'They evaluate great. They know what fits for them.'
2026 Athlon Sports Anonymous Coaches Comments...
*2026 Athlon Sports Anonymous Coaches Comments came out recently…..first in our series of what was said by coaches about Illinois and their opponents in the magazines 2026 college football preview magazine below….of course with opinions from the peanut gallery….me.
-On Bret Bielema’s Fighting Illini…..“They evaluate great. They know what fits for them. They do a great job of not swinging for a home run every time they recruit only to lose guys to Ohio State in some one-on-one battle. They have no business doing that. They’re super aware of that. They don’t spend a lot of useless time, and they evaluate really well. It’s not surprising in any aspect that they’re this good.”…Comment from the peanut gallery…Don’t know how much I agree with this comment….Lovie Smith’s recruits/commitments are all gone….quarterback Luke Altmyer is gone….Bielema’s first few classes were not good….recently better but still a lot of living in the portal especially at quarterback/both sides of the line.
“Their defensive line was outrageously good the last two years. In our evaluation, it was every bit as good as Penn State’s, Michigan’s and Ohio State’s. But I know most of that group has left, so it’ll be interesting to see who they replace them with.”…Comment from the peanut gallery…again don’t know how much agree with the above comment….last year ’Karate guy’ Joe Kim hired at a crazy salary to ‘help’ the Illini d-line with their hands/footwork quietly left after the season going to Ohio State working for his buddy Buckeye’s defensive coordinator Matty Pencil….crack research team (me) tracked down the Illini d-linemen who hit the portal last winter leaving Champaign….after spring football…..Angelo McCullum backup nose guard to C.J. Sims at Texas A&M…..Curt Neal back up nose guard at Purdue…Eli Coenen starting defensive tackle at Michigan State….Jeremiah Warren alternated between 2nd and 3rd team reps at nose guard for Pitt….Tomiwa Durojaiye credited with a ‘great spring’ winning a starting job at South Carolina….to be fair….Gamecocks extremely thin on the d-line.
-Illinois play the Duke Blue Devils 2nd week of the season in Champaign….below what coaches said about Manny Diaz’s team.
“What’s so tough in this era is the timing of when they lost [quarterback Darian Mensah] to Miami. There’s no way that they thought they were going to lose him. So they didn’t replace him or get someone comparable because why would someone comparable come while he’s there? That’s a tough blow.”….Comment from the peanut gallery….Quarterback Eget signed late out of San Jose State is mediocre….many question marks both sides of the line.
“But the culture, the belief and the mindset are there at that place right now.”…Comment from the peanut gallery….can have the greatest ‘culture’ in the world but if both lines suck….quarterback isn’t good…rest doesn’t matter.
“One of the best things that Manny Diaz did when he became head coach was making sure he retained Dave Feeley, the head strength coach, and not lose him to Texas A&M. From a toughness, physicality and stability standpoint for them, that culture starts in the weight room.”…Comment from the peanut gallery….damn if it’s not nailed down….Texas A&M will try to steal it….as have written…S&C coach most important hire cause they spend the most time with your players….year round access really to your football team.
*Week four Illini play the Ohio State Buckeyes in Champaign….comments below Ryan Day’s team from the Athlon preview.
“I thought the (defensive coordinator) Matt Patricia hire was awesome last year. What made them so good was they were super simple. They’d let you take something super short and run your base stuff, and then not budge to that. Then the second you get out of your stuff, they’re ready for it. They were mentally tougher than you.”…Comment from the peanut gallery….all that talent on defense and still couldn’t advance in the playoffs…disappointing…gimme’ that talent I can be a pretty good d-coordinator and stacked again this season.
“It was so innovative what they did with their coordinators because in today’s game, coordinators are being taken out of their college stuff. They thought, why not bring in two NFL guys (as coordinators) who might not — from the outside looking in — be known for their relatability to players and all that other BS who are just known for being schematic dudes that know what the f— they’re doing from a scheme standpoint, and they’ve executed that really well.”…Comment from the peanut gallery….year in year out all-star team at Ohio State….keep it simple win with better talent/discipline….keep it simple….too many times Day and his coordinators get ‘too cute’ with their play-calling…don’t have to do it with such a huge talent advantage but they do.
*Illinois plays Purdue fifth week of the season in Champaign.
“Some continuity definitely helps (head coach) Barry Odom in Year 2.”…Comment from the peanut gallery….keen grasp of the obvious coach.
