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Illinois Football: Jakari Norwood commitment is for the future

By Rees Woodcock

Oct 8, 2016; Champaign, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lovie Smith observes his team in action against the Purdue Boilermakers during the 2nd quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 8, 2016; Champaign, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lovie Smith observes his team in action against the Purdue Boilermakers during the 2nd quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Illinois football team continued to build their class of 2018 on Friday night.

Jakari Norwood announced via Twitter that he has committed to play football for Illinois in 2018. This was a nice commitment for the Illini. He ended up picking the Illini over his offer scholarship offers of Bowling Green, Morgan State, North Carolina Central and Southern Mississippi. Purdue was also looking at him as well.

Norwood isn’t on the radar for the recruiting sites. He isn’t rated and he isn’t ranked on any site you look at. He is a 5-foot-10, 175-pound running back from Deerfield Beach High School in Deerfield Beach, Florida. He was the fourth player to commit to the Illini for the class of 2018.

Illinois could always use more running back help and that is what Norwood would provide. Heading into the 2017 season, the Illini currently have eight running backs on the roster but that number is really only four who will get a shot at playing. Illinois also has Ra’Von Bonner and Mike Epstein coming aboard from the class of 2017 this fall as well.

So, moving forward, the Illini have a nice stable of running backs. Norwood would come into the program and redshirt year one. He would then be eligible to play as a redshirt freshman in 2019. By that time, Kendrick Foster will have graduated and Reggie Corbin, Tre Nation and Dre Brown will all be seniors. The Illini will need more running back help and Norwood provides depth.

The big question is, why did the Illini offer this kid a scholarship? He isn’t ranked in the recruiting rankings and he doesn’t have another power five conference scholarship.

Well, this kid does have talent. He is a little undersized, which worries me, but he has decent speed and he can catch the ball out of the backfield. He still needs to work on his East-to-West moves, but his straight-line speed and moves are solid. Who he reminds me of is a shorter version of Matt Forte. Also, Forte was only a two-star coming out of high school as well.

Next: Starting lineup with the class of 2018

Illinois picked up a good stash-away running back for the class of 2018. He can sit and develop under the great coaching staff and will be unleashed on the Big Ten in 2019 and beyond.

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