The Illinois football team received some good news on the recruiting front this weekend.
Building the class of 2019 into a powerhouse is up there with the top priorities for this program. They need to snag more talent for next year. Illinois ended up adding to the class on Sunday afternoon.
Jakai Clark took to Twitter on Sunday to announce where he is committing to. He was down to just Illinois and Arizona. Both programs seemed to be right there, but Illinois won out in the end. Clark announced he will be committing to the Illini.
Clark is a 6-foot-3, 305-pound offensive center form Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 1425 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 12 center in the nation. He is also the No. 135 player in the state of Georgia.
Getting Clark is actually a solid accomplishment for the Illini. This kid was highly recruited by big teams across the country. At one time, Auburn had offered Clark and he was committed to the Tigers. He broke away from that commitment on September 3, though.
After Clark left his commitment to Auburn, he took an unofficial visit to Clemson and was offered by Illinois, Louisville and Arizona. The Illini are now the recipient of a talented center who should be an impact player for this program down the road.
Illinois has a great center starting in Doug Kramer right now. He is only a sophomore and will be the starting center for the next two years after the 2018 campaign. So, Clark can redshirt his freshman season. This would make him a redshirt freshman during Kramer’s senior year. You could then bump Clark up to the starting center spot during his redshirt sophomore campaign.
This is a good plan of action for Clark’s career. He might end up switching positions in college, but if he stays as a center then I could see him starting during his redshirt sophomore season. This Illini team is building depth up front and it is exciting.