The Illinois football team is getting a visit for the upcoming recruiting class who could help this program on either side of the ball.
Karamba Kaba announced via Twitter on Thursday that he will be visiting the University of Illinois on the weekend of March 29. He was able to confirm this news with the Writing Illini as well.
Kaba isn’t rated or ranked by the recruiting sites yet, but that hasn’t stopped him from garnering some recruiting attention. There is a multitude of teams looking at Kaba as a possible option and many teams have hosted him on unofficial visits. It looks like Illinois is next on his list. The Illini have a few attractions that pique Kaba’s interest.
“What made me want to visit the University of Illinois is that they have an outstanding football program and a great criminal justice program,” said Kaba, “They also hired an old coach that I built a relationship with and his name is Coach Mike Bellamy.”
2020 Karamba Kaba (WR) AA Pioneer HS visting University of Illinois 03/29/19 https://t.co/3DtNBHaJgx @CoachBellamy @AllenTrieu @_Illini_ @IlliniFootball @TheD_Zone @D1FREAK
— Karamba Kaba (@karamba012) March 21, 2019
Bellamy was hired onto the Illinois football staff this offseason. He is taking over for Thad Ward as the running backs coach after Ward departed for Temple. Lovie Smith brought Bellamy back after not retaining him when he first took over as the head coach of the Illini.
In the time Bellamy wasn’t on the Illinois staff, he made a stop at Mississippi State for a season and then two years as the Toledo wide receivers coach. In his time with the Rockets, Bellamy was able to recruit quite a few players including Kaba.
“Coach Bellamy was recruiting me while he was at the University of Toledo,” said Kaba, “I have the urge to play for him one day, which is what made me want to take this trip to Illinois and meet up with him, so I can see what I can do to play for him.”
Illinois could always use more talent on the team. Kaba is listed as a defensive back and wide receiver on most recruiting sites. When asked if Illinois was recruiting him to play defensive back, Kaba expressed his interest in that side of the ball.
“I am hoping they do…” said Kaba, “I am hoping to also meet the DB coach on my visit.”
The Illini haven’t offered Kaba a scholarship yet, but that could be coming down the road. Like previously mentioned, he does have some solid recruiting attention.
“I am being recruited by Western Michigan, Liberty, Toledo and Purdue,” said Kaba, “The school that most stands out to me is Western Michigan, but once I build this relationship with Illinois, they will for sure be my top school just because of Coach B.”
The recruiting process is a long one. There are surely more visits coming down the pipeline for Kaba. More offers should be coming in for him as well. Illinois is eying this talented player who could help this team in multiple ways. Hopefully, the visit goes well for Kaba next week.