Illinois Football: Top DT Jacob Bandes gets offer from Illini

The Illinois football team tried to get into the recruitment of one of the top players in the nation on Thursday afternoon.

Illinois ended up offering a scholarship to Jacob Bandes. He is a 6-foot-3, 295-pound defensive tackle from Pittsburg High School in Antioch, California. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 37 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 4 defensive tackle in the nation. Illinois is a little late to this recruitment, and they need to make up some serious ground quickly.

It looks like Bandes’ recruitment is being dominated by PAC-12 programs right now. 247Sports lists UCLA, Washington, Oregon, California and Colorado as the leaders for his commitment. He has been to California on two different unofficial visits and is scheduled to take an official visit to Colorado on June 8.

So, while some of the top PAC-12 programs have a lot more momentum than the Illini, I wouldn’t count Hardy Nickerson out of this recruitment. I could see Illinois possibly making a top list or getting an unofficial visit. But, it will be difficult because of the traction other teams already have with Bandes.

Honestly, I am surprised every program in the nation hasn’t offered Bandes. This kid has everything you want in a defensive tackle. He is so quick off the line and this puts the offensive line on their heels. He is already in the gap before the offensive line knows what is going on.

Bandes also brings a lot of strength and speed to the table as well. He pushes players around right now and with his build, this should transfer over to the college game. I like his speed too. After he gets off the line, he seems to be able to get to the ball carrier quickly. He has tremendous speed for his size.

Illinois has some solid talent at defensive tackle right now. True freshmen Verdis Brown and Calvin Avery should be starting at defensive tackle this upcoming season. These two players will revolutionize the defensive tackle position. Behind them, Illinois has a nice stable of defensive tackles. Jamal Milan, Kenyon Jackson and Tymir Oliver are all juniors and will be fighting for snaps. Illinois also has Kendrick Green who will be fighting for snaps too. He is a redshirt freshman.

Defensive tackle is one of the few positions I feel completely comfortable with right now. Illinois will be able to rotate multiple defensive tackles in and out without missing a beat. Their depth at this position is huge for the team. But, there is always room for one more. Bandes would come into the program in 2019 and would see snaps day one. He might even be able to pry into the starting depth chart.

Next: 5 areas of improvement for the Illini

Illinois offered one of the best players in the nation in Bandes. Hopefully, they can get into his recruitment and at least make some waves.