The Illinois football team has a lot of lines in the water right now for 2019 in hopes of landing some big fish.
Illinois’ class has been well-documented so far with two high-profile recruits leading the way. This class has a chance to go down as one of the best ever in program history as long as they can close on some of their targets. One target that is still left to make a decision is Fabian McCray.
McCray is a 6-foot-1, 177-pound wide receiver from Phillips Academy in Chicago, Illinois. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 943 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 17 player in the state of Illinois.
Just about a week ago, McCray cut his list down to just four programs and kept Minnesota, Iowa State, West Virginia and the Illini alive. I had a chance to chat with McCray about his recruitment and how everything was going.
“It’s been going pretty smooth,” said McCray, “some teams are still recruiting, so I’m still open.”
The final four for McCray sounds like a rough draft of the teams he wants to play for. From the sound of it, there may be some revisions down the road. But, the previously reported August commitment date is still in the plans according to McCray. This would line up with the start of the high school football season in which he has been preparing for this summer.
“Summer workouts have been going pretty well,” said McCray, “we most definitely have high expectations for this season being that we are the defending champs and that we have moved up to 6A.”
Improving on the football field will be key if McCray and his Phillips Academy team want to repeat as state champs. He mentioned in the conversation that he has been really working on his speed. This will not only help him on the field in high school, but it will also carry him on the field at the college level as well.
Illinois could always use another burner on the field too. That is one of the reasons why the Illini continue to stay in-touch with McCray.
“Yeah, our connection has remained pretty strong,” said McCray.
It is great news for Illinois fans that the coaching staff still has a strong connection with this top wide receiver. They need his playmaking abilities for 2019 and beyond. But, what sets the Illini apart from the rest of the field?
“The chemistry and relationship between the coaches and players,” said McCray, “that makes them stand out because at every school, the coaches don’t always have positive relationships with their players and that is a big factor.”
Next: Potential Illini wide receiver depth chart in 2019
Getting McCray has become one of the top priorities for the Illinois coaching staff. They seem to have done everything right in his recruitment and, hopefully, their hard work will end up paying off.