Illinois Football: Making Jahleel Billingsley’s top 7 is huge for Illini

The Illinois football team is doing some special things in the recruiting game right now.

There has been so much attention paid to the Illini and who they are offering that the momentum has me thinking the class of 2019 could be one of the best in program history. With Marquez Beason already committed, it will be interesting to see who the next big-time recruit will be to pull the trigger and commit to the Illini. Could that player be Jahleel Billingsley?

On Tuesday night, Billingsley decided to take a step in the direction of making a commitment. He cut his list down to just seven programs and included TCU, Penn State, Florida, Ole Miss, Michigan, Ohio State and Illinois. The Illini made another top list for a top recruit and that is a great feeling.

Billingsley is a 6-foot-5, 227-pound tight end from Phillips Academy in Chicago, Illinois. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 196 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 4 tight end in the nation. Having a player of Billingsley’s caliber taking notice of the program is very exciting.

I wanted to note a few things about Billingsley’s game before looking at if the Illini have a shot at this kid. The first thing that jumps out to me is his size. This kid has the body of an NFL tight end already. Purely based on his physical gifts, I would love for the Illini to snag him. He also has solid speed as well. He would make for an amazing end zone target.

I also think Illinois has a chance at landing Billingsley as well. They have the location factor, which is good. He is from Chicago and Illinois is the closest program to him. His family and friends can come down and watch him play whenever they want. The Illini have also been on him for a while. They offered him a scholarship back in September 2017 and he just took an unofficial visit to Champaign last weekend.

Illinois also needs more help at the tight end position. They have Louis Dorsey who had a sensational freshman campaign, but that is it for the tight ends. Billingsley would step in day one and start alongside Dorsey for this Illini squad. Could you just imagine him and Dorsey catching passes in this offense? That would be a duo to be reckoned with.

Next: Top 5 recruiting targets left for Illini in 2019

The Illini made Billingsley’s top seven and that is a great first step. They need to start scooping up the in-state kids so they stop going to our competitors. Snagging Billingsley would be a great first step in changing the tides in-state.