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Illinois Football: 6 Illini recruits to watch on National Signing Day

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) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – SEPTEMBER 29: Illinois Fighting Illini fans are seen in the tailgating area before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on September 29, 2017 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

1. Merlin Robertson

There are only a few “big fish” left in the bond right now who would help launch the Illinois football class of 2018 into the top 40. Merlin Robertson is one of those players.

Robertson is a 6-foot-3, 241-pound linebacker from Junipero Serra High School in Gardena, California. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 129 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 8 outside linebacker in the nation. Many teams have been after Robertson but it looks like only two stand now.

Illinois and Arizona State are the two programs Robertson is going to be choosing from on National Signing Day. These two teams have fought over him the entire time and they both have similar qualities.

The Illini have a former NFL head coach who has a lot of NFL experience in Lovie Smith. They also have a defensive coordinator who was also an NFL legend at linebacker in Hardy Nickerson. The Sun Devils have a head coach who has NFL experience in Herm Edwards. While their defensive coordinator – Danny Gonzales – isn’t a former NFL player, they still have Antonio Pierce on the staff as an assistant coach for the linebackers. He was a legend with the New York Giants at linebacker.

Honestly, I don’t think anyone knows where Robertson is going. He has made it clear he wants NFL knowledge and I think Illinois has the most. I would probably give the Illini a slight edge here, but it is way too close to call right now. Robertson would complete the class of 2018 for Illinois, though.

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