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Illinois Football: Top 5 state of Missouri recruiting targets for Illini

By Rees Woodcock

Nov 12, 2016; Madison, WI, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lovie Smith during the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Wisconsin won 48-3. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 12, 2016; Madison, WI, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lovie Smith during the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. Wisconsin won 48-3. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 18, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; A detailed view of a football and pylon before the game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 18, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; A detailed view of a football and pylon before the game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 2 Ayodele Adeoye, Linebacker

Illinois has been able to get solid three-star players over the years, but what has really been their bugaboo is getting the top level recruits.

The first big recruit the Illini could snag for 2018 is Ayodele Adeoye. He is a beast of a player and ranked in the top 300 among recruiting services.

Adeoye is a 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker from Ritenour High School in Saint Louis, Missouri. He is ranked as a four-star recruit who is the No. 82 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 4 player in the state of Missouri.

Lovie came in with a lot of hope that he could build this program back to where we can compete for Big Ten Championships. Getting a player like Adeoye to commit would be a huge step in that direction. He is very athletic for his size and his ability to tackle really jumps off the page.

Illinois is really going to have to fight hard for Adeoye’s commitment, though. He has 21 scholarship offers including ones from LSU, Missouri and Arkansas.

I think Illinois can build a great defense around an explosive offense. Adeoye is going to be a special player because of his physical gifts. With Lovie and Hardy Nickerson teaching him how to play, I think he will be a high NFL Draft pick eventually.

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