1. Shammond Cooper
The top priority for the Illinois football team and has been for a while is Shammond Cooper. This kid is a game changer on the defensive side of the ball and if you have watched the Illini this past season, you would know they need all the help in they can get.
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. 293 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 17 inside linebacker in the nation. He is also the No. 5 player in the state of Missouri as well.
Back on October 4, Cooper narrowed his list to just Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas and Illinois. Since then, he has only been on one official visit and that was to Illinois on December 8. According to his tweet that had his final four teams listed, he will be making his commitment on January 3 at the Under Armour All-American game.
Honestly, I believe Illinois is in the driver seat for Cooper. They have the lead right now and the sentiment is shared throughout the recruiting sites. I think Oklahoma is the big contender with Texas being the sneaky team. The Sooners firing Mike Stoops as defensive coordinator might have helped the Illini in this recruitment. This would be a huge get for the Orange and Blue.