The Illinois football team received some great news from TJ Ivy last night.
Ivy announced on Twitter that he has officially cut his list of programs he will be choosing from down to just four teams. The top four programs vying for this talented player are West Virginia, Iowa, Indiana and Illinois.
Getting Ivy would be big for the Illini. This kid has the talent to be a good player at the next level, and his size is what really catches my eye. He is a 6-foot-5, 217-pound tight end. That is the size that could dominate in the red zone.
Top 4, Blessed.🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/E8eS354pXJ
— Tj Ivy (@tjivy30) May 19, 2017
The recruiting rankings also have Ivy listed as a solid player. He is a three-star recruit who is the No. 1150 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 31 player in the state of Illinois. For the Illini to snag Ivy, it would help show that they are starting to gain ground in their home state.
Illinois has visibly struggled to get the top players in the state of Illinois for quite some time now. There have been extremely talented players head elsewhere for multiple reasons including lack of coaching and lack of winning.
That should all be changing and step one is to start winning. Lovie Smith is tasked with winning this season so the future recruiting trail will be easier to navigate. The class of 2018 has been rough so far, to say the least.
The Illini have lost out on some top recruits from the state of Illinois for 2018 already. There are still a few left like Verdis Brown, but most have already been accounted for. Getting someone like Ivy will help continue the push to get the top talent in the state.
Illinois has already nabbed Coran Taylor and Julian Pearl who are the No. 26 and No. 28 recruits in the state, respectively. Now they are in the top four for the No. 31 player in the state in Ivy. Illinois could always use another big-time tight end as well.
The Illinois football program hasn’t had a dominant tight end in quite some time. They are hoping Griffin Palmer will be the answer to the decline at the position this season, but there are a bunch of inexperienced players on the roster right now. No one has emerged as the No. 1 yet.
With Illinois not having a set tight end, this has to be enticing for Ivy. He will have a chance to come into the program and make an impact early on in his career.
Next: Profile of the Illini starting defensive backs
Getting a player like Ivy would help the Illinois football team tremendously. He is another player to help the Illini build rapport within the state, and he also adds depth to a team who needs it. Hopefully, Lovie can close the deal sometime in the near future.