Illinois Football: Illini DE Moses Okpala earning accolades

Isaiah Williams wasn’t the only Illinois football player who earned some All-Missouri honors on Thursday.

Current Illinois football signee Moses Okpala was also honored with the 2018 All-Missouri Football First Team selection. He was a big pickup for the Illini and one that will help the defensive line tremendously.

Okpala is a 6-foot-7, 250-pound strong-side defensive end from Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 527 player in the class of 2019 and the No. 36 strong-side defensive end in the nation. He is also the No. 9 player in the state of Missouri as well.

The Illini officially have two All-Missouri first-team selections. To go along with Okpala, Williams was also named on the first team and won the offensive player of the year award from USA Today. Okpala’s high school career finished up the same way Williams’ did as well.

Ladue Horton Watkins had a great football season in 2018. They were one of the best teams in the nation finishing No. 130 out of every team in the country, and they were also ranked as the No. 3 team in the state of Missouri too.

The Rams finished the regular season with a record of 9-0. They continued this strong showing with a 49-0 start to the Missouri High School playoffs. Things didn’t get tougher from there as Ladue Horton Watkins advanced to the state title against MICDS. Okpala and the Rams dominated the game winning the championship, 48-11.

Okpala was tremendous the entire year, helping Ladue Horton Watkins to an undefeated season. They only gave up an average of 8.7 points per game as well. That is an amazing feat for any defense.

The accolades for Illinois players might not be done with Williams and Okpala, though. Shammond Cooper was also named to the All-Missouri First Team defense as well. He hasn’t committed to Illinois, yet, but the tides seem to be going that way. He played for Trinity Catholic with Williams. His defensive prowess helped shut down opposing offenses on route to a state title.

There is so much talent coming in for the Illini. The class of 2019 is bringing in some special players, especially from the St. Louis area. Let’s have this tremendous success translate over to the Orange and Blue.