Illinois Football: List of Illini Recruiting Official Visits
The Illinois football team has a lot of talent still left on the table for the class of 2017.
Lovie Smith entered this program about ten months ago and already has the Illini vying for a top 25 class in the nation.
The recruits that are still left up for grabs could help change the program in the future. Here is a list of the upcoming visits for the Illini.
DE Zion Debose (OV: January 13, 2017)
Lovie Smith is focusing on building that defense into a Big Ten powerhouse and adding Debose would help that. He is a 6-foot-3, 225-pound, beast who is ranked as the No. 92 defensive end.
Debose has a lot of offers from some solid programs but has narrowed his list to four schools. He visited Missouri already and then he has Illinois, Pittsburgh on January 20, and Virginia Tech on January 27.
DE Jalen Harris (OV: January 13, 2017)
Lovie Smith has proved he has a wide reach when it comes to recruiting and if he can nab Harris it would be a big-time steal. He is the No. 57 defensive end in the nation.
Harris has already committed to Arizona but is still taking his official visits. He has already visited Arizona and Colorado. His next visits are Illinois, Washington on January 20, and Notre Dame on January 27.
Illinois Fighting Illini
OT Preston Mixon (OV: January 20, 2017)
Mixon is a 6-foot-4, 293-pound, offensive lineman out of Montgomery, Alabama. He is a big player that could help a struggling offensive line.
Right now, Mixon has a decent amount of scholarship offers with only a few from power five programs. Illinois currently has his only visit.
WR Louis Dorsey (OV: January 20, 2017)
Illinois has a nice stable of wide receivers already committed for 2017 but adding another player like Dorsey wouldn’t hurt.
Dorsey is 6-foot-6 and would be a great weapon for the quarterback this season. Illinois was named the leader late in 2016 and hopefully, that hasn’t changed.
CB Zamari Maxwell (OV: January 20, 2017)
The newest addition to the official visit list is Maxwell. He has already been on two visits to Iowa and UCF. He will be visiting Iowa State this weekend, Illinois the weekend after, and then Kentucky.
Maxwell is a 6-foot-1 highly touted cornerback out of Largo, Florida. He has a lot of big-time scholarship offers and the fact he has added the Illini to his official visits is big for the program.
WR Jeff Thomas (OV: January 20, 2017)
The prized recruit for Lovie Smith and the Illini in the class of 2017 is wide receiver, Jeff Thomas. He is a superstar player that is clocked at running the 40-yard dash in 4.38-seconds.
Thomas has scholarships from just about every program you can imagine, but Illinois has the only official visit so far and is one of the leaders for this talented recruit.
OT Alex Palczewski (OV: January 20, 2017)
The Illinois football team needs more offensive lineman and adding a player like Palczewski would be big for the program. He is a 6-foot-6, 270-pound, beast from Mount Prospect, Illinois.
Palczewski narrowed his recruiting search to three programs. He took his first official visit to Vanderbilt on January 13, then to Syracuse on January 15. His final visit is to Champaign.
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DE Ernest Bagner (OV: January 20, 2017)
The defensive line is decimated after five big-time players departed. This would leave room for a junior college transfer like Bagner to come in and play.
Bagner has all five official visits scheduled. He already visited Utah State and New Mexico. His next visits are to Florida Atlantic on January 13, Illinois, and San Diego State on January 27.