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We Got Zook!


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Zook may be a good recruiter, but he is in way over his head as a head coach. He won't win much at Illinois, but then again, who would? As an Iowa grad, I am happy he's there.

How do you know this? I think the Illini Nation would take a 7-4 year and a bowl game. Plus, we'll see who his assts are. Then we can make a judgment.

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You'll be saying the same thing about Zook in a couple years.

lol, i dont think so. hes an unbelievable signing esp for a team like us, who are not known as a football school and have been terrbile the last few years. i honestly thought that we were gonna get some "up and coming" O or D coordinator from some small ass school.

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lol, i dont think so.  hes an unbelievable signing esp for a team like us, who are not known as a football school and have been terrbile the last few years. i honestly thought that we were gonna get some "up and coming" O or D coordinator from some small ass school.

Maybe, with the young talent that is already there (P. Thomas, EB Halsey, Justin Harrison, etc) and with some of the Florida talent he'll bring with him (/crossing fingers), Illinois is closer to being a good program than we all think?

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How do you know this?  I think the Illini Nation would take a 7-4 year and a bowl game.  Plus, we'll see who his assts are.  Then we can make a judgment.

I've seen him coach a few games. Trev Alberts and Mark May were all over him last couple years, especially during the Outback Bowl last season when Iowa walked all over them. 7-4 is pretty optimistic for the Illini the next 2 or 3 years. If Zook thought Spurrier left the cubbard bare in Florida, just wait until he sees the high school team Ron Turner left him. Zook is an assitant coach, maybe a great assistant coach. He is just not head coaching material.

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I've seen him coach a few games. Trev Alberts and Mark May were all over him last couple years, especially during the Outback Bowl last season when Iowa walked all over them. 7-4 is pretty optimistic for the Illini the next 2 or 3 years. If Zook thought Spurrier left the cubbard bare in Florida, just wait until he sees the high school team Ron Turner left him. Zook is an assitant coach, maybe a great assistant coach. He is just not head coaching material.

Exactly, Zook can recruit but he can't coach. He couldn't keep Florida going after Spurrier left, how is going to resurrect a program like Illinois?

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Not many can keep a program going like Spurrier can, but Zook showed he could recruit with the best of them. He also went 7-4 this year with losses to Miss State, Tennessee, LSU, and Georgia. His best two players were Channing Crowder and Chris Leak, both were only sophomores. Zook lost his 4 games by a combined total of 19 points, and only 5 combined points in the losses to LSU and Tenn.

 

I don't blame Zook for Florida's "fall", I blame Steve Spurrier. Not many can coach at his level, he took Florida out of the gutter and made them instant contenders. You can't blame Zook for not being Spurrier, how many programs in any sport follow a legend with anything remotely close? FSU will deal with the same thing when Bowden retires, as will OU, USC, Texas, if their coaches leave for any reason.

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Exactly, Zook can recruit but he can't coach.  He couldn't keep Florida going after Spurrier left, how is going to resurrect a program like Illinois?

Spurrier never had to play Miami every year, schedule is harder since he left, Zook has made mistakes but will learn from them.

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Spurrier never had to play Miami every year, schedule is harder since he left, Zook has made mistakes but will learn from them.

They didn't have to play Miami this year, except for the bowl game.

 

Their non-conference schedule besides FSU this year (whom they have always played), was Middle Tennessee State and Eastern Michigan. :o

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fwiw, spurrier did not leave a whole lot of talent in the younger classes when he departed florida. even he admitted that he didn't have his heart in recruiting the last two or three years he was there.

 

i don't know how good of a coach zook will be, other than being fairly certain he'll be better than turner or tepper. neither had any significant head coaching experience and zook's at least got a few seasons in a high-pressure environment under his belt. i have no doubt he's made his fair share of mistakes at florida, but hopefully he's learned from them.

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If Zook is such a great recruiter, and a great coach who really was a victim of Spurrier's laziness his last few years, why did Florida FIRE him?

This haiku from FireRonZook.com says a lot.

 

Gainesville was happy

Football, Drinking, Women...wow

2 for 3 ain't bad

 

He was better at getting in fights at frat houses than he was at coaching football.

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I think this is a great signing.. Zook is a good recruiter, and the SEC is no pushover conference..

 

Yeah Florida was 7 - 4 but if you take away the upset to Miss St they lost to three top teams in the nation.. Tennessee, Georgia, and LSU.. those are tough schools to beat

 

Zook is gonna be able to come into a very weak Big 10 imo and bring in his recruits play his style of ball.. I think its a very very good move for us..

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I think its funny that before the season, everyone was b****ing that the Big 10 got no respect.  But now, "a weak Big 10" is a selling point to get a coach to the Illini.  :lol:

Where else would Zook go? Of the other jobs that are open, Illinois is one of the best.

 

ND is arguably more pressure packed than Florida.

Stanford wants a west coast guy.

Washington is in Seattle (Zook is a small town guy according to an article in the Sun-Times)

BYU has no coffee, pop, sex without a sheet, etc. Also, people are expecting every coach to be LaVell Edwards.

Indiana and Ole Miss have had less success than Illinois through the years.

Utah is still Mid-Major, no matter what they did this year.

Then there are a bunch of other Mid-major jobs out there.

 

Illinois has good recruiting bases in Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Detroit.

Illinois has good traditions (need to use these more, even if some a cheesy).

Illinois is the best team with a coaching vacancy in the best conference. Well, maybe Ole Miss is 1a. Or Illinois is 1A.

Illinois needs a defense minded head coach.

 

But most importantly, Ron Zook is a fantastic recruiter and according to Tom Lemming, this gives the Illini instant cache with recruits. After all, this is the guy who recruited Chris Leak. Hopefully, he'll bring some of his assistants and recruits with him. Won't be a top 25 team next year, but could be 6-5.

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