Illinois Football: Marquez Beason sets three official visits for April

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)

It is an exciting time to be an Illinois football fan with so much potential coming from the class of 2019.

Just a few days ago, Marquez Beason decided to cut his list down to just four teams and named LSU, Texas A&M, Ohio State and Illinois as the four left vying for his commitment. This was big news not only for an Illini team needing more of this type of talent but for the other three programs who could be getting a top 60 player.

Beason is a 5-foot-11, 173-pound cornerback from Bishop Dunne High School in Dallas, Texas. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 54 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 9 player in the state of Texas. When this news broke a few nights ago, it sent shockwaves through the college football world that Illinois was actually in the running for such a talented player from the state of Texas. He also set three of his official visits as well.

According to 247Sports, the official visits to LSU, Texas A&M and Illinois have all been set. The Illini get the first chance to pull in Beason when he visits Champaign on April 6. The Aggies are next with their visit coming the weekend after on April 13. LSU gets his final official visit the following weekend on April 20.

I cannot express enough how big this visit is for the Illini. They need to show Beason a few things. The first thing they need to show him is they can win now and in the future. This is a little difficult to show considering they only won two games in 2017, but a game plan of where the program is going needs to be laid out for this kid.

Beason also needs to be shown where he fits in the grand scheme of things. He needs to see that he will have a starting spot day one for the Illini at cornerback. Illinois needs to show him he can be used as a defensive back but can also start as a returner and possibly a wide receiver if he wants that much of a workload. They need to open the doors for this kid and listen to what he wants as a player.

Illinois needs to layout and show Beason what they have on the coaching staff. They need to show him Lovie Smith’s experience in the NFL and the talent he has coached to a Super Bowl appearance. Hardy Nickerson needs to be hands-on in this visit as well. He needs to show Beason his playing experience and all the accolades he has won at the next level. These two know what it takes to be an NFL player, and this needs to be articulated well during his visit.

The final thing Illinois can show Beason is a great atmosphere where he can be a part of a family environment and the future of a growing program. Illinois has a new performance center opening the first year Beason would be on campus. The pictures of this building need to be shown to him. He has a chance to be the first player to be a part of such a nice new facility.  A part of the great atmosphere is being around people he knows as well. Having former teammates like Kievan Myers and Calvin Avery gives you that comfort of already knowing some of the players.

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Illinois has a chance to really make an impact on Beason when he visits the weekend of April 6. This is also the end of Spring Practice as well, so he will have a chance to check out the Illini in pads. Hopefully, the Illini can really make an impact on the recruiting world and land a player of Beason’s caliber. This would be the start of something special.