13. DT Alfred Thomas; Class of 2018
Illinois was a little late to the Alfred Thomas party but they offered him a scholarship anyhow. He is a 6-foot-0.5, 269-pound defensive tackle from Lanier High School in Montgomery, Alabama. He is ranked as a four-star recruit who is the No. 281 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 10 player in the state of Alabama.
Thomas had a wide range of scholarship offers, and he has actually cut his list down to just eight teams he will be choosing from. This list was put together in April but Illinois still offered him to see if they could get in the running. If Lovie can get into the discussion for Thomas it would be a great accomplishment.
Next: Discussing the Illini with Dallas Craddieth
14. CB Alex Hogan; Class of 2019
Lovie wasn’t done in the state of Texas. He offered a scholarship to Alex Hogan as well. He is a 5-foot-11, 165-pound cornerback out of Lamar High School in Houston, Texas. He isn’t ranked yet because it is early in the recruiting process but he already has offers from Utah and Memphis as well.
Illinois always needs more cornerback help, and getting a talented player from the state of Texas would be a big deal. It would not only help the team but it would also help create the pipeline into the state. Expect Hogan to continue getting scholarship offers over the next few years. He is likely to be a top 500 recruit and a high three-star player.