Illinois Football: Top 10 highest rated Illini recruits since 2010

26 December 2014: Illinois Fighting Illini tight end Jon Davis (3) catches the football over Louisiana Tech Bulldogs defensive back Adairius Barnes (21) during the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl in the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images) /

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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – NOVEMBER 04: Ricky Smalling /

9. Ricky Smalling – No. 358 – Class of 2017

Turmoil struck the Illinois football program when there were a few coaching changes within an eight-month span. But, the hiring of Lovie Smith proved to be a good one for the recruiting game.

Lovie’s first full class was 2017 and the highest rated player that year was superstar wide receiver Ricky Smalling. Smalling was a 6-foot, 195-pound wide receiver from Brother Rice High School in Oak Lawn, Illinois. He was rated as a three-star recruit who was the No. 358 player in the class of 2017 and the No. 6 player in the state of Illinois.

Illinois needed more wide receiver help on the outside and that is exactly what they received with Smalling. The sad part about his freshman campaign was the quarterback situation for the Illini. Illinois didn’t have a good quarterback throwing him the ball and this hurt his stats. But, that should all be fixed this upcoming season.

Despite the lack of a quarterback, Smalling still had a good freshman campaign. He finished the year with 31 receptions for 510 yards and two touchdowns. Whenever he got the ball the world would light up. This kid is a playmaker just waiting to be one of the best in the Big Ten.

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