“Truthfully, I wasn’t incredibly impressed with what they brought in through the transfer portal. At Purdue, you have such an avenue to offer playing time to guys when other schools that you’re gonna play against that aren’t that much better than you can’t do that. I don’t think they took great advantage of that, but I definitely think they’ll be better from a continuity standpoint.”…Comment from the peanut gallery…don’t disagree….staff brought in a lot of veteran players that will help with depth but not any ‘wow’ difference makers…..from after Brohm and Ryan Walters era’s…not that they had a bunch of them…..don’t know of any Big Ten team that has lost as much key ‘talent’ to the portal as the Boilermakers.
“I really do think that they have a good coaching staff, but I’d be lying if I said that I was impressed with what they brought in through the portal.”…Comment from the peanut gallery….agree about coaching staff….as the season went on last fall….Purdue got better every week which is a big positive when looking for such things.
*Three that caught my eye…
-Summer official visit season starts next week….three 2027 prep prospects that are scheduled to visit Champaign that caught my eye (haven’t written about them yet).
Markius M.J. Woods defensive line Lawrenceville (NJ.) Prep School-6-foot-3, 305-pounder can play nose or strongside end in a 3-4….was a 2026 recruit that re-classed to 2027 hoping to improve his scholarship opportunities….worked….Played at several Chicago Public League schools ending up at Whitney Young most recently….looked like a big lug on film so must have lost weight/had some excellent spring workouts cause now has offers/visits to Illinois, Kansas State, Mizzou and Boston College…Missouri ‘on-line media’ types seem to think the Tigers have the inside track for Woods cause of a very early offer…..Illini seemed to be late to the party on him when they offered.
Don Spillers athlete Detroit King High School-6-foot-2, 195-pounder shows his versatility on film and could play wide receiver/cornerback/safety in college…..Outstanding high school wrestler…..Michigan State, Illinois and Louisville top three….Fitz-eee and Sparty ‘think’ they have him wrapped up……mention Spillers cause Illini defensive backs coach Corey Parker supposed to be a ‘big time’ recruiter in his native Detroit….hasn’t done a lot while in Champaign living up to that ‘hype’….getting Spillers away from the Green&White big win for him.
Roman Combs cornerback Lakota (Ohio) West High School-Listed as a cornerback at 6-foot-4….could be an effective zone corner or more likely a ‘rover’ type in the new 3-3-5 scheme Illinois is playing…His high school teammates/linebackers Grant Beerman and Cameron Thomas both Illini…Purdue and Pitt deep in the mix along with Bielema’s program
*Former Illini running back Ty Douthard turns 53…
-We all remember what an outstanding running back Ty Douthard was at Illinois….his touchdown run come from behind win vs. Minnesota 1993….well-liked/respected by both his teammates and coaches….why so many of them/Illinois fans were shocked late 90’s…..Douthard arrested/sent to prison on drug charges…..’Douthard, a Cincinnati prep product and former Bengals running back released after the 1998 pre-season opener following his year on the practice squad. This past Tuesday he made the cut when an appeals court reversed his conviction on marijuana possession charges and released him from the minimum security prison after serving about a year of a three-year sentence……So the stat sheet now says Douthard was never convicted. Never went to jail. That he had nothing to do with the 2.5 pounds of pot found in the refrigerator of the Evanston home he shared with a boyhood pal. (Evanston a neighborhood east side of Cincinnati)
“Yeah, I made some bad decisions,” said Douthard Friday, breaking his long silence. “I shouldn’t have put myself in that situation. But it wasn’t mine. I didn’t sell and I didn’t use.”….During his jail stint, Douthard had support in court from former employers and guidance counselors, as well as some of his coaches at LaSalle High School and Illinois. Douthard knows he could have made better decisions. But he also insists he was clean and wonders if his status as an ex-Bengal helped doom him…..“I’m of the mind that everything happens for the best,” Douthard said. “Maybe this saved me from something that could have gone very bad.” (Courtesy Cincinnati Enquirer)
Douthard turned 53 last week….don’t know that Ty ever made it back to the NFL….he did make it back to Champaign working/being a positive force in the community….rest of the story confirmed by many of his former teammates….…’boyhood pal’ and former Douthard teammate at Illinois reportedly weed dealers in Cincinnati…stored their stash many times at Douthard’s…informant told police about where the weed was….cops busted in….charged the former Illini running back…was offered a ‘deal’ if he gave up the other two (one Douthard’s cousin)….he didn’t.
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