Illinois Football: Top 5 Illini QB commits in the last 10 classes

CHAMPAIGN, IL - NOVEMBER 11: Illinois cheerleaders lead the team on to the field before a Big Ten Conference football game between the Indiana Hoosiers and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini on November 11, 2017, at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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COLUMBUS, OH – NOVEMBER 18: Chayce Crouch /

4. Chayce Crouch – Class of 2014

Illinois hasn’t had the prototypical pocket quarterback in the last 15 years. They did try to develop one in Chayce Crouch, though. He was a highly rated quarterback, and the Illini ended up snagging him in the class of 2014.

Crouch was a 6-foot-4, 215-pound pro-style quarterback from Newark Catholic High School in Newark, Ohio. He was rated as a three-star recruit who was the No. 659 player in the class of 2014 and the No. 30 pro-style quarterback in the nation. Crouch was supposed to set up the Illini for a lot of success in the future.

That didn’t exactly happen, though. Crouch was a reserve for the first few years in Champaign. He then received the starting job in 2017. After four games of the 2017 campaign, Crouch was benched. He threw for 443 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions for the Illini last year.

After being benched, Crouch turned into a backup tight end for pretty much the rest of the season. The season concluded and he decided to hang up the cleats and retire from football altogether. His career wasn’t what most had hoped, but he did come in as a highly rated Illini quarterback in the class of 2014.

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