The funny thing about Scheelhasse at Illinois

H

homerHAWKeye777

Well-Known Member
He's easily the leading starting candidate at QB for the Illini right now ... however, that's not the funny part.

If you recall, he committed to the Illini because Zook sold him on being the next Juice-like mobile QB at Illinois. As I recall, the story goes that Zook showed him tape of Juice at Illinois and asked him if it reminded him of anybody.

After that point, Scheelhasse was sold on the Illini due to the fact that he felt that its SYSTEM was such a great fit for him. Furthermore, the Illini weren't that far removed from a Rose bowl and with the O that the Illini were going to return in '09 ... most folks were anticipating that the Illini would be legit contenders for the conference title. LOL ... hindsight is beautiful, is it not?

Anyhow, now Scheelhasse is likely going to be the starter in Petrino's O ... which is philosophically identical to Iowa's. A lot of emphasis on TE-play and exploiting the QBs mobility on roll outs and if things break down on play-action. Furthermore, Zook is legitimately and squarely on the HOT SEAT!

I suppose that the kid wasn't necessarily raised as a devout Hawkeye ... because otherwise the irony here would be a killer. He coulda been utilized in a very similar way in Iowa's system, playing behind a BETTER OL, and playing for coaches who will undoubtedly be here for many years to come.

Can you say ... "wrong decision!"
 
LAchalk said:
Dude, you sound awfully bitter. Who cares? Everthing is fine at Iowa.
Click to expand...
Maybe ... however, it's never good when you lose a high-quality legacy who you have an offer out to. The very fact that Illinois currently offers him NOTHING that Iowa couldn't have offered him is what particularly smarts.

Just as you indicated though ... everything is fine at Iowa. I agree. Furthermore, we have a mighty fine group of underclassmen QBs in Vandenberg, Wienke, and Derby.
 
Read an article in the trib the other day on Nate S.. Sounds like he grew up immershed in the hawkeye exploits of his dad..so maybe he got sick of hearing about Iowa.
His dad just said his own career is over and Nate S. has his own thing. His uncle was Owen Gill, so maybe it was just too much pressure. His mom and dad moved to champaign when he did,and found jobs there. His dad goes over every practice with Nate in detail,so they are close. Hope he does not burn the hawks in two years...he sounds good.
 
Scheelhasse made the right decision for him, he saw Wienke and Vandenberg in front of him at Iowa and knew he couldn't beat them out.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
He's easily the leading starting candidate at QB for the Illini right now ... however, that's not the funny part.

If you recall, he committed to the Illini because Zook sold him on being the next Juice-like mobile QB at Illinois. As I recall, the story goes that Zook showed him tape of Juice at Illinois and asked him if it reminded him of anybody.

After that point, Scheelhasse was sold on the Illini due to the fact that he felt that its SYSTEM was such a great fit for him. Furthermore, the Illini weren't that far removed from a Rose bowl and with the O that the Illini were going to return in '09 ... most folks were anticipating that the Illini would be legit contenders for the conference title. LOL ... hindsight is beautiful, is it not?

Anyhow, now Scheelhasse is likely going to be the starter in Petrino's O ... which is philosophically identical to Iowa's. A lot of emphasis on TE-play and exploiting the QBs mobility on roll outs and if things break down on play-action. Furthermore, Zook is legitimately and squarely on the HOT SEAT!

I suppose that the kid wasn't necessarily raised as a devout Hawkeye ... because otherwise the irony here would be a killer. He coulda been utilized in a very similar way in Iowa's system, playing behind a BETTER OL, and playing for coaches who will undoubtedly be here for many years to come.

Can you say ... "wrong decision!"
Click to expand...

So Illinois has decided to abanded their version of the spread? Can they turn it around very quickly, learning a whole new system? Or maybe the personell they have are better suited to run an iowa type offense?
 
iowahawkeyes89 said:
Wow...sour grapes
Click to expand...

Kinda ... I usually don't go down this road either. However, you gotta remember that I'm stuck in Champaign ... so the emergence of Scheelhasse as a starter at Illinois is kind rubbed in my face.

It would be full-out sour grapes if I were to say that he wouldn't have a chance to beat out Vandenberg ... or if I were to say that he really wasn't all that good.

As it stands though ... the grapes might be semi-sweet ... however, they're still plenty SOUR. I admit it ....
 
Last edited:
CAARHawk said:
It's not all that funny when you consider that the next Illini coach will have some players to build around.
Click to expand...

CAARHawk -

The talent level at Illinois is good. However, it's not THAT good. Their final recruiting class (or two) wasn't up to "normal" Zook standards due to the perception of Zook being on a hot seat. Or rather, the classes weren't loaded with quite as much "plug and play" talent.

Also, the new coach will still have to implement new systems on O and D ... and that will require a bit of a transition right there. By the time the transient period is over, the majority of the most impressive talent that Zook landed will be gone.

And nobody that the Illini AD will find will be any better at recruiting than Zook. Of course, it's VERY likely that they'll find somebody who is better at coaching and developing talent ... however, they'll still be playing "catch-up" to Ferentz and Co in that area.
 
JoeHawki said:
So Illinois has decided to abanded their version of the spread? Can they turn it around very quickly, learning a whole new system? Or maybe the personell they have are better suited to run an iowa type offense?
Click to expand...

JoeHawki -

Yes, Zook is having his guys fully embrace Petrino's O. Petrino's O is a multiple O ... however, it doesn't place emphasis on the QB run-option. He's also having the team adopt the new DC's D too.

Thus, for the most part, the Illini will be contending with new schemes on BOTH sides of the ball.

Will they get things turned around very quickly? I don't know. I anticipate that Zook just needs his squad to break even in 2010 in order to keep his job ... that is, assuming that the team obviously appears to make progress as the season unfolds.

If the team continues to underperform and has a bad record ... then I fully anticipate that Zook will get the boot.

My guess is that part of the allure of having Zook at Illinois is that if the Illini are actually winning ... then he'll have a winning program to sell ... and that equates to HUGE recruiting dividends to the program. However, if he's unable to prove that he can right the ship ... then he should go back to the pros where it's not as critical for the coaches to be great teachers.
 
I must have missed the Michigan-Illinois game while watching the awesome exhibition of offensive style we displayed against Indiana.
 
thetrza said:
I must have missed the Michigan-Illinois game while watching the awesome exhibition of offensive style we displayed against Indiana.
Click to expand...

LOL! Iowa moved the ball well ... just couldn't punch the ball in the redzone.

As for the Illinois vs Michigan game ... I don't know if I'd call it as much of a display of offense as a parody on the defensive side of the ball.

Scheelhaase has a lot of talent ... however, even McGloin looked like an All-American against the Michigan D.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top