always talking Miller back then...when the late Osia Lewis left Illinois for New Mexico he signed the lineman for the Lobos.

Felt Miller up and comer success coaching o-line at FIU/Wyoming...first grad assistant job with Bielema at Wisconsin.......putting it nicely…..huge year for Miller and his o-line 2024…..give him credit for NFL 3rd round pick Isaiah Adams’ development but the rest of his recruits?  Especially high school prospects since taking the job?....my view disappointing...hasn't been able to find/develop anyone to beat out Lovie Smith commitments Kreutz/Gesky....neither plus Big Ten starters to me.

Not counting transfer portal types….Illini very generous to the o-line position giving out more than 20 scholarships at the position since Bielema took over and coming out of 2024 spring.... Zy Crisler only recent o-line recruit that has won a starting jobs….get it....o-line hardest position to eval/development no doubt but going into his fourth season....keen grasp of the obvious….Illini need to see better return on investment from Miller's group this fall.

*’If he was on fire I wouldn't walk across the street to piss on him’...Illini offensive lineman in 2002 when asked about his position coach Harry Hiestand.

-Position coach always got along best with? Offensive line assistant….usually the smartest/crankiest guys around…..fits my personality…..Last week was former Illini tackle Randy Bierman's (1989-1993) 53rd birthday....got me to thinking about what a great job then offensive line coach Mike Deal did when in Champaign....big part of the Illini lack of success last 30 years in my view....offensive line recruiting/development....Deal and Hiestand two longest tenured o-line coaches recent history...below look back at their success.

-Mike Deal (1989-1994)-Remember early 1989 reading Deal hired off the Kansas State staff by John Mackovic when o-line coach Bob Smith leaving taking over the program at Southern Illinois....thought, 'K-State sucks that's the best he could hire?'...boy was I wrong.

Deal in his six years at Illinois....seven of his linemen earned all-conference mention....four first team All-Big Ten picks....one All-American guard Tim Simpson....one first round pick tackle Brad Hopkins...Ken Blackman came to Illinois a tight end played defensive line….Deal developed him into an All-Big Ten tackle/NFL starter…..four of his linemen team captains....Illini went to five bowl games....stayed when majority of Mackovic's staff left for Texas cause his daughter UIUC student/volunteer Illini recruiter who married former QB Jeff Hecklinski.……once daughter graduated Deal left for Austin.

Only blue-chipper Deal had tackle John Horn (Joliet Catholic) either was hurt/lukewarm on football....Simpson a 6-foot-1 wrestler wasn't heavily recruited....Hopkins going to Northern Iowa as a tight end before Illini offered late after Mike White was fired...Deal always developed a quality center (hard to do consistently)....got the most out of the least majority of his time in Champaign.

Mackovic always complimented Deal's scheme/adjustments during practice week/gameday....majority of offensive coordinators don't know blocking schemes so your o-line coach better have his adjustments on Saturday....lost art….line coaches being able to scheme/adjust during college game....always admired Deal for sticking around having to put up with head coach Lou Tepper taking o-line commitments Deal hadn't approved (reportedly)...having to listen as offensive coordinator Tom Beck talked about what a great offensive mind he was...he wasn't......Deal productive coach that went from an organized program under Mackovic to whatever that was with Tepper in charge.

'This is the team!" Hiestand tells the group of 300-plus-pound linemen who tower over him as he gesticulates. The gist of Hiestand's message: if the offensive line waltzes back to the line of scrimmage and doesn't play through the whistle, the entire offense will follow suit as a lackluster unit. (Courtesy Blue&Gold Illustrated)

-Harry Hiestand (1997-2004)- Ron Turner's first hire when named Illini head coach.....hired Hiestand off the Mizzou staff.....He first met Hiestand when a USC assistant coach/Hiestand Trojan grad assistant years before......Nine of his linemen earned all-conference mention....three first team All-Big Ten picks....five o-linemen became team captains...Rantoul's Sean Bubin probably the highest rated Hiestand recruit till five-star Martin O'Donnell came along class of 2003....rest?.....two-three star types that he developed into solid Big Ten starters/NFL players.

Ray Redziniak, Luke Butkus, Tony Pashos, Dave Diehl, Duke Preston, Bucky Babcock, Bubin, Jay Kulaga (freakin' developed Kulaga into a first team All-Big Ten pick impressive), got something out of Marques Sullivan (when many had given up on the former Tepper four-star recruit)......two Hiestand recruits (O'Donnell/Ryan McDonald)  became All-Big Ten picks/key members of the 2008 Rose Bowl team.

If you attended practice when Hiestand was at Illinois...you heard plenty of his legendary blow-ups....loud/profane...hell even Turner admitted that he had to tell Hiestand, 'lighten up' on his linemen at times....to a man those that stayed after they left the program.....respected their o-line coach...even the former player who didn't want to walk across the street to piss on Hiestand if he was on fire later thanked HH for developing him into an NFL starting tackle.

Downside….after 2001 Big Ten championship....Turner/Hiestand took more chances on o-linemen with confidence they could be developed....didn't quite work out....Mike Zande/James Ryan/Kevin Gage/Tony Sparkman....some of the slew of guys that either got hurt/not good enough/arrogance of the head coach Hiestand's ability to make water into wine.....bit Turner in the ass.

Hiestand story....Hiestand a Joe Moore disciple....Moore the Hall of Famer offensive line coach was tight with Turner.....they had worked together at Pitt in the 80's...after Notre Dame fired Moore in the 90's....he would come to Camp Rantoul to observe....one year Hiestand so hard on a couple of freshmen linemen Moore an old hard ass himself had to pull Hiestand aside, 'Hey Harry settle down on those kids'...Moore went and talked to the linemen calm them down/smooth over hard feelings...both stayed...developed into multiple year starters...one ended up in the NFL ...when Joe Moore is telling your line coach to settle down…..yikes.