Bill Belichick without Ton Brady....Bill Walsh without Joe Montana....Vince Lombardi without Bart Starr....Ron Turner without Kurt Kittner....Tom Landry without Roger Staubach....if you want to win consistently in football at any level.....don't screw up the quarterback position.
"We took him (Aaron Rodgers) to this camp at Illinois and [it] felt like he was the best quarterback on their campus. The frustrating part for us was trying to convince coaches to look past his size and give him a little time to mature. College coaches wanted highly rated quarterback recruits who they felt were already proven and physically prepared. We just wanted someone to give him a chance.".....Sterling Jackson Rodgers head coach at Pleasant Valley High School Chico, California...(quote courtesy of Bleacher Report)
Background: First weekend December 2000 Champaign......That first weekend was always when Turner's staff wanted to have their top uncommitted targets visiting on-campus mixing with their commitments.....Having already missed out on top in-state class of 2001 QB target Brett Basanez (Arlington Heights St. Viator committed to Northwestern fall 2000)......Turner's staff had four quarterbacks visiting that December weekend.....They were Jay Cutler (Heritage Hills High School, Santa Claus, Indiana), Ryan Cubit (Columbia, Missouri), Chris Ganter (State College, PA.) and Matt Dlugolecki (Rancho Santa Margarita, Cal.).....Cubit the son of then Mizzou offensive coordinator/luture Illini head coach Bill Cubit,....Ganter the son of then Penn State assistant Fran Ganter...Cutler from the same high school as Illini great Ken Dilger....Dlugolecki at the time a UCLA Bruin verbal commitment.
For some reason still not understood.....Turner loved Dlugolecki....Illini head coach thought the SoCal QB was the ‘heir apparent’ to Kittner the next 'great' Illini QB....Staff felt Cubit, Ganter would sign with the schools their fathers were at…both did....Cutler? Staff saw Cutler more as a tight end/athlete type that had physical tools but needed a lot of development to play quarterback at the Big Ten level....Cutler's recruiter defensive coordinator Tim Kish had been fired a few weeks before the visit and when your recruiting coach isn't there to stand up for his recruit....Cutler signed with Vanderbilt....Just started 'covering' recruiting at that time and had no idea how to handle the whole 'drama' of the Dlugolecki recruitment.... Was told by two committed Illini recruits, parent of a third Illini commitment that Dlugolecki had indeed committed to Illinois/Turner that weekend.....Dlugolecki denied it to everyone who called him, said he wasn't even in Champaign over the weekend...well...then UCLA head coach Bob Toledo had a policy if a prospect committed to UCLA, no other official visits or that prospect would lose his scholarship offer from the Bruins....’Dlugs' didn't want to lose the UCLA ride just yet his reason for the denial of the visit to Champaign.....after getting officially accepted into Illinois a few days later....Dlugolecki admitted he had committed to Illinois....Turner's 2001 QB recruit....’heir apparent'
Summer of 2001 Ron Turner's Illini Quarterback camp....admittedly my QB eval skills at that time were not what they are now....anyway back to the Turner QB camp summer 2001......staff divides the QB's into five groups.....the top group has the high school QB's that Turner/staff really want to work out/eval in person....that's when I first saw Aaron Rodgers working in that top group.... Rodgers was wearing a 'Pleasant Valley' football t-shirt only Pleasant Valley High School I knew of was outside Davenport, Iowa.....Asked one of the guys wearing the same t-shirt, told 'We are from Chico, California’.……what was the connection to Turner's staff, how Rogers got to the Illinois camp?........Turner's nephew Ronnie O'Dell (O'Dell's older brother Dan was Turner's QB coach at the time) was coaching at Pleasant Valley in Chico......the friends and family connection to Rodgers....in shoes I am 5-foot-11 and standing next to Rodgers that day, he had to be 5-foot-9....Rodgers had a funny bowl haircut, big knee brace on, but man, he could throw the ball....Big hands, big feet, gun for an arm....was short and very skinny but that arm.....Rodgers held the ball high next to his ear before every throw....Packers worked with him to bring the ball down lower once he hit the NFL....Went over introduced myself what I was doing, swear Rodgers said his name was 'Roy Rogers' which....OK...another person said his name was Aaron wrote down Roy Aaron Rogers...later couldn't find him listed anywhere on line no wonder.
As I was going to take Rodgers picture/get his contact info....someone yelled, 'hey Chris Pazan just committed to Coach Turner'...it was Pazan's father.....Pazan 6-foot-1 190-pound QB from Chicago Brother Rice High School had camped at Illinois that day....Pazan big arm 90 MPH fastball pitching or so his dad said....new QB commitment looked the part no doubt built like a linebacker.......Michigan had offered Pazan a scholarship earlier that summer as their 'backup' QB recruit that class.....Wolverines already had five star California QB Matt Guiterrez committed and wanted to have a QB class of 2002 to develop behind Guiterrez....Pazan was offered to be that Michigan development QB.
