Illinois Football: This Friday could be program changing for Illini

Something big is about to go down for the Illinois football team this Friday.

On Monday night, Isaiah Williams tweeted out, “Y’all ready??” He followed that tweet up about an hour later saying, “Friday…..” Whatever this means, it will be big for the Illini one way or another.

Williams is the top target right now for the Illinois football team. He is a 5-foot-11, 170-pound quarterback from Trinity Catholic High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He is rated as a five-star recruit who is the No. 27 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 1 player in the state of Missouri.

The number of scholarships that have been offered to Williams numbers between 45 and 50. He is arguably the most wanted recruit in the nation right now, and Illinois is projected to land him. They are 77-percent according to 247Sports.

A top list hasn’t been released so it is anyone’s guess who exactly would be on that list. One thing I know for sure is the Illini are up there and could be his choice in a matter of days. But, what do these cryptic tweets exactly mean?

Let’s look at the facts. Williams is obviously going to release something on Friday. This is likely to be one of two things. He could either be committing to a program or coming out with his top list.

The worst-case scenario for Illini fans right now is that Williams comes out with his top list. Whether it is a list of 5, 7 or 10, I think Illinois dons this group of hopeful programs. They have done a lot of work on getting Williams to come to Champaign, and I would have a hard time believing he would leave them off.

Now let’s look at the best case scenario. Williams wants to end his recruitment and commit to playing football for Lovie Smith and the Illini. He teams up with Marquez Beason – who will play cornerback – and the Illini have a dynamic offense and defense in 2019 and beyond. In addition to Williams committing, more Trinity Catholic players come aboard as well as some other recruits who were looking at Illinois but were unsure whether or not to go there.

Next: Top 5 Illini targets from Trinity Catholic

A commitment from Williams would be impactful more than just him committing and giving the Illini a great quarterback. His commitment would make the recruiting wave even bigger. He would help pull in more talent for the Illini. This Friday could be program changing.