Illinois Football: Kevon Billingsley keeps Illini in top 12

The Illinois football team made another top list on Friday morning.

Kevon Billingsley took to Twitter to announce that he has decided to cut down his recruitment list to only 12 programs. The 12 teams he kept alive for his commitment are Alabama, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and Illinois. This is still a big list but an important one for the Illini to make.

Billingsley is a 6-foot-4, 275-pound defensive tackle from Parkway North High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He is rated as a four-star recruit who is the No. 331 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 29 defensive tackle in the nation. He is also the No. 4 player in the state of Missouri as well.

This list is tough. There are some big programs that are vying for this kid, and Illinois is right in the mix. There are multiple reasons why the Illini could be right there for Billingsley at the end. One of the reasons being, Illinois was the first program to extend an offer to Billingsley.

Back on December 2, 2017, Billingsley announced on Twitter that he had received his first offer from Illinois. Getting in early on this recruitment clearly paid off for the Illini. They also have a coaching staff Billingsley likes as well. He let the Writing Illini know a little more about what attracts him to the Orange and Blue.

“I really like the coaching staff at Illinois,” said Billingsley, “Coach (Austin) Clark on the defensive line, and they have some STL in the staff with Coach Cory (Patterson).

This shows me that not only getting in early on Billingsley’s recruitment was important, but so is the fact that we have a great coaching staff and great location. Illinois has put together a group of coaches who can recruit. They have been able to hit the St. Louis area hard too.

The Illini are now one step closer to landing a top 400 player in the class of 2020. Billingsley is a great player and that is why he has a multitude of scholarship offers including the likes of Alabama. Let’s secure this top recruit and continue building for the future.