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Illinois Football: Illini class of 2019 gets stronger with Bryce Childress

By Rees Woodcock

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 21: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on during the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on October 21, 2017 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Golden Gophers defeated the Fighting Illini 24-17. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 21: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on during the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on October 21, 2017 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Golden Gophers defeated the Fighting Illini 24-17. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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The Illinois football team continued to build on a great week with another commitment on Thursday night.

Bryce Childress took to Twitter to announce he has committed to the Illini. This was a big commitment for Illinois considering they needed a player like Childress, they beat some good teams out for him and the Illini have been recruiting him for a while now.

Childress is a 5-foot-9, 155-pound wide receiver from Trinity Catholic High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 924 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 18 player in the state of Missouri.

There was a lot of recruiting attention for Childress. He had programs like Nebraska, Kansas State and Louisville all vying for his commitment. But, for many reasons, he chose the Illini. I think he could also come in and make an impact on this program year one.

The top wide receivers who will be around in 2019 will be Ricky Smalling and Carmoni Green, who will both be juniors, and Caleb Reams, who will be a senior. They are projected as the top three wide receivers on the roster heading into 2019. This leaves plenty of room for other pass catchers to come in and get some snaps.

Not only will Childress get playing time immediately, but he is also a top 1000 player and that is what I look for in each recruiting class. I know rankings from each site are just opinions on what a group of people thinks but looking at the past, usually the more top 1000 players you get the better the class pans out to be.

Illinois is now up to five commitments for the class of 2019 after Childress’ commitment Thursday night. Three of the five players are in the top 1000 including two in the top 60. That is a great start. Illinois also has the No. 28 class according to 247Sports and the No. 23 class according to Rivals.

Next: Illini building a talented defensive secondary

Special things are happening in Champaign right now. LittyvILLe is a real thing. ILLGang19 is a real thing. This isn’t just a class, this is a movement. Get on board or get left behind.

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