Illinois Football: Illini coaches putting in the time on the recruiting trail

The Illinois football coaching staff is trying to build a team that is competitive in every aspect of the game.

Getting good players is one of the biggest keys to building a top-notch program. Without talented players or players who have potential, then you can’t be a good team. Hitting the road and putting in the groundwork is one of the most effective ways you can recruit players. The Illini coaches have done an amazing job at this.

When it comes to offseason recruiting you can ask the question; where in the world are the Illinois coaches today?

In individual tweets, you could find tight ends coach Cory Patterson and defensive line coach Austin Clark out in California. These two were doing an in-home visit with talented junior college transfer Dru Mathis. He is a three-star recruit who is the No. 44 JUCO player in the country and the No. 3 inside linebacker.

After Coach Patterson was finished up in California, he then headed back to St. Louis where it looks like him and offensive coordinator Rod Smith are going to be hitting the recruiting trail. There are a lot of big-time recruits down in the St. Louis area. It is also being reported that the Illini coaches will be at Moses Okpala’s state championship football game as well.

Let’s take a look at what wide receivers coach Andrew Hayes-Stoker is up to. He was down in the state of Texas on Tuesday recruiting hard for the program. He also showed some love to current Illini commit Casey Washington as well. The two had a picture taken together while he was down there. Illinois has a lot of big targets left in the Lone Star State.

Offensive line coach Luke Butkus also did some work this week. It looks like he did some in-state recruiting and even stopped to see Paul Fay and watch his wrestling practice. He is has been offered a preferred walk-on spot for 2019.

Safeties coach Gill Byrd was also on the recruiting trail on Tuesday. He did some more in-state recruiting. Glenbard South High School tweeted out thanking Coach Byrd for stopping by. Running backs coach Thad Ward also recruited the state of Illinois this week as well. He was up in the Chicago area and Morgan Park High School football tweeted out thanking him for stopping by.

This Illinois football team is building. The coaching staff is hitting the ground, and air, trying to recruit the best players to come to Champaign. They are putting in the work and it will pay off.