Mike Thomas is one of worst AD's in big time college athletics .....
Do I think U of I can be an Ohio St. or Bama or even TCU right now, no.
Do I think they should EASILY be the best program in the state and be in the running for top 30 classes yr in yr out, yes I do.
When you look at what Wisky has done in both big time sports and how much more instate talent U of I has in both of the big 2, you see how horrible the administration has managed BB and FB over the last couple decades or so. I don't think you can close that gap with this hire, but you can get back to respectability and then hopefully in 4-6 yrs-after the program reclaims in-state recruits from MSU/Iowa/NW and other tier 2 type programs in the B10- then you can build from there.
We have decent in state talent here, it's just that a lot of it leaves the state right now.