Matt LaCosse Decommits- goes to Illinois

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Handsome Pete

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Guess he would rather play for Tim Brewster than Jerry Kill.
 

This one hurts a lot. This kid has unbelievable potential. And now he's gonna be Scheelhase's safety valve in that option scheme. Ugh.
 

Saw this coming...he'll regret this decision in a couple of years.
 

I speculated in the other thread that if LaCosse is moved to TE, this is probably the better move for him for him. TE is a block first (second, third, and fourth) position in Kill's offense.

I'm curious to see how Kill uses Lair.
 

Marcus Fuller just tweeted, "Chicago Tribune reports that major factor for LaCosse switching his commitment from MN to Illinois was for early playing time at tight end."

Eure and Lair graduate next year. Other than that it appears we have a couple of walk on players in Bisch and Ngekia (I believe they walked on). Seems like a very poor excuse considering he'd probably see playing time as a redshirt Freshman here.
 


Inevitable that we would lose some, and the commits we have may not even be guys Kill and Co would have pursured, but their hands are kind of tied - they have to honor the offers.

Given where Kill has come from (UNI - hasn't been working top-end talent, thus is further behind in the game), folks shouldn't expect a ton from this class. That said, we have a lot of scholarships available and I'd be find using some for JC guys and stockpiling a few extras for next year when it will be balls to the walls.
 

I wonder who he will be playing for after next year when Zook gets canned???
 





Illinois doesn't really use their TEs a ton and they have a pretty decent FR who started for them last season (Evan Wilson). He will be fighting for PT with a couple OK other young TEs to be the second TE on that team. He has a decent chance to be their #2 TE next season, but he also has a pretty good chance of being their #4 TE (behind two FR and a SO).
 


Jeff Cumberland caught about 15 balls a season for the Illini (I always thought he was a big underachiever) and LaCosse reminds me a bit of him in terms of size/speed.
 




Recruiting isn't that big of a deal this year to me. We have Brew's recruits with a new coach. We're gonna lose some guys. Oh well. I'm just happy we have a coach that actually knows how to coach. I'll be more critical next year after Jerry has a year at the U and has his system rolling.
 

whatev wish him luck...we'll be ok. Have fun being the whipping boy of the leaders Div :)
 

I'm disappointed about losing LaCosse, but we are also going to sign Rohr and Westerhaus at TE in this class. While Westerhaus could potentially switch to LB, I think we'll be fine at TE going forward.
 

not sure why the de-commit, he wont get instant playing time at Ill and would do better in Kill's new system rather than Ill's spread, and he was actively recruited by Kill for NIU as well, so...
 

Some kids just have a dream of playing for a guy who recruits really well but can't coach to save his life. Reach for that brass ring, young Matthew.
 


TCF=UnitedWeStand said:
Inevitable that we would lose some, and the commits we have may not even be guys Kill and Co would have pursured, but their hands are kind of tied - they have to honor the offers.

Given where Kill has come from (UNI - hasn't been working top-end talent, thus is further behind in the game), folks shouldn't expect a ton from this class. That said, we have a lot of scholarships available and I'd be find using some for JC guys and stockpiling a few extras for next year when it will be balls to the walls.
Click to expand...

FWIW he's coming from NIU not UNI. Let's not slander our new coach with that Iowa stench. :)
 

He does have a better chance at playing right away at Illinois. There is virtually no chance that he would be a #1 or #2 TE for the U next season, and there is a slight chance that he could be the #2 TE next season, and he probably would be the most gifted receiver of their group of TEs.

So he would have an outside chance of getting significant PT next season, but he also runs the risk of splitting time with 3 TEs who are all FR and SO. Here, he would have virtually zero chance at playing right away but the position would be destined for him in a couple seasons.

He may have also been turned off by the receiving numbers of Coach Kill's TE and might have wanted to stay home. Good luck to him, I hope he gives Bucky fits during his time in the Leaders Division. :)
 


Prior to signing day

These young men will occassionally change their mind. The sign of a good recruiting staff (and who do we have right now!) is to fill the slate with talent (obviously). I could care less where Matt LaCrosse ends up. Good for Illinois and Matt. The question is how will we fill out a balanced class that does justice to 2011 and 2015.
 

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