Illinois Football: Illini gain scholarship with Jakai Clark flip
The Illinois football class of 2019 took a small hit to the group on Monday morning.
When the Illini lose a recruit, it always hurts. No matter what recruit it is, the Illini need more depth on the team and losing players is never a good thing. Keeping the offensive line strong is extremely important in the process. But, the Orange and Blue lost a member of the offensive line who was coming in from the class of 2019.
Jakai Clark announced on Twitter Monday morning that he is flipping his commitment. He has decided to back away from his commitment to Illinois and, instead, committed play football for the University of Miami.
Clark is a 6-foot-3, 305-pound offensive center from Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 1715 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 20 center in the nation. He is also the No. 144 player in the state of Georgia as well.
This decision by Clark came quickly. He was originally committed to play for Auburn back on April 10. That commitment lasted a few months until he decided to back away from his commitment to the Tigers on September 3. A few other teams offered Clark during this time, including the Illini.
After Clark visited Illinois on November 3, he decided to pick the Orange and Blue over Arizona. This was a solid get at the time for the Illini, but Miami came calling in early December. They ended up offering Clark a scholarship on December 5 and then he visited on December 7. It took three days for him to flip from Illinois to Miami.
This departure leaves Illinois will only 10 commitments for 2019. Losing someone at the center position doesn’t hurt the team too much. Doug Kramer did a great job at that position this season and still has two years of eligibility remaining. While it is never fun to lose a commitment, at least we didn’t lose one at a crucial position.
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Illinois is in the middle of some big recruitments. There are some big fish to catch that are still left on the board. Losing Clark should only be a blip on the radar.