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Illinois Football: Illini make top 7 for 2019 RB Jirehl Brock

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - NOVEMBER 25: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lovie Smith looks on during the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Northwestern Wildcats on November 25, 2017 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - NOVEMBER 25: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lovie Smith looks on during the game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Northwestern Wildcats on November 25, 2017 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Illinois football team continued to bring in good news on Friday morning.

Big-time target Jirehl Brock decided to cut his list down to just seven teams and kept the Illini involved. His list included Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa, Iowa State, Purdue, Indiana and Illinois. This is a list that I was kind of expecting, but the fact the Illini are still on there makes me happy.

Brock is a 6-foot, 180-pound running back from Quincy High School in Quincy, Illinois. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 128 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 7 running back in the nation. Getting him is going to be tough, though.

I feel like I have seen so many different outlets talking about how Brock is going to the state of Iowa whether that is the Hawkeyes or the Cyclones. So, honestly, I would probably put those two teams in the lead for his commitment. Illinois has to be up there, though.

Lovie Smith and the coaching staff have been on Brock for a while now because the Illini need running back help. You would have to go back to 2010 to find the last player who rushed for 1,000 yards for the Illini. That running back was Mikel Leshoure who rushed for 1,697 yards and 17 touchdowns that season.

I do like Mike Epstein, though. This kid did some special things last season in only five games in the Orange and Blue as a true freshman. He went down with an injury only two games into the Big Ten season and was still the leading rusher on the team with 346 yards and three touchdowns. That is why there needs to be more help in the near future.

Next: Top 5 in-state recruiting targets for the Illini

Epstein is going to be sensational as long as he stays healthy. Even with how good he is on the field, there is that uncertainty about health. Behind Epstein, there are a lot of question marks as well. Getting someone like Brock would settle the backfield. The one-two punch of Epstein and Brock would be absolutely devastating for the Big Ten.

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