There was reason to suspect we had depth/talent issues at QB, DT, and OL. After Saturday's game, there is no longer a doubt.
How did we get here, and is there help on the way?
QB
2018-2021: It's not hard to see how we got here. Levis, Roberson, Johnson. Bowens, Veilleux. Franklin says he wants an explosive down-the-field passing game, but he recruited 4 athletes and a Canadian with 1 year of American football under his belt.
Is it recruiting or development? I'd say a little bit of both. 3 OCs in 3 years can't help, but none of those QBs came here with great passing credentials.
2022: Help is on the way it appears. It's just potential right now, but potential we haven't seen in a while.
DT
2018-2021: Again, I've got to question the strategy here. PJ, Hawkins, Culpepper, Darkwa, Ellies, Beamon, Mulbah, Izzard, Vanover, Brevard, Van Den Berg. The thing that stands out to me is that PJ is the only guy who came in at 300 lbs, The rest were DEs or smallish DTs who needed to add bulk.
Is it recruiting or development? Well, again it's a little bit of both, but I've got to put it more on the side of recruiting. With PJ out we saw what happens when a Big Ten team decides to get physical with an undersized DL.
2022: Artis (6'4", 290), Durant (6'1", 255). At 1st glance, it looks like more the same. Let's hope the portal offers some immediate help
OL
2018-2021: An assortment of 3* or 4* recruits with good size.
Is it recruiting or development? This one goes squarely on the side of development. I see teams with 2* and 3* o-linemen playing a lot better. Partly on Traut, partly on Galt, partly on scheme. Saturday it seemed like we had a 'tell' in our offense. It was uncanny how the Illinois defense was slanting in the right direction or blitzing into the right gap.
2022: Is there anyone who wants to come in and play with swagger from whistle to whistle? Otherwise, more of the same.
General comment: Franklin's philosophy is to run the spread on offense and recruit to defend the spread on defense. If there was a lesson to be learned Saturday, it was that in the Big Ten, if you can't be physical you're going to be playing one-handed on offense and your defense is going to spend a lot of time on the field. He had a front-row seat on Saturday, hope he was taking notes.
How did we get here, and is there help on the way?
QB
2018-2021: It's not hard to see how we got here. Levis, Roberson, Johnson. Bowens, Veilleux. Franklin says he wants an explosive down-the-field passing game, but he recruited 4 athletes and a Canadian with 1 year of American football under his belt.
Is it recruiting or development? I'd say a little bit of both. 3 OCs in 3 years can't help, but none of those QBs came here with great passing credentials.
2022: Help is on the way it appears. It's just potential right now, but potential we haven't seen in a while.
DT
2018-2021: Again, I've got to question the strategy here. PJ, Hawkins, Culpepper, Darkwa, Ellies, Beamon, Mulbah, Izzard, Vanover, Brevard, Van Den Berg. The thing that stands out to me is that PJ is the only guy who came in at 300 lbs, The rest were DEs or smallish DTs who needed to add bulk.
Is it recruiting or development? Well, again it's a little bit of both, but I've got to put it more on the side of recruiting. With PJ out we saw what happens when a Big Ten team decides to get physical with an undersized DL.
2022: Artis (6'4", 290), Durant (6'1", 255). At 1st glance, it looks like more the same. Let's hope the portal offers some immediate help
OL
2018-2021: An assortment of 3* or 4* recruits with good size.
Is it recruiting or development? This one goes squarely on the side of development. I see teams with 2* and 3* o-linemen playing a lot better. Partly on Traut, partly on Galt, partly on scheme. Saturday it seemed like we had a 'tell' in our offense. It was uncanny how the Illinois defense was slanting in the right direction or blitzing into the right gap.
2022: Is there anyone who wants to come in and play with swagger from whistle to whistle? Otherwise, more of the same.
General comment: Franklin's philosophy is to run the spread on offense and recruit to defend the spread on defense. If there was a lesson to be learned Saturday, it was that in the Big Ten, if you can't be physical you're going to be playing one-handed on offense and your defense is going to spend a lot of time on the field. He had a front-row seat on Saturday, hope he was taking notes.
Last edited:
