Hell yeah, Zook! Let the top recruits keep on coming.

Zook Makes a Statement

 

In a pre-season Big Ten annual, a Big Ten coach said he didn't know if Ron Zook was such a great recruiter, after all, his wife could recruit at Florida. Well, that coach and the rest of the Big Ten coaches had better take notice of what's happening in Champaign.

 

Isiah Williams out of Chicago (Morgan Park) is one of the elite quarterback prospects in the nation. The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder, had more scholarship offers on his table that he could have ever imagined but he’s been keeping something from all of us the past two weeks. “Juice” has made his verbal commitment and now he’s ready to do some recruiting of his own.

 

“I’ve actually been committed to Illinois for a couple of week,” Isiah Williams said.

 

“The only people who knew where myself and the Illinois coaches, I just couldn’t hold it in any longer. It was like having this great secret that you just wanted to tell the whole world. I was ready to bust, so I went ahead and made it public.”

 

Williams, a 4-star quarterback prospect, joins Chris James of Chicago (Morgan Park), as recent commitments to the Illinois. Williams and James are both “Top 5” prospects in the Land of Lincoln and “Top 100” regional prospects. Isiah is a shoe-in for National “100” recognition.

 

Ron Zook and his staff at Illinois have went after its home turf with reckless abandon and they’ve done a marvelous job in offering the top prospects and selling what the University has to offer.

 

“Illinois just felt like home,” Williams explained. “The location is perfect, my family can come watch me play, the academics are excellent and the atmosphere with the fans is also a factor.

 

“Maybe the top reason for my commitment was the situation at quarterback. I have a great opportunity to play early at Illinois.”

 

Isiah Williams has been compared to a young Byron Leftwitch. He has a cannon for an arm and put his arm-strength on display at the Scout.com All-American Combine in Champaign last month.

 

Williams turned down offers from the likes of Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Iowa so he could stay home and play for his state school. What message does “Juice” have for the rest of the top prospects in Illinois?

 

“I’ll be doing some recruiting,” Williams said. “I’m going to be on Marques Wilkins (Illinois) , Jerry Brown (Missouri) and the other guys who have offers from Illinois. We’re going to get this thing turned around.

 

“I’m just happy my commitment to Illinois is now public. I just couldn’t wait to tell the whole world that I was committed to Illinois.”

 

This was a “Key” get for Illinois. They needed to land either Williams or Demetrius Jones in this recruiting class. Williams jumping on board this early will definitely give the Fighting Illini some momentum with the rest of the top in-state prospects.

 

Reggie Mitchell was hired by Ron Zook because of his reputation for being a great recruiter and so far, Coach Mitchell, has been worth his weight in gold and then some.

Good news for the Illini, certainly. But I'm especially happy about this since Demeterius Jones will not go to the same school as Williams, and Illinois was ND's main competition when it came to Jones. So everyone wins here

really good news. it is especially good to read about his apparent enthusiasm about playing here. maybe he can lend that to some of us fans who had to suffer the past few years...

Yes! Great news but all his job will be is handing Mendenhall the ball cause he is going to be a stud

With Juice, Jordan, and James I think I f***ing love Zook.

I have never been this excited about Illinois football.

What he has done is awesome.

That is too bad for Williams... he could have come to NIU and won a few games. Illinois football is going nowhere.

are there any other really good prospects they have recruited?

That is too bad for Williams... he could have come to NIU and won a few games. Illinois football is going nowhere.

Wow, that was just a stupid thing to say.

 

Little NIU angry they can't compete with Illinois for a stud recruit? Yeah, you guys had a shot vs. Illinois, Iowa, OSU, Tennessee, etc... :rolly

Edited May 29, 200520 yr by WHarris1

are there any other really good prospects they have recruited?

They got an OL from Indiana, who I think is supposed to be a 3 or 4 star recruit when the new rankings come out. And, they got Chris James, a WR from Morgan Park, who is a 4 star recruit, and one of the best WR's in Illinois. One good thing about getting these guys is that they've both said they're gonna try really hard to get some of the other top recruits in Illinois to go to Illinois w/ them.

 

And, there are plenty of other top recruits from not just Illinois, but other states too, that have Illinois at the top of their list.

Edited May 29, 200520 yr by dasox24

So they are headed in the right direction than? Thats cool, i just started watching Illini basketball last year b4 I even knew they were good(i guess i chose the right year to begin watching) and was planning to watch Illini football but from what i did see of them last year is that they sucked.

If these dudes are 4 star athletes... what kind of guys are considered 5 star athletes....

it doesnt matter who they recruit nortwestern will spank them

If these dudes are 4 star athletes... what kind of guys are considered 5 star athletes....

 

 

The kind that wind up in Coral Gables, Gainesville, Norman, & Los Angeles.

The kind that wind up in Coral Gables, Gainesville, Norman, & Los Angeles.

 

Was Favre a 5 star guy? or Elway... Marino, those type of guys? Can you give me some example of 4-5 star guys in the NFL currently.

Edited May 29, 200520 yr by SoxFan101

5 stars is usually reserved for the top 50-75 in the entire nation. They are can't-miss players. But actually research has shown that half of the 5 star players in the last 7-8 years haven't panned out. 4 star players are great also. If you can have a class with an average ranking of 3 or higher, you will likely have a class in the top 25. USC is the most absurd school recruiting wise right now. They actually have gotten some classes that average ranking is 4.5 and higher. Schools like FSU, Miami, USC, Oklahoma, Texas, LSU, and Tennessee feast on 4 and 5 star players. Most of the time to be an elite program you have to recruit at an elite level, Iowa has been just about the only exception the past 5-10 years.

 

Anyways, congrats to Zook, he's always been a great recruiter.

Wow, that was just a stupid thing to say.

 

Little NIU angry they can't compete with Illinois for a stud recruit?  Yeah, you guys had a shot vs. Illinois, Iowa, OSU, Tennessee, etc...   :rolly

 

Just a little good natured rivalry

 

Anyway, I would like to see a NIU - U of I matchup sometime in the near future

got my block I tickets for next year already (season tix).

even though we sucked it up last year, we were in just about every game. I have faith that I will get to see a bowl game in my time as a student here. Unlike some

Whoever wrote that article has the grammatical skills of a five-year-old retard. I sincerely hope that the original article wasn't written by the AP, Jesus Christ.

got my block I tickets for next year already (season tix).

even though we sucked it up last year, we were in just about every game.  I have faith that I will get to see a bowl game in my time as a student here.  Unlike some

 

Okay, I know who that was directed at....

 

So how long do you plan on staying at UI?

With him and my boy Rashard on board, Zook is going to turn this thing around in a hurry. I can't wait to have them both down in the UC. Ought to be a fun season in the Block I.

2005 season will be rough but future is looking very bright to me.

2005 season will be rough but future is looking very bright to me.

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It might be tough, but at least we will get to see a new team out there.. I think Zook will have it turned around in no time, these recruits look great!!

2005 season will be rough but future is looking very bright to me.

can't be any worse than the past 2.