Illinois Football: Illini land in Shammond Cooper’s top 4

Huge, massive, and earthshaking are all adjectives I would use to describe the type night the Illinois football team had on Thursday.

One of the top players left in the class of 2019, Shammond Cooper, ended up cutting his list down to just four teams on Thursday night. The four teams he decided to keep moving forward were Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Illinois. He also announced that his commitment will come at the Under Armour All-American Game on January 3.

Cooper is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound inside linebacker from Trinity Catholic High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 294 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 17 inside linebacker in the nation.

The previous list cut by Cooper came back on March 15 of this year. He kept Oklahoma, Clemson, Georgia, Florida, Ohio State, Texas, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas A&M and Illinois alive during this cut. Now his decision is going to come down to just four programs.

All four programs have compelling cases for Cooper. As of right now, the 247Sports experts are picking Illinois as the eventual landing spot. Honestly, when it comes to the commitment on January 3, I think it will be between Oklahoma and Illinois.

I have thought Oklahoma has had the lead the entire time. It seems like they have been heavy on Cooper for a while, and he has reciprocated the good feelings. They are currently a winning program with a young head coach that has energy. This is a place that has had solid linebacker talent since the creation of the football program. They have a lot to offer Cooper.

But, Illinois has a lot to offer Cooper as well. Illinois is an up-and-coming program that continues to build by the day. They have a coaching staff that has a ton of NFL and college coaching experience. Their head coach – Lovie Smith – coached Brian Urlacher and the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl in 2007. Illinois’ defensive coordinator – Hardy Nickerson – was a great NFL player and knows how to get to the league. Let’s not forget, Illinois also has Cooper’s former high school head coach, Cory Patterson, on the staff as well.

In addition to the great coaching staff, Illinois will be able to provide instant playing time for Cooper. With the departure of Del’Shawn Phillips after this season, Cooper will have a chance to come in and start immediately as a freshman. This will get him invaluable playing time and learning experience.

Both teams have great pitches to make to Cooper. The decision is his and his alone. Illinois needs this kid and will hopefully land him. Putting some wins on the board in Big Ten play this season would go a long way in getting Cooper to come to Champaign. He could be a program changer.