Illinois Football: Illini rivalry with Northwestern is getting a shot in the arm
It is always fun when the Illinois football fan base has to hear about the Northwestern Wildcats getting a quarterback.
News broke earlier today about former Clemson Tigers quarterback Hunter Johnson transferring to Northwestern. Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports looks to be the first one to break the news. Let me first start off by saying that this is a big pickup for the Wildcats.
I don’t know if Northwestern has ever had this highly rated of a quarterback in the history of the program. Johnson is a 6-foot-2, 201-pound pro-style quarterback from Brownsburg High School in Brownsburg, Indiana. He was rated as a four-star recruit who was the No. 53 player in the class of 2017 and the No. 3 pro-style quarterback in the nation. Now that he is transferring to Northwestern, this could really heat up the rivalry between the Illini and the Wildcats.
Illinois was able to nab their own top-notch quarterback this year as well. Isaiah Williams is coming to Champaign as one of the best players in the nation. He is a 5-foot-9.5, 170-pound dual-threat quarterback from Trinity Catholic High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 77 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 4 athlete in the nation.
With these two great quarterbacks coming to rival schools, look for this matchup to really start heating up in 2019 when both are eligible to play for their respective teams. The rivalry did need a shot in the arm, though.
Northwestern has won five out of the last six meetings between the two teams, but Illinois currently holds the series lead 55-51-5. The Wildcats have taken advantage of the downturn of the Illini football program. They really beat us up the last half-decade or so when we had a few incompetent coaches and an athletic director whose goal it was to bring down the program.
But, Illinois football is in the recovery process now. They have a solid coaching staff in place and a recruiting base that continues to grow. With the addition of Williams, they should be set for a little while at the quarterback position.
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I am excited to see this great rivalry renewed in the coming years. The talent level is rising on both ends and they are on a collision course for some great matchups. Hopefully, the Illini can come out victorious.