Writing Illini
Fansided

Illinois Football: Top Illini recruiting targets for the class of 2019

By Rees Woodcock

IOWA CITY, IOWA- OCTOBER 07: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes on October 7, 2017 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, IOWA- OCTOBER 07: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes on October 7, 2017 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 8
Next
Illinois Football
CHAMPAIGN, IL – OCTOBER 29: Illinois fans celebrate during a Big Ten Conference football game between the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini on October 29, 2016, at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, IL. Minnesota won, 40-17. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Shammond Cooper – Linebacker

The fact Illinois lost some linebacker depth after the 2017 season is no secret. They need to replenish for 2018 and 2019. I really like Khalan Tolson coming in from the class of 2018 and hopefully, the Illini add Merlin Robertson. But, they also want to add a big-time linebacker for 2019 as well.

Shammond Cooper is a 6-foot-2, 190-pound linebacker from Trinity Catholic High School in Saint Louis, Missouri. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 184 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 3 player in the state of Missouri.

Illinois is a player in the Cooper sweepstakes. Just about every program in the nation wants this kid and that shows with his 28 scholarship offers. While he has all of these schools coming after him, he has mentioned a few teams that are standing out right now. He told The Clemson Insider just about a week ago that Clemson, Oklahoma, Ohio State and Illinois are all standing out right now.

Cooper is a top priority for the Illini in 2019. Considering he is ranked in the top 200 in the nation, there is no doubt in my mind Cooper would start day one for the Illinois football program. Lovie will have a tough fight on his hands with all of these traditional powerhouse programs coming after Cooper, though.

Home/Illinois Basketball Recruiting