“[Jabari Parker’s father] said in-state schools DePaul and Illinois remained among those his son was interested in. Sonny said he and new Illinois coach John Groce have had a couple of conversations.”

This is where problems start. A segment of the fanbase will read quotes like this and feel as though playing for the Illini is something that truly intrigues Jabari Parker. If you don’t already know, Parker is the number one basketball recruit in the country and is from Chicago. Like Derrick Rose and Anthony Davis, he’s exactly the kind of in-state athlete who the Illinois Fighting Illini have found no traction with in recent years.

And yet there are Illinois supports who feel this time will be different…

Nathan Scheelhaase is the most important football player to wear an Illini uniform in at least the last five years.

That statement isn’t aiming for shock value; it’s just a fact. Even though that time frame extends to Illinois’ last BCS bowl game - the Rose Bowl no less - there hasn’t been another individual player that meant so much to the program. That Rose Bowl team was stacked with talent and regularly struggled at the quarterback position. Tailback Rashard Mendenhall might have been that team’s MVP, but he wasn’t carrying the burden of a team in full upheaval.

No, that player is Nathan Scheelhaase…

As U-God chronicled earlier, coach Isaac Chew has left the program mere months after coming on as an assistant under new head coach John Groce. Chew’s main responsibility outside seemed to be making inroads into Chicago’s basketball talent pool. With Chew’s departure comes questions about both the vacancy he leaves behind as well as Illinois’ place with Chicago’s elite basketball recruits. A name that has been raised as a replacement option is Robert Smith, head coach at Chicago’s Simeon Career Academy…

Recruiting is as crucial an element of a college football team’s success as any other. This is well documented. When a new coaching staff comes in - especially at a non-premier football school such as the University of Illinois - there is generally not a whole lot to gain from analyzing the first recruiting class…