Illinois Football: Ranking the last 10 Illini recruiting classes

2. Class of 2018

Lovie Smith’s second recruiting class was even better than his first, but that isn’t the case on paper. I was really impressed with the talent Lovie pulled in from the class of 2018, though.

The class of 2018 produced three four-star recruits and 13 three-star recruits. This class didn’t check in as high as I expected, though. It only came in as the No. 50 class in the nation.

The four-star recruits who committed for 2018 were Reuben Unije, Verdis Brown and Calvin Avery. Unije was a great get for the Illini considering he isn’t from the area and they had to pull him from some great programs. Brown was another great get. Both him and Unije played for IMG Academy but Brown was from Chicago. He will be sensational as a defensive tackle for the Illini. Calvin Avery was a huge get for this program as well. Lovie went down to Texas and plucked one of the best defensive tackles in the nation from the Lone Star State.

Illinois’ three-stars should do some special things as well. Coran Taylor and MJ Rivers are coming in and will be vying for the starting quarterback job. Illinois needs a good quarterback, and this should solve that issue.

I am excited to see what impact Kievan Myers can make on the offensive line for the Illini. He is from the same high school as Avery. Khalan Tolson has a lot of fire and should be a good linebacker. There are a multitude of players I like from this class.

The class of 2018 hasn’t stepped foot on the field yet, but they check in as the No. 2 class over the last 10 years. That is how special some of these players could be.