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Illinois Football: Illini Get Last Visit from TraJon Cotton

By Rees Woodcock

Nov 28, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; A general shot of a Illinois Fighting Illini helmet during the second half against the Northwestern Wildcats at Soldier Field. Northwestern won 24-14. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; A general shot of a Illinois Fighting Illini helmet during the second half against the Northwestern Wildcats at Soldier Field. Northwestern won 24-14. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Illinois football team has added some serious defensive help for 2017 in the last month.

Two defensive tackles, a defensive end, a cornerback, and an outside linebacker have all committed to the Illini since December 15.

These players will be the building blocks to a great team in the near future.

But, Illinois could always use more back-end help in the secondary.  This is where safety TraJon Cotton would come into play.

Cotton is a three-star safety out of Sacramento, California.  He is the No. 44 safety in the class of 2017 and the No. 2 safety in the state of California.

The recruiting trail is starting to come to an end for Cotton.  The first visit he setup was back on September 17 when he visited Nebraska.

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Cotton then took a visit the next week to Oregon and then three weeks later to Colorado.

The fourth official visit that Cotton has setup is to Oregon State on January 13.  He will then take one more visit before National Signing Day.

Cotton confirmed with the Writing Illini that the final visit he will take is to Illinois on January 21.  Greg Biggins of Scout first reported the news.

This will be his final visit and it is always big for a program to get the final visit from a recruit.

Cotton would be a great steal for the Illini.  Plucking such a talented safety from California will show how wide of a reach that Lovie Smith has in the recruiting ranks.

Right now, the Illini will likely have Stanley Green and Patrick Nelson starting at both the safety positions next season.  But, behind these two there really isn’t anyone set in place.

I think there is a chance that Cotton can see snaps early on in his career.  He is good enough and there isn’t a ton of depth at safety.

My guess is that Cotton would be redshirted year one and then could possibly be an impact player in year two.

Next: Early-Enrollees Have a Chance to Make Huge Impact

If Lovie and the Illini can snag Cotton it would be a huge commitment for the program.  I think they have a legit shot at getting this kid and continuing to build the this team into a contender.

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