Turner/Illinois had moved Christian Morton from quarterback to cornerback spring of 2001 and were looking possibly for two QB's class of 2002...Turner/O'Dell's told Rodgers/his head coach after the Pazan commitment that 'we might take another quarterback this class and if we do, 'you (Rodgers) are the number one guy we will offer'.……which of course in the world of recruiting, complete bullshit....kid came all the way to Champaign looked good, head coaches nephew helped bring him out....can't send him away feeling it was a wasted trip.
Fall of 2001....'heir apparent' Dlugolecki enrolls at Illinois and proceeds....to party his way out of school.....QB was moved something like three times into different rooms, roommates trying to settle him down....never took....later on Turner would admit that he and the staff 'knew' Dlugolecki has 'issues' but didn't know how severe they were......2001 mid season, Turner/staff decide they need another QB recruit with Pazan class of 2002 cause Dlugolecki wasn't working out/gave up on him........zero in on then Northern Illinois commitment/Riverside Brookfield (Ill.) star quarterback Tim Brasic, invite him down for an official visit to Champaign.......Brasic was having an all state season throwing for about a million yards in Otto Zeman's spread offense at R-B.......Brasic visited Illinois, de-committed from NIU now going to Illinois........Pazan/Brasic Turner's class of 2002 QB recruits....Summer 2001 QB Jon Beutjer picked Illinois over BYU after leaving the Iowa football program........Rodgers never heard from Turner or O'Dell again till he got a letter that winter offering a chance to walk on at Illinois....with offers from in state FCS, D-2 schools, ...Instead of going that route, Rodgers decided to head a half hour south from Chico to Butte (Cal.) Community College to prove himself.....By the time Rodgers graduated from high school he was 6-foot-1, 180-pounds.
Fall 2002...Dlugolecki transferred out of Illinois to San Diego State.....He started a few games for the Aztecs during his career on the west coast.....Turner's 'plan' was to have Dlugolecki ready to start 2002 with Beutjer/Dustin Ward as backups,....Pazan,/Brasic in development, other QB on scholarship Mark Kornfeld as a utility type that could play QB/WR....because of Dlugolecki flaming out....Turner went with Beutjer as his starting QB fall of 2002....Summer of 2002 Turner got verbal commitments from quarterbacks Brad Bower Hinsdale (Ill.) Central, DaJuan Warren (Southfield, Michigan)......Illinois full up on QB's for 2003 with those 2 commitments.
Turner's staff looking for a tight end early October 2002 come upon the film of Butte (Cal.) JC pass catcher Garrett Cross... Liked the tight end's film but loved the QB throwing Cross the ball. 'Hey find out who this quarterback is?' cause the JC recruiting report they had listed the Butte QB as a sophomore 'red chip' prospect.....Red chip in the scouting world means lower level FCS........QB coach O'Dell calls out to Butte to find out who the QB is? Head coach tells him it's Aaron Rodgers freshman beat out the returning starter at the position......By the time Rodgers enrolled at Butte fall 2002, he was 6-foot-2, 190-pounds.....O'Dell thanks the Butte head coach, says, 'will put him (Rodgers) on are list' for 2004 quarterback recruits....How much O'Dell remembered about Rodgers from summer of 2001? No idea and....well the Butte head coach didn't tell O'Dell that Rodgers was a full qualifier out of high school didn't have to stay 2 years at JC/get an AA degree.....Cal and a few other west coast schools saw the same thing when watching Cross, inquired about that 'Butte QB on film'....Then Bears head coach Jeff Tedford went down to Butte to meet, watch Rodgers throw, found out he was a full qualifier, offered the JC QB....Rodgers, Cross the tight end both signed with Cal recruiting class 2003....,rest is history..
2003 Cal defeats Illinois 31-24 in Memorial Stadium. Rodgers, making his first start of the season, completed 20 of 37 passes for 263 yards and one touchdown,,a 14-yarder to Geoff McArthur. Rodgers and McArthur hooked up six times for 90 yards in the second quarter.(recap courtesy ESPN)
Rodgers played two years at Cal before declaring for the 2005 NFL draft....1st round pick of the Green Bay Packers....Amazing what kind of player/personality that scrawny 17 year old kid who barely made eye contact became....Rodgers came up the hard way with that chip on his shoulder to prove himself.......He certainly did.
Ron Turner/Illinois quarterback recruits after Kittner (class of 1998)
Dustin Ward (Class of 1999 Champaign Centennial)-Illini took him over Dusty Burk QB from Tuscola. started, won a couple of games at QB for Illinois spent most of his career as a backup in Champaign....Now a college coach.
Christian Morton (Class of 1999 St Louis Riverview Gardens)- St. Louis metro player of the year, 4 star QB recruit though he wasn’t much of a QB, athlete running around at the QB position….moved to cornerback 2001, NFL draft choice at that position, played a few years in the league.
