Illinois Football: Top 10 highest rated Illini recruits since 2010

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26 DEC 2014: Illinois Fighting Illini tight end Jon Davis (3) scores a touchdown during the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas TX. (Photo by Andrew Dieb/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images) /

3. Jon Davis – No. 176 – Class of 2011

The No. 3 player among the top 10 highest rated Illini recruits since 2010 goes to Jon Davis. He was a talented athlete who would have an underrated career with the Illini but was a solid staple for the next four years.

Davis was a 6-foot-3, 230-pound tight end coming out of Eastern High School in Louisville, Kentucky. He was rated as a four-star recruit who was the No. 176 player in the class of 2011 and the No. 2 player in the state of Kentucky.

Getting Davis meant the Illini were getting a top 200 player to help the team get to bowl games. He was really a multi-tool player who could do anything on the football field.

The first year Davis was with the Illinois program was the final year under Ron Zook. He was fourth on the team in receiving yards with 187 and he also had a touchdown as well. The team went on to beat UCLA in the Fight Hunger Bowl that year. The rest of Davis’ career was a little rocky after that.

Zook was fired and the Tim Beckman era started for the Illini. Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase dealt with injuries during Davis’ sophomore campaign, so he only had 88 yards and a touchdown through the air. But, Davis did have 102 yards and a touchdown on the ground that season as well.

Davis had a solid junior campaign having 244 yards and two touchdowns from scrimmage. He followed that up with a senior campaign that had him racking up 205 total yards and three touchdowns.

Did Davis live up to his high rating? No, but he was a solid player for the Illini. He wasn’t that top 300 talent I was expecting but he wasn’t the worst player in the world.

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