5. Jalen St. John
Keeping the offensive line solid is extremely important for this Illinois football program. Without a good offensive line, the team can’t run the ball and the offense won’t work as effectively.
I like what we have on the offensive line heading into the 2019 season. Kendrick Green, Alex Palczewski, Doug Kramer, Richie Petitbon and Vederian Lowe are all solid players in my eyes. Illinois then has a handful of other offensive linemen who will get a shot this season at playing time as well.
Depth has always been a worry of mine on the offensive line, though. Petitbon will be gone after this season. That leaves a gap on the end of the line. So, Illinois is going to need to build the offensive line up a little more. This is where Jalen St. John comes into play.
St. John is a 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive tackle from Trinity Catholic High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He is rated as a three-star recruit who is the No. 677 player in the class of 2020 and the No. 36 offensive guard in the nation. He is also the No. 14 player in the state of Missouri as well.
247Sports has St. John ranked as a guard, but he is likely to enter the college game as a tackle. He has the size to do some great things at the next level. St. John’s recruitment is another quiet one. It looks like Illinois and Iowa State are the top two for him right now. Cory Patterson is also his main recruiter as well, which bodes well for the Illini.
If Illinois could snag St. John, it would be huge for the offensive line. We need more depth to protect our quarterback and block for our running back. St. John would help tremendously.