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Illinois Football: Illini not in lead for 2019 TE Jahleel Billingsley

By Rees Woodcock

IOWA CITY, IOWA- OCTOBER 07: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes on October 7, 2017 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, IOWA- OCTOBER 07: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Illinois Fighting Illini during the second quarter against the Iowa Hawkeyes on October 7, 2017 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /
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Well Illinois football fans, we might have to fight even harder now for one of the top tight ends in the nation.

Jahleel Billingsley is on his visit down to see what the Florida Gators program is all about. Apparently, he is having a great time and even considers them the leader in his recruitment right now. I can’t read the entire article, but the headline says Billingsley names UF his leader. This is tough news to take in as an Illini fan, but he is a talented player, so I expected a tough fight.

Billingsley is a 6-foot-4, 216-pound tight end from Phillips Academy in Chicago, Illinois. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 267 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 10 tight end in the nation. Illinois was widely considered the leader leading up to this weekend, but now the tides seemed to have turned with the visit down to Gainesville.

I would think Illinois still has a good shot at landing Billingsley. Most programs look great when you are there. Their main purpose is to make the campus, coaching staff and team look as appealing as possible when you are on the visit. But, Illinois has something Florida doesn’t have. They have the ability for his family to come see him play football without breaking the bank.

Illinois is only a few hours away from Chicago. This enables his family and friends to be able to drive down on Saturday’s to see Billingsley play for the Illini. Having that luxury is nice. Another area that Illinois beats Florida in is playing time.

Billingsley would come in year one and start for this Illinois football team. He would lineup opposite Louis Dorsey in 2019. I would doubt many teams could offer Billingsley that option. He would be able to shine in the Orange and Blue from day one until he graduates or goes early into the NFL.

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While this is terrible news for the Illini fan base, I wouldn’t panic too much right now. There is still a long way to go in Billingsley’s recruitment and no team is out of it. Hopefully, Illinois can get another chance to show that Champaign is the place to be.

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