Mark Kornfeld (Class of 2000 St. Louis U-High) -Moved to wide receiver at Illinois.....His dad U-High head coach Gary Kornfeld buddies with Turner, then Illini St Louis recruiter Greg McMahon...That and U-High had a 4 star 2001 LB recruit named Matt Sinclair who was best buddies with Kornfeld.
Matt Dlugolecki-Transferred after freshman year to San Diego State.
Jon Beutjer-Beutjer family always thought Turner was hard on Beutjer cause the QB picked Iowa over Illinois coming out of Wheaton....don't think that was the case....Turner rode Beutjer cause deep down, Turner knew he had screwed up the QB position and needed someone to blame, took his frustration out majority of the time on his whippin' boy Beutjer and boy, Turner took a lot of frustration out on Beutjer.……QB was most comfortable in the shot gun, spread offense he ran in high school....Turner tried to make Beutjer into a under center, drop back passer....and when he took Beutjer from Iowa, no way did Turner think he would have the QB starting on and off for Illinois 2002 to 2004……Just a bad fit from a scheme and chemistry standpoint Beutjer and Turner.
Chris Pazan-Played on an awful high school team developing a lot of bad QB habits…..So used to scrambling at the first sign of pressure in high school, never was able to settle down, learn how to play the position in college always jumpy in the pocket, ready to scramble, could never get into a playing rhythm…..In consistent effort/dedication on and off the field…..Concussion issues 04/05…..Now a Chicago cop.
Tim Brasic-Fell in with the 'Crazy White Boys' clique' early on at Illinois (Sinclair, Kyle Kleckner, Ryan Matha, Steve Weatherford)...so had a great time at night off campus.....Starting QB 2005/early 2006 under Zook staff before being replaced by Juice Williams…..Now a pastor in Chicago.
Brad Bower -Started a couple of game 2004….left team spring 2005 after getting beat out by Brasic for the starting QB job that winter…..Transferred to Ohio U. led the Bobcats to a win over Illinois 2006.
Dajuan Warren-Moved to wide receiver.....Played on the 2008 Rose Bowl team.
Billy Garza (Class of 2004 Brownsville Porter HS Texas)-High school coach was former Illini running backs coach Jim Helms. Helms told Turner about Garza, south Texas high school legend leading his team to a state title….Drop back passer that never fit the spread scheme that Zook's staff ran....stayed around and got his degree from Illinois, member of the 2008 Rose Bowl team always a backup….Played his last year at Texas A&M-Kingsville earning all conference honors.
Kisan Flakes (Class of 2004 Lovejoy HS Lovejoy GA.)-winter 2003 Turner hired Tommy Thigpen off the Bowling Green staff to be an Illini defensive assistant….Thigpen had recruiting ties to Georgia…..Flakes one of the players Thigpen recruited from the Peach State to Illinois…..FWIW, none of the state of Georgia players Thigpen signed for Illinois were much good, lasted very long once Zook’s staff came in….'Smoke' Flakes got busted for weed possession 2005 in Champaign…..Shortly after transferred to Albany State (Ga.).
Paul Blalock (Class of 2005 Aurora Waubonsie Valley HS)-Committed to Turner's staff after the Illini QB camp summer of 2004…..Zook's staff honored the commitment signed Blalock class of 2005…..Funny thing, every time I watched Blalock throw, he let go of his passes when his hand was coming down leading to majority of throws being high and outside or low and inside....threw a football like a baseball….Lasted a couple of years at Illinois before leaving and playing baseball at the University of Iowa.
Turner's nephews......
Dan O'Dell-After being let go in Champaign, did some scouting for whatever team his other uncle Norv Turner was with in the NFL for a few years…..Out of football after that.
Ronnie O'Dell-Was an Illinois grad assistant 2004…..Moved to Las Vegas after the Turner staff was let go, worked in the gaming/hospitality business……. Coached QB's at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High School…..When the Bishop Gorman head coach named UNLV head football coach....O'Dell spent a few years coaching Rebel QB's before that staff was let go after 2019 season.
All of the above harsh on Ron Turner? You bet.....If Turner wasn't such a cocky/arrogant fuck about his ability to coach/eval QB's didn't fall back to the 'if they (QB's) would only do what I taught them to do' that happened late in his career at Illinois....would have given him the benefit of a doubt cause QB eval/development is really hard but.........Turner puffed his chest out making sure you knew how good he was at coaching the QB position....at Illinois, one great QB eval/development Kittner....the rest? Turner's 'foundation' position was quarterback, when position was good, his team was going to be good.....Turner didn't just miss on his QB choices a few times….he missed on them for years......Missing consistently on his foundation position QB/defensive philosophy of 'get the damn ball back so I can call plays' leading to three defensive coordinator/scheme changes in his 8 seasons as head coach.....Figuring out why Turner didn't succeed at Illinois isn't hard.......Aaron Rodgers just another example of why he failed in Champaign..