Yesterday, Illini football coach Tim Beckman stole the show on National Signing Day by challenging the media to write more positive stories about his program. As I said yesterday, it is not the job of the media to hype up and glorify the Illini football program– that’s what publicists do.
In a talk radio interview later that day, Beckman said he was just asking the media for help. Well, if you want more positive coverage, win more games. Don’t be a total embarrassment in your losses. Accomplish these two tasks and you’ll see a lot more glowingly positive news stories on Illini football.
Beckman issued the challenge/cry for help.
Okay, I’m game. Bring it on!
Only guessing here, but I think what Beckman was really trying to do was inspire more coverage of the good things Illini football does off the field. These types of things (leadership councils, graduation rates, GPAs, community service, awards etc.) are all very important.
However, these types of stories DO NOT move the needle AT ALL.
Fans do not care about such issues, therefore media do not prioritize coverage of such things. If they did, we would, but they don’t. Media is a business.
The news is the product, and there has to be a demand for it. Coverage of Illini football, good or bad, win or lose, 12-0 or 0-12 is based on what is
a.) news worthy
b.) of interest to Illini football fans or
c.) both
Therefore we devised a list of nine reasons to be excited about Illini football. And there’s nothing of the leadership council/GPA/graduation rate variety on this list!
Click on the highlighted boldface bullet points for more on each one of these concepts.
1. Mikey Dudek is the real deal
The Freshman All-American Wide Receiver is the team’s best player, and the perfect paradigm for any prospect who wasn’t recruited by anybody, and didn’t have a lot of stars in their rating, but still blew up anyway. He’ll be around for three more years and should be your Illini football “face of the franchise.”
I expect to see a horde of reporters around the record setting star at Big Ten Media Day in Chicago this July. In the meantime, here’s the audio of our recent exclusive interview of Dudek.
2. Wes Lunt and Josh Ferguson could be great; if they had better blocking
Running back Josh Ferguson is really good, but he could be all-league if the people in front of him cleared more holes. With better downfield blocking, Ferguson would spring even more big plays. QB Wes Lunt has a NFL arm and NFL size. The line just needs to protect him better. Lunt has a bit of a Mr. Glass reputation and his injury history justifies that to some extent.
Still, he could be excellent.
The Illini offense could be very explosive this fall with just an average OL. That’s all the O Line needs to do in 2015- be mediocre or better!
3. Illini football is trending upward
Last fall saw some hideously ugly losses. Most of the wins weren’t pretty either. However, a bowl bid is a bowl bid, and Beckman has improved his win total by 2 each of the last two years. Yes, the 2014 Illini football team had a horrible cumulative season yardage deficit and scoring deficit. However, Illinois was fantastic in one possession games.
It may hurt your intellect to admit that they showed progress last year. On paper though, they did.
4. 2015 Recruiting class ranked in the top half of the league
More on all this by clicking on the link above.
Scout: #36, #6 in the B1G (just one spot behind the Badgers)
Rivals: #46, #7 in Big Ten (just two slots behind Wisconsin!)
24/7: #45, #6 in the league.
5. Jeff George! Jr.
Okay so he was only a two star recruit, and he wasn’t really pursued by any of the college football heavyweights. Still his dad in an Illini legend and the #1 overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft. A lot of that has to rub off on this member of the newest Illini class.
The apple can’t fall that far from the tree, right?
6. Aaron Bailey’s potential, at least on paper
Ok, so he hasn’t really done much during his first two seasons on campus. I still believe in his 4-star or 5-star (depending on the recruiting service) hype. Maybe all he needs is a position switch. (Bailey has not shown us much with his passing thus far)
Maybe he’ll be like Martez Wilson? A late blooming blue chip prospect.
Can confirm current #Illinois QB Aaron Bailey (of @RaiderFootball_ ) requested his release and will look to transfer https://t.co/irHinJRtCt
— Beth Long (@Beth_Long) February 5, 2015
Ok, so we have to scratch that one off the list. Which reminds me of this scene from Mel Brooks’ History of the World Part I.
Watch below:
7. Tim Beckman is never boring
Football coach press conferences are often POINTLESS and BORING. Beckman, on the other hand, always gives you a notable quotable. He usually says something that’s memorable; a refreshing change from all the vanilla coachspeak.
8. Illini football has more positive momentum than Illini basketball right now
Granted this is more a product of football having much lower expectations than basketball, but it is true. Hoops is dealing with massive off-the-court issues and lots of injuries. Football doesn’t have those problems right now. The latest statistical models indicate that Illinois has only a 13% chance of making the tournament this season. One tourney berth in three years under John Groce vs. one bowl bid in three years under Tim Beckman.
It’s the same, but no, it’s not at all the same because Illini football has much lower expectations.
9. Under Bill Cubit, the receivers will always be good
Cubit has transformed the position of wide receiver since he took over as offensive coordinator. He’s done so much with so little to work with. The running game under Cubit?
Well, this a positive, uplifting article, remember? Now Cubit gets to utilize Sam Mays, the #9 ranked WR in the state of Texas, who just signed yesterday.
Being a top ten prospect at your position in that state is a huge deal! Texans are dysfunctionally obsessed with football year round.
Clear eyes, full hearts! Can’t Lose!
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital, eBay, Google News and CBS Interactive Inc. You can read Banks’ feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye newspaper and listen to him on KOZN 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)