Illinois Football: Illini would put stamp on state with Billingsley and McCray

The Illinois football team has a solid class of 2019 right now, but there is always room for more talented players.

Illinois is currently sitting with the No. 40 class in the nation and the No. 9 class in the Big Ten. This ranking has nothing to do with the quality of player the Illini are bringing in, though. They just don’t have the quantity right now. This will come with time.

The top players in the class right now are Isaiah Williams, Marquez Beason and Bryce Childress. All three of these players will help change the program from bottom feeder in the conference to contender for a Big Ten title. All of the commitments will help with this cause too. But, as of right now, Illinois only has two in-state recruits.

Joseph Thompson and Griffin Moore are the two state of Illinois recruits the Illini have landed. I am excited to see what these two recruits can do on the football field, but Illinois hasn’t been able to snag the top talent in the state in quite some time. This could all change, though.

Jahleel Billingsley and Fabian McCray could help change the fortunes of the Illinois football program with in-state recruits. Billingsley is a four-star tight end who is the No. 266 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 4 player in the state of Illinois. McCray is a three-star wide receiver who is the No. 846 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 15 player in the state of Illinois.

Just this past week, Billingsley visited the Florida Gators and seemed to have loved it. The vibes have been that he is going to commit there. He also said a video was going to come out soon. But, on Friday night, his dad posted a picture of Jahleel in an Illinois uniform and just typed Littyville. This swung me back into thinking this recruitment isn’t over. The Illini are not out of his recruitment yet.

McCray looks to be in a similar spot as far as his recruitment goes. On Saturday night, he posted that his top list was coming out soon. I would look for that top list to come out sometime this weekend. For me, he has always been an Illinois lean. I have felt this kid was going to end up in Orange and Blue the entire time.

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It seems that Billingsley and McCray’s recruitments are coming to a close sometime soon. They both are cutting down their lists and, hopefully, Illinois ends up making those lists. These two players are huge for this program. They need them for their roster and depth, but they also need them to put their stamp on the state of Illinois.