Constructive criticism.....Earlier this summer class of 2023 running back Terrell Washington Jr. out of Texas committed to the Purdue Boilermakers....his dad played defensive end at Illinois late 90's.....Eugene Wilson III four star defensive back out of Florida committed to the Florida Gators....his dad Eugene Wilson II former Illini great defensive back (1999-2003).....two more prospects whose father's played in Champaign that didn't give the Fighting Illini a serious look....join a large number of sons of former Illini football players who kids have gone elsewhere to play their college football.
Here is a list of the former Illini football players whose son's have gone on to play FBS football at other schools......Ernie McMillan...Dick Butkus (son Matt scholarship defensive tackle at USC)...Kenny Shaw...Cam Pepper...Bruce Thornton...Kevin Hardy (yeah I know Illini offered his son a 2024 prospect, older son never offered, ended up at UConn)...Jeff Hollenbach...Luke Sewell (nephew)...Howard Griffith...Dave Aina (hoops) ...Bob Westerkamp.....Jim Juriga....Brian Ward....Mike Weingrad....Keith Taylor....Rich Gianacakos....Brad Hopkins....Simeon Rice (hoops)...Jameel Cook....Bobby Jackson....Jason Eberhardt....Bill Costanzo....Guy Teafatiller....John Gillen (oldest son scholarship linebacker at Wisconsin/younger son Conor walk on at Illinois)... Tim McAvoy....Dennis Bishop...Dave Perez...Tim Brewster...James Finch (nephew who Finch raised went to Florida)....Scott Kehoe....Richard Renfro....J.J. O'Laughlin…..some of the names came up with...am sure missed others.
Ron Turner era-Always been a pet peeve of mine, following the Illini why so son's of former players went elsewhere?....when first 'covering' the football program 2003, asked the then SID about former player outreach, she replied, 'Oh we do a great job of course Mr. Guenther (AD) Hat (Mike Hatfield Varsity I), Chris Tuttle (Varsity I), and Shawn (Wax then Associate AD) and Lloyd (Richards former walk on then director of football operations) all keep track of former players and make sure we know about their kids'....all bullshit of course like always.....Guenther/Wax only really 'cared' about former players that they played with or gave money to the athletic department....Hatfield a fund raiser wanted nothing to do with recruiting....Tuttle read the on-line recruiting sites like everyone else....Richards was….not any help.
Ron Zook era....it was me or then long time football secretary Mary Campbell who when a former player's kid came up...gave the assistants information on that player, his time at Illinois.....Campbell left for a job across in the street at the DIA compliance office...me? put on the Zooker shit list so....no one from Bielfeldt seemed real interested in helping the staff out with the kid's of former players....again few in the athletic department wanted to get involved with what they considered 'recruiting'.
Tim Beckman/Mike Thomas era.....did a smart thing in theory.....created a position for an Illini to be liaison to former players ....great....only problem hired guys like Mike Bellamy, Matt Sinclair, Juice Williams....former players that only knew the guys they played with/took the job cause they wanted to get into coaching not be a social secretary for the athletic department/head coach in regard to former players.....none of them worked out.....poor execution of a good idea....didn't hire the right people....off topic....my issue with hiring former players especially younger former players, too many times they try to relive their college days, don't quite understand they are in a support role/not a scholarship athlete and you know, have to put the work/time in to get good at the job vs. being 'Johnny Football' they once were on-campus
Lovie Smith era-Former player Whitman as AD, Luke Butkus then Bellamy on coaching staff...again DIA will point to that 'former Illini' on the staff.....assistant coach is a full time job and again, those assistants majority of time only know the guys they played with...little about the history of others that played in Champaign.....now former Illini George McDonald on the coaching staff/Kevin Mitchell being involved with the Varsity I connection to former players...lived in Champaign seven years, went to several former player get togethers and never saw McDonald at any of them....he was coaching at other schools....didn't have the time...Mitchell a full time job fund raising Varsity I......Bielema plenty of support staff none of them with any 'ties' to Illinois football/history/sense of the program?...Nope but plenty of guys with ties to Bielema/his coaching staff
Trust me I know it's a slippery slope dealing with former players......many have gripes cause things didn't work out the way they had hoped after Illinois, bad surgeries, didn't get along with certain coaches, didn't get that NFL push they thought they deserved.....former players know how to fix the program, experts....think their kid is good enough to get a scholarship at their alma mater when he isn't......we don't always know the relationship between the former player and his son.....why you need an experienced hand to navigate the choppy waters of dealing with them full time...coaches come and go but those that deal with former players shouldn't....who/how you deal with former players should always be a consistent within the athletic department.
Easy to bitch and moan...offer this solution....at Iowa, they would hire a former support guy or older/retired assistant coach (Bernie Wyatt for example ) who knew everyone over the years, well respected in the former players liaison position...same at Wisconsin Barry Alvarez always had a former support person/athletic department official in the former player liaison position cause those types knew everyone, were respected, when players came back to campus, they had someone in the football complex they knew, felt comfortable with.....those types could finesse a talk with a former player when told his kid isn't going to get a scholarship offer from 'his' program……when that former player needed something tickets/job referral/help from the athletic department had a contact he knew to help.
My suggestion to 'solve' better outreach with former Illini players?....hire the energetic, well-respected Greg McMahon....Come up with a mission/dedicated staff to improve outreach don't just shuffle em’ off to some back office by himself.....McMahon coached special teams last spring for the Houston Gamblers in the USFL so you know he has some gas left in the tank....He is the longest tenured Illini assistant football coach in recent history (1992-2004)....from Rantoul, one of the best recruiters Illini had when he worked in Champaign.....played a huge role in building the 2001 Illini Big Ten champs, won a Super Bowl coaching with the New Orleans Saints, national title on the staff at LSU most recently....his son Drew member of the 2008 Illini Rose Bowl team...great personality, energy....loyal to the King errr AD Whitman....McMahon Whitman's position coach when he played at Illinois....mid 90's Alvarez tried to steal McMahon off the Illini staff for his Badgers.....Guenther gave McMahon a raise bitched about how he had to fund raise to get the money so 'McMahon better be here for awhile'.....excellent people skills...would have the respect/finesse to deal with former players in a sticky situation.....win win for both Illini football and McMahon...back involved with a program that had meant so much to him and his family over the years.
FamILLy IllInois football motto now....commit to better outreach to former players cause they in theory should be part of the 'FamILLy'....Way too many legacies of former Illini football players slipping thru the recruiting cracks...Athletic department has to do a better job in their outreach......football needs all hands on deck to get out of the 'mud' it's been in for the last....well a long time.
Former players can be (should be) your best recruiters cause of their pride, loyalty, enthusiasm belief in 'their' program...or can be your worst critic when they feel they haven't been treated well/paid enough attention....asking for blind loyalty, ‘believe in the process’ from former players after all these years…that ship has sailed, need better outreach ASAP.
gotten a good amount of feedback (messages) from former players....their issue is most of the time, 'hey DIA tell us where r kid stands in regard to Illinois?'...walk on? chance for a scholarship? too many times former players just don't hear back from anyone when there kid isn't a 'blue chipper'....that's a customer service issue....just get back to them, let them know where they stand or if it won't be an offer.....and it's not only football, plenty of former players whose daughters were interested in playing at Illinois who never heard back or contact minimal from the athletic department...but the fund raising e-mails asking for a donation never seem to stop once IFund has your contact information....HA..yeah a little shot there.
Well written, Jeff. That list of former player's kids that went elsewhere is a who's who of former Illini Greats.
Former players should be the first source of recruiting. And great idea of hiring GM as a liaison. Recruiting is so hard, and by tapping a known commodity, former players, is a no brainer.