'09 IL DE Craig Drummond (Ole Miss Verbal)

JOHNNYDRAMA08 · 01-21-2009, 12:48 PM

Here's a link and the article of an interview and an opinion of an Ill. insider:

http://www.illinihq.com/chats/...day/#submitform

OK, here is the latest word on Craig, per the Asmussen's HQ chat today.

"Let me tell you what I think happened based on talking to some of those folks close to Craig.
First, he graduated early from Chicago Morgan Park with the hope of enrolling early at Illinois. When that didn't happen, he decided to look for other spring options, which include Mississippi, Syracuse and Michigan State.
Houston Nutt came to Chicago on Monday and had a great visit with Craig. Craig will be in Oxford later this week. If I had to guess, I think it is very possible he signs with the Rebels and enrolls right away.
However, if he can't get into Mississippi or Michigan State at the semester, then I think Illinois gets back in the picture.
The problem for Drummond is that because he is out of school now, he wants to begin college. The last thing the Drummond family wants is for Craig to have to stay at home for the next few months while waiting to go to college. But if that becomes necessary, they will do it.
When I talked to Craig, I asked him specifically, "Does Illinois remain a possibility?" He said yes. I know there are different reports out there about Craig, but all I can go by is what he said to me. I'm not going to take the word of another source when I talked to Craig myself.
One thing that I didn't put in the story was the answer Craig gave when I asked him "What do you think about the recruiting business?" and he said "It's pretty stressful."
We have to remember that these are 18-year-olds making life choices with a whole lot of outside pressure. I feel sorry for him in this case because I think he is dealing with the situation in the best way possible. He didn't rip the Illinois coaches. In fact, he had nice things to say about them.
And he made it clear that the departure of Tom Sims didn't force his decommit. But, from what I understand, had Coach Sims stayed, it would have been another selling point for Illinois. The two had apparently developed a good relationship."

If he can enroll to MSU still I like our chances. Sounds like he wants to go to school now and begin to prepare for next season. His grades aren't an issue with enrolling, he has a 23 ACT, GPA is around 2.5-2.7. I believe this is good enough for an athlete to get in. He didn't get accepted to Ill. due to the school he tried to get into, but he could probably enroll to another school within the college and then switch into the major he wants to pursue after a year. We should know more in a few days to see if MSU will get a visit.

01-21-2009, 12:48 PM	#14 (permalink)
JOHNNYDRAMA08 Walk-On 500+ posts Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 534 #82 Keshawn Martin	Here's a link and the article of an interview and an opinion of an Ill. insider: http://www.illinihq.com/chats/...day/#submitform OK, here is the latest word on Craig, per the Asmussen's HQ chat today. "Let me tell you what I think happened based on talking to some of those folks close to Craig. First, he graduated early from Chicago Morgan Park with the hope of enrolling early at Illinois. When that didn't happen, he decided to look for other spring options, which include Mississippi, Syracuse and Michigan State. Houston Nutt came to Chicago on Monday and had a great visit with Craig. Craig will be in Oxford later this week. If I had to guess, I think it is very possible he signs with the Rebels and enrolls right away. However, if he can't get into Mississippi or Michigan State at the semester, then I think Illinois gets back in the picture. The problem for Drummond is that because he is out of school now, he wants to begin college. The last thing the Drummond family wants is for Craig to have to stay at home for the next few months while waiting to go to college. But if that becomes necessary, they will do it. When I talked to Craig, I asked him specifically, "Does Illinois remain a possibility?" He said yes. I know there are different reports out there about Craig, but all I can go by is what he said to me. I'm not going to take the word of another source when I talked to Craig myself. One thing that I didn't put in the story was the answer Craig gave when I asked him "What do you think about the recruiting business?" and he said "It's pretty stressful." We have to remember that these are 18-year-olds making life choices with a whole lot of outside pressure. I feel sorry for him in this case because I think he is dealing with the situation in the best way possible. He didn't rip the Illinois coaches. In fact, he had nice things to say about them. And he made it clear that the departure of Tom Sims didn't force his decommit. But, from what I understand, had Coach Sims stayed, it would have been another selling point for Illinois. The two had apparently developed a good relationship." If he can enroll to MSU still I like our chances. Sounds like he wants to go to school now and begin to prepare for next season. His grades aren't an issue with enrolling, he has a 23 ACT, GPA is around 2.5-2.7. I believe this is good enough for an athlete to get in. He didn't get accepted to Ill. due to the school he tried to get into, but he could probably enroll to another school within the college and then switch into the major he wants to pursue after a year. We should know more in a few days to see if MSU will get a visit.