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Illinois Football: Top 10 Recruits the Illini Need to Snag for 2017

By Rees Woodcock

Oct 22, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lovie Smith on the sideline in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 22, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lovie Smith on the sideline in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 5, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A Big Ten logo on the field before the Big Ten Conference football championship game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Michigan State Spartans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

Over the last decade, the Illinois football team has produced some great defensive ends.  There are a few in the NFL right now.

Illinois will also have a few defensive ends potentially getting drafted in this upcoming draft.

The next great defensive end in Illini history could be Bobby Roundtree.

Roundtree is listed as a 3-star defensive end from Largo, Florida.  He is the No. 1389 player in the class of 2017 and the No. 197 player in the state of Florida.

In the recruiting process, Roundtree has received a total of 20 scholarship offers from some big-time programs.

There is a reason Roundtree is getting these offers too.  He stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs 215-pounds.  He has potential that is through the roof.

But, despite all of these scholarship offers, Roundtree narrowed his list to just five teams on October 12.

Those five teams included Indiana, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Michigan State and Illinois.

Lovie and Hardy Nickerson have a lot of pitches they can use on Roundtree to commit to Illinois.  They are building a great defense is one of them.

Another pitch is past success of defensive ends at Illinois and the fact they both coached in the NFL.

I think Roundtree becomes a great defensive end wherever he ends up.  I just hope I get to watch him in orange and blue on Saturdays